Paul Pierce scored 31 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 101-86 to remain unbeaten in the NBA on Tuesday.
Pierce made 14 of 14 free throws and had 11 rebounds.
Kevin Garnett added 18 points and 11 rebounds, his sixth double-double in six games, as Boston (6-0) matched its best start since 1987. Boston is still chasing its best start, 14 straight wins in 1957.
PHOTO: AP
Danny Granger led Indiana with 24 points and Jermaine O'Neal added 10 points and nine boards.
Boston outscored the Pacers 33-20 from the free-throw line and held the Pacers to 35 percent shooting.
It was Indiana's fourth consecutive loss after starting the season with three straight wins.
Magic 103, SuperSonics 76
At Orlando, Florida, Rashard Lewis scored 22 points against his former team and Orlando handed Seattle its league-worst eighth straight loss.
The SuperSonics have not won since April 7 of last season, when Lewis was still on their side and went for 35 points against the Utah Jazz. It is the worst start in franchise history, surpassing an 0-6 streak in 1969.
Lewis had 19 in the first half and, along with Dwight Howard, rested the fourth quarter. Howard had only one first-half point, but finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds and Hedo Turkoglu scored 17 points.
Nick Collison led Seattle with 15 points and rookie Jeff Green finished with 12.
Suns 113, Knicks 102
At Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire had his best night since his arthroscopic knee surgery six weeks ago, finishing with 26 points and 12 rebounds as Phoenix downed New York.
The Knicks were without three starters, including Stephon Marbury, who abruptly left the team earlier in the day and reportedly returned to New York as the Knicks opened a four-game road trip.
Shawn Marion scored 23 and Grant Hill had 21, his most in his eight games with Phoenix. Steve Nash finished with five points and 12 assists.
Jamal Crawford, one of the remaining New York starters, scored 21.
Spurs 107, Lakers 92
At San Antonio, Tony Parker had 26 points and nine assists and San Antonio beat the Los Angeles Lakers for its fourth straight win.
Bruce Bowen went six-of-six from three-point range for San Antonio and finished with 23 points. Manu Ginobili added 17 points.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 18 points, well below the 30.4 he was averaging before the game. Jordan Farmar added 16 and Lamar Odom had 12.
The Spurs finished 13-of-27 from beyond the arc and had the lead from midway through the second quarter.
Grizzlies 105, Rockets 99
At Memphis, Tennessee, Pau Gasol scored 26 points, including four free throws in the final minute, and Memphis overcame 41 points from Tracy McGrady to beat Houston.
Darko Milicic added 20 points and Mike Miller finished with 17 as Memphis snapped Houston's three-game winning streak. Rudy Gay scored 15 for the Grizzlies.
Free throws were the difference, as Memphis connected on eight straight in the final two minutes after Houston tied it at 97. Memphis scored 34 points from the line, compared to 17 for the Rockets.
Yao Ming added 22 points for Houston and reserve Mike James had 10.
Mavericks 99, 76ers 84
At Dallas, Jason Terry scored 12 of his 25 points during Dallas' big third-quarter run and Dallas rallied to beat Philadelphia.
Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Dallas Mavericks, who bounced back from Saturday night's 91-82 road loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Nowitzki also matched a career high with eight assists.
Josh Howard added 18 points for Dallas.
Andre Iguodala had 15 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for Philadelphia, which has lost three straight. Samuel Dalembert finished with a season-high 18 points and Willie Green added 16.
Bobcats 91, Heat 76
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Gerald Wallace scored 19 points and Jason Richardson added 18 to lead Charlotte to a win over Miami.
Emeka Okafor had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bobcats, who dominated the punchless Heat. Playing again without Dwyane Wade, Miami often struggled to just get a shot off and dropped to 1-6.
Shaquille O'Neal had 17 points and six rebounds, but got little help. While O'Neal shot seven-of-14, the other four starters combined to shoot nine-for-34 as Wade missed his seventh straight game due to an offseason knee surgery.
Wade worked out during the day, but was held out again as he tries to get his left knee to 100 percent.
Trail Blazers 102, Pistons 94
At Portland, Oregon, LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Portland beat Detroit to snap a four-game losing streak at the Rose Garden.
The Blazers led by seven points in the final quarter, but Detroit narrowed it to 94-91 on Tayshaun Prince's layup with 2 minutes, 11 seconds to go. Jarrett Jack answered with a layup and the Blazers pulled away.
Jack and Brandon Roy each scored 20 points for Portland.
Prince led Detroit with 20 points, while Chauncey Billups added 19.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
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