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NBA: Celtics beat Pistons in Iverson debut

Tony Allen scored most of his 23 points in the pivotal second quarter, foiling Allen Iverson’s home debut with the Detroit Pistons and helping the Boston Celtics to an 88-76 win on Sunday.

Iverson was given a standing ovation when he was introduced for the first time as a Piston at The Palace, the frenzied fans so loud the public-address announcer couldn’t be heard.

A sold-out crowd stayed in the game during a closely contested first quarter before being quieted in the second, when Boston used four reserves to outscore Detroit 30-10.

Ray Allen had 17 points, Kevin Garnett scored eight on 4-of-15 shooting and Paul Pierce added seven on 3-of-10 shooting for Boston.

Rajon Rondo scored 13 points and Eddie House had eight points as one of four reserves with at least six points.

LAKERS 111, ROCKETS 82

At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 23 points, Pau Gasol added 20 points and 15 rebounds, and the unbeaten Los Angeles Lakers shot 65.8 percent in the second half against Houston.

Jordan Farmar added 16 points and six assists and Andrew Bynum had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, who have won their five games by an average of 22.4 points. Atlanta, also 5-0, is the NBA’s only other unbeaten team.

Aaron Brooks came off the bench to lead Houston with 20 points and four assists. Yao Ming, Luis Scola and Carl Landry added 12 points each for the Rockets.

KINGS 115, WARRIORS 98

At Sacramento, California, Kevin Martin scored 27 points, and Sacramento pulled away from Golden State in the second half for its third straight win after opening the season with four losses on the road.

John Salmons scored 16 points for the Kings, who are in a stretch where they play six of seven at friendly Arco Arena. Spencer Hawes added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Andris Biedrins had 16 points and 18 rebounds for the Warriors, who have dropped two straight and three of four. Stephen Jackson had 15 points and six assists, Kelenna Azubuike had 12, Anthony Randolph scored 11, while both CJ Watson and Brandan Wright added 10.

CLIPPERS 103, MAVERICKS 92

At Los Angeles, Baron Davis had 22 points and 10 assists and foul-plagued Al Thornton got eight of his 17 points in the final six minutes as the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a season-opening six-game losing streak with a victory over Dallas.

Marcus Camby had 14 rebounds and 10 points for the Clippers, who had lost six straight against Dallas. Davis was 8-for-19 from the field after missing 10 of 12 shots in the first half. Tim Thomas sat out because of a sprained left ankle.

Dirk Nowitzki, who missed the final two meetings with the Clippers last season because of ankle and knee injuries, led the Mavericks with 33 points and seven rebounds.

Gerald Green started at small forward and had 13 points and 12 rebounds in place of Josh Howard, who was sidelined because of a sore left wrist.

NUGGETS 100, GRIZZLIES 90

At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points and Chauncey Billups had 16 points and 10 assists as Denver held on to beat Memphis.

Rookie guard O.J. Mayo scored a season-high 31 and added eight rebounds for the Grizzlies, but he had only five points after halftime. Rudy Gay finished with 16 points for Memphis.

The Nuggets trailed by five early in the third quarter before surging into the lead for good. Anthony’s layup tied it at 58, and Dahntay Jones’ three-point play and Nene’s dunk gave Denver a 63-58 advantage midway through the period.

KNICKS 107, JAZZ 99

At New York, Jamal Crawford scored 32 points to lead New York past Utah and end the Jazz’s undefeated start.

Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 17 rebounds for Utah (5-1), which was trying to start 6-0 for the first time since the lockout-delayed 1998-1999 season. Andrei Kirilenko had 18 points and Mehmet Okur 17 for the Jazz, who were opening a five-game Eastern Conference road trip.

The Knicks put it away with under 4 minutes to go, with Chris Duhon sinking a jumper and feeding Zach Randolph for a fast-break bucket that made it 98-86.

RAPTORS 89, BOBCATS 79

At Charlotte, North Carolina, Chris Bosh had 30 points and 15 rebounds and Andrea Bargnani scored 18 points as Toronto pulled away late to beat Charlotte.

Jose Calderon added 13 points and Jamario Moon had 10 for Toronto, which snapped a two-game losing streak after opening the season with three straight wins.

Bobcats rookie D.J. Augustin scored 11 of his 14 points in the second quarter in helping Charlotte take a 45-40 lead at the break.

Jason Richardson and Raymond Felton had 12 points each, and Jared Dudley 10.

HAWKS 89, THUNDER 85

At Oklahoma City, Joe Johnson scored 25 points and Atlanta came from behind after a late Oklahoma City run to remain undefeated.

Johnson hit a right-handed runner to give Atlanta an 82-80 lead with 2:19 to play, then added a two-handed runout jam to extend it.

The Hawks got two offensive rebounds on a last-minute possession, and Mike Bibby added a pair of free throws for a more comfortable cushion.

Marvin Williams added 16 points, Flip Murray finished with 14 and Mike Bibby scored 13 for Atlanta, off to a 5-0 start for the first time since starting the 1997-1998 season with 11 straight wins.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 20 points, rookie Russell Westbrook scored 15 and Joe Smith had 14 points and nine rebounds.
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