Celtics Tie Best Start Ever at Home

BOSTON (AP) _ This season's Boston Celtics are looking to do the 1984-85 team one better. After beating Milwaukee 104-82 on Friday night to improve to 12-0 at home, Boston can set the Celtics'

Saturday, December 15th 2007, 8:09 am

By: News On 6

BOSTON (AP) _ This season's Boston Celtics are looking to do the 1984-85 team one better. After beating Milwaukee 104-82 on Friday night to improve to 12-0 at home, Boston can set the Celtics' record for best home start by beating Detroit on Wednesday.

Then they can focus on passing another mark set by that previous team, which lost the championship series in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers.

If Celtics can pull that off, it'll be in part because of the deep lineup that helped them withstand the loss of key starter Ray Allen on Friday night.

Starting in his place was Tony Allen, who held Michael Redd to seven points and had four steals to go with 11 points.

``Tony was awesome,'' Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ``Mike Redd, he's an All-Star. That's a tough matchup. If someone looked at the stat sheet you'd see 3-for-7. But if you had a game ball, you'd probably give it to Tony Allen.''

In Friday night's other NBA games, it was: New Jersey 105, Cleveland 97; Golden State 108, the Los Angeles Lakers 106; Portland 99, Utah 91; Dallas 89, New Orleans 80; Orlando 103, Charlotte 87; Sacramento 109, Philadelphia 99; Toronto 104, Indiana 93; Detroit 91, Atlanta 81; Chicago 101, New York 96; the Los Angeles Clippers 98, Memphis 91; and Seattle 99, Minnesota 88.

Paul Pierce scored a season-high 32 points and Kevin Garnett had 15 points and seven rebounds.

``I wanted to be a little bit more aggressive,'' Pierce said. ``Especially with Ray out, (I wanted) to pick up some of the slack and get us going.''

Rajon Rondo scored 17 with eight assists for Boston. Allen won't be back for another game or two because of a sore right ankle.

Garnett played just 29 minutes for the Celtics, who pulled away when they outscored Milwaukee 32-15 in the third quarter.

Mo Williams scored 14 for the Bucks, Bobby Simmons had 11 and Yi Jianlian scored 10.

Nets 105, Cavaliers 97

In East Rutherford, N.J., Vince Carter matched a season high with 32 points, Richard Jefferson had 24, and New Jersey snapped a four-game losing streak.

Reserve Josh Boone was 2-for-4 from the line when the Cavs intentionally fouled him on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter. Boone, who threw an airball from the line earlier, was 3-for-8 there overall, and finished with a season-high 15 points.

Jason Kidd finished with eight points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Nets overcame their usual slow start at home to win for only the second time in seven games _ both against Cleveland.

LeBron James had 29 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Cleveland, which has lost seven of eight, five without James.

Warriors 108, Lakers 106

In Oakland, Calif., Baron Davis put his usual game-breaking flair on the decisive 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds to play.

Davis had eight of his 22 points and a remarkable assist in the final 3:19 for the Warriors, who fed off a playoff-worthy sellout crowd of fans in yellow T-shirts to beat Los Angeles for just the second time in 16 meetings.

Kobe Bryant scored 21 points for the Lakers.

Blazers 99, Jazz 91

In Portland, Ore., Brandon Roy scored 29 points, Travis Outlaw had 21 and Portland won its sixth straight.

Carlos Boozer had 22 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Jazz, who lost their sixth in a row.

Mavericks 89, Hornets 80

In Dallas, Jason Terry scored 25 points and Jerry Stackhouse added 16, and Dallas beat cold-shooting New Orleans even with another off night from Dirk Nowitzki.

The reigning league MVP had only seven points on 2-for-8 shooting, and is 8-for-23 from the floor over the past two games. But he got some help from Josh Howard, who finished with 15.

Magic 103, Bobcats 87

In Charlotte, N.C., Dwight Howard had 33 points and 18 rebounds to help Orlando snap a three-game losing streak.

Hedo Turkoglu added 22 points for the Magic, who improved to an NBA-best 12-3 on the road.

Kings 109, 76ers 99

In Philadelphia, Brad Miller had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Mikki Moore tied his career high with 24 points and Sacramento became the final NBA team to win a road game.

John Salmons added 19 points and Beno Udrih had 15 for the Kings, who entered the game with nine straight road losses to open a season, matching a team record set in 1987-88 and again in 1993-94.

Andre Miller scored 24 points for Philadelphia, which had its season-best four-game win streak snapped.

Raptors 104, Pacers 93

In Indianapolis, Jason Kapono scored 17 of his career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead Toronto to its fourth straight win.

Chris Bosh had 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Raptors. Mike Dunleavy scored 23 points and Jamaal Tinsley added 19 points and 10 assists for the Pacers.

Detroit 91, Atlanta 81

In Auburn Hills, Mich., Chauncey Billups scored 23 points and Tayshaun Prince added 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Richard Hamilton added 18 points for Detroit, which has won eight of its past 10.

Joe Johnson scored 23 and Marvin Williams added 15 for the Hawks.

Knicks 101, Bulls 96

In Chicago, Luol Deng scored 29 points, Kirk Hinrich produced the second triple-double of his career, and Chicago handed New York its fifth straight loss.

Hinrich finished with 15 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds. His only other triple-double was against Golden State on Feb. 28, 2004.

Zach Randolph led New York with 27 points and 15 rebounds. Fred Jones scored 22, and Jamal Crawford added 18.

Clippers 98, Grizzlies 91

In Memphis, Tenn., Chris Kaman and Corey Maggette both scored 23 points and Kaman had 16 rebounds.

Cuttino Mobley scored 17 points and had six assists for the Clippers, who sent Memphis to its sixth straight loss.

Mike Miller scored 23 points for Memphis, while Hakim Warrick added 20.

SuperSonics 99, Timberwolves 88

In Minneapolis, Chris Wilcox had 19 points and 11 rebounds to help Seattle overcome a sluggish start.

Kurt Thomas added 18 for Seattle, which won its second straight on the road.

Al Jefferson had 22 points and 16 rebounds for Minnesota.