Celtics 86, Nets 76.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce each scored 16 points, and the Boston Celtics bounced back from their first loss of the season to beat the winless New Jersey Nets 86-76.

Ray Allen came alive after three dismal quarters to score eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter for the Celtics (7-1), who lost 110-103 to Phoenix on Friday night, allowing 20 more points than in any previous game.

Their defense was back Saturday and it needed to be, because the Celtics couldn't shoot for most of the night. Boston finished with 20 steals, five by Rondo, scoring 19 points off New Jersey's 24 turnovers.

Brook Lopez, the only regular starter available, scored 23 points, and Rafer Alston had 20 for the Nets (0-7).

Hawks 125, Nuggets 100.

ATLANTA (AP) Jamal Crawford scored 25 points, and Josh Smith had 22 points, nine rebounds, six blocked shots and seven assists in the Atlanta Hawks' 125-100 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

Smith was 8 of 10 from the field and 6 of 8 from the line.

Joe Johnson added 21 points, Marvin Williams had 14, Mo Evans 12 and Al Horford and Mike Bibby 11 each for the Hawks.

Carmelo Anthony had 30 points for Denver, and Chauncey Billups added 25. The Nuggets lost their second straight after winning their first five.

Bulls 93, Bobcats 90.

CHICAGO (AP) John Salmons scored 27 points, Joakim (JOH'-kihm) Noah added a career-high 21 points and had 16 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Charlotte Bobcats 93-90 for their third straight win.

The Bulls had a 16-0 run in the third and fourth quarters that turned a nine-point deficit into a seven-point lead at 77-70. They hung on despite some shaky foul shooting, with Charlotte's Flip Murray missing two 3-pointers in the closing seconds.

Boris Diaw led Charlotte with 20 points.

Bucks 102, Knicks 87.

MILWAUKEE (AP) Andrew Bogut scored a season-high 22 points and had eight rebounds to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks 102-87.

Jodie Meeks, Milwaukee' second-round pick in June, added 19 points, and rookie point guard Brandon Jennings, who had just nine points in the Bucks' 87-72 victory at Minnesota on Friday night, had 17 points.

David Lee had 18 points and seven rebounds for New York.

Mavericks 129, Raptors 101.

DALLAS (AP) Dirk Nowitzki (noh-VIHT'-skee) had 29 points and nine rebounds, and Josh Howard scored 16 in his season debut in the Dallas Mavericks' 129-101 victory over Toronto.

Jason Terry added 19 points, and Shawn Marion had 18 points and eight rebounds for Dallas, hitting his last nine attempts from the field.

Howard was in the starting lineup after missing all of the preseason and the first five games while recovering from surgery on his left ankle and left wrist in May.

Dallas native Chris Bosh had 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani scored 22 points for the Raptors.

Kings 104, Jazz 99.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Rookie Tyreke (ty-REEK') Evans scored a career-high 32 points and the Sacramento Kings held off the Utah Jazz for a 104-99 victory in their first game without high-scoring guard Kevin Martin.

Evans, the fourth overall pick in the June draft, became the focal point of the Kings' offense in place of Martin, who averaged 30.6 points in the first five games. Martin will have surgery Monday to repair a fracture in his left wrist.

Clippers 113, Grizzlies 110.

LOS ANGELES (AP) Chris Kaman had 26 points and nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 113-110 for their third straight victory equaling their longest winning streak of last season.

The Grizzlies were without 10-time All-Star point guard Allen Iverson, whose current status as a backup behind Mike Conley and Iverson's subsequent comments on the matter have cast a cloud over coach Lionel Hollins' 1-6 club.

The four-time NBA scoring champ, who has played in only three games for his new team after injuring a hamstring, received permission from team owner Michael Heisley to return home to Atlanta and attend to personal business.

Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with 33 points.



(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-08-09 0019CST | save this article / add to your favorites list