Paul Pierce scored 26 points on nearly perfect shooting and the Boston Celtics roared back from a rough road trip to beat the visiting Washington Wizards, 108-83, last night.
Boston (29-5) went 1-3 on its West Coast swing after the best 29-game start in NBA history, 27-2. The Celtics were in charge from the start on their home court, where they're 18-1. Boston's lead reached 10 points with 4:15 left in the first quarter and stayed in double digits the rest of the way.
Pierce made his first nine shots and all five three-point attempts before missing his final shot, a three. Nick Young led the Wizards (6-25) with 15 points.
Nets 93, Hawks 91, OT: : Vince Carter hit a long three-pointer at the buzzer in overtime and host New Jersey (16-17) rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit to beat Atlanta (21-11), ending the Hawks' six-game winning streak.
Pacers 105, Knicks 103: : Jarrett Jack made a jumper with 0.9 of a second left and scored a season-high 29 points, and visiting Indiana (11-21) ended a four-game losing streak against New York (12-19).
Cavaliers 117, Bulls 92: : Anderson Varejao scored a career-high 26 points, LeBron James had a triple double and Cleveland (27-5) stayed unbeaten on its home court with a win over Chicago (14-19).
Magic 86, Heat 76:: Rashard Lewis had 17 points and Jameer Nelson scored 16 to help Orlando (26-7) overcome a big game from Dwyane Wade and beat visiting Miami (17-14).
Raptors 94, Rockets 73: : Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani each scored 19 points as host Toronto (13-20) ended a three-game losing streak. with a victory over Houston (21-13).
Piston 98, Kings 92:: Rodney Stuckey scored 13 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter, and undermanned Detroit (20-11) won its sixth straight game over visiting Sacramento (8-25).
Timberwolves 115, Warriors 108: : Three days after the Timberwolves surrendered a 29-point lead in the final 22 minutes of a loss to the Mavericks, Al Jefferson had 32 points and 10 rebounds to lead host Minnesota (7-25) over Golden State (10-25).
Nuggets 122, Thunder 120: : Carmelo Anthony (Towson Catholic) hit a three-pointer from the corner with 0.1 of a second left to cap a 31-point outing and lift visiting Denver (22-12) over Oklahoma City (4-30).
Spurs 91, Grizzlies 80: : Tim Duncan had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 19 points as San Antonio (21-11) beat host Memphis (10-23).
Mavericks 96, 76ers 86: : Dirk Nowitzki had a big fourth quarter and scored 31 points, Jason Terry added 21 and host Dallas (20-12) rallied from another deficit for a victory over Philadelphia (13-19).
Bucks 103, Bobcats 75:: Michael Redd scored 31 points and Charlie Villanueva had 27 as Milwaukee (16-18) beat visiting Charlotte (11-22).
Suns 106, Clippers 98:: Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points and host Phoenix (19-12) extended its winning streak to three and dealt short-handed Los Angeles (8-24) its sixth consecutive loss.
Off the court
Cavaliers: : Zydrunas Ilgauskas could miss up to a month after suffering a small fracture when he twisted his left ankle during a Dec. 10 game at Philadelphia. The 7-foot-3 center, who is averaging 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds, said he's likely to be "out three to four weeks."