Celtics stumble in exhibition opener

ISTANBUL — The Boston Celtics lost the first game of the NBA's preseason Friday, 97-91 to Turkish team Fenerbahce Ulker.

First-round draft pick Jared Sullinger and Jeff Green scored 16 points each, but the Celtics paid the price for a weak second quarter, getting outscored 29-18.

Rajon Rondo had 13 points and nine assists, while Jason Terry, one of a handful of new players on the roster, scored 12.

However, 25 turnovers showed there's work to be done before the Celtics' next exhibition game Sunday in Milan, Italy, against Emporio Armani.

The team returns to Boston on Monday and resumes practice on Oct. 11 before playing its first U.S. preseason game against the Knicks in Hartford, Connecticut, two days later.

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Heat overcome Celtics despite Rondo heroics

MIAMI — The biggest postseason comeback in Miami Heat franchise history wasn't enough.

Close quarters: Boston's Kevin Garnett (left) and Miami's Udonis Haslem compete during the Heat's 115-111 win on Wednesday. AP

The Heat needed more — and got it, digging deep to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

LeBron James scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 23 and the Heat rallied from 15 down to beat the Boston Celtics 115-111 in overtime on Wednesday night.

Mario Chalmers scored 22 for the Heat, who won despite an unbelievable night by Rajon Rondo. The Celtics guard played all 53 minutes and scored 44 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds. The Heat expected Boston's best — and the Celtics didn't disappoint.

"This group had resolve," Wade said of the Celtics. "They came out and played a great game. It was physical early. They brought the game to us. That can't happen. We used our crowd and the energy to get back into the game and we had to play better."

Paul Pierce scored 21 points, Kevin Garnett added 18 and Ray Allen 13 for Boston.

Rondo finished 16 of 24 from the floor, 10 of 12 from the foul line and made both his 3-point tries.

"He was absolutely phenomenal," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Put us, put the whole team at times on his shoulders. . . . We had a lot of opportunities to win the game."

Allen's 3-pointer with 34.3 seconds left tied the game at 99-99. James missed two shots, first a layup — he got the rebound of his own miss — and then a jumper on the final possession of regulation, and to overtime they went.

"We had to do it the tough way," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Game 3 is Friday in Boston.

The Heat had come back to win from 14 points down in playoff games twice before, first in Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals — their title clincher — and again last season against Philadelphia.

And this one was slipping away, more than once. James missed two free throws 21 seconds into overtime, and Miami looked in trouble. But the Heat held on, in a game where they took 47 free throws — 24 by James — to Boston's 29.

The scoring dossier in overtime began like this: Rondo scored, Heat tied it, Rondo scored, Heat tied it, Rondo scored, Heat tied it.

When Rondo missed a layup — he thought he was fouled, and the Celtics agreed — with 1:33 left, Miami took advantage, with Udonis Haslem getting a dunk to put the Heat up 105-103. And after a turnover on the next Boston possession, Wade drove the lane, hit the deck and watched as his layup bounced on the rim and dropped through.

Garnett stood over Wade and glared, to no avail. Wade hit the free throw, and Miami was up 110-105 with 59.7 seconds left.

On a night where the Heat missed 16 free throws — including at least four by James in crucial situations — they would survive.

"Now we're going home," Boston's Mickael Pietrus said. "Our jersey is going to be white. They got two. Fine, good for them. But we're going home now and you know what that means."

NEW YORK — New owner, and now a new star player. The future suddenly looks bright for the New Orleans Hornets.

Meanwhile, it was yet another loss — in a historic season full of them — for Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Hornets, recently sold by the NBA to Saints owner Tom Benson, won the NBA's draft lottery Wednesday and the No. 1 pick overall — which they almost certainly will use to pick Kentucky star Anthony Davis.

At least that's what the consensus college player of the year is expecting. Moments after the Hornets won the lottery, Davis said he was looking forward to playing professionally in the place where he led the Wildcats to a national championship in April.

The good news for the Hornets comes after a difficult season in which they traded All-Star Chris Paul and a couple of years in limbo where they couldn't do much to upgrade the roster while the league was looking for a buyer.

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Thunder deal Celtics fifth straight loss

BOSTON — Russell Westbrook hit a 3-pointer and then shimmied his hands down his torso, bent his body at the knees and strutted down the sideline in celebration.

Fall back, baby: Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks puts up a fadeaway over Pau Gasol of the Lakers in the first half on Monday night. Los Angeles beat Dallas 73-70. AP

Just 39 seconds later — this time with less than a minute left in the game — he did it all over again.

Westbrook scored 26 points, including two of Oklahoma City's four 3-pointers in the final 2 minutes, to help the Thunder beat the slumping Boston Celtics 97-88 on Monday night. Kevin Durant scored 28 with seven rebounds for Oklahoma City, which won its seventh consecutive game.

"They started doubling K.D. later in the game," Westbrook said. "I just tried to be aggressive and find my open spots."

Paul Pierce scored 24 points, Kevin Garnett had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Jermaine O'Neal had 12 points and 11 boards for Boston. Rajon Rondo scored 12 points with nine rebounds and nine assists for Boston, which lost a fifth straight game for the first time in the New Big 3 era.

"None of us likes to lose; that's the frustrating part," Pierce said. "I think I like where we are headed, there are just little things that are really killing us."

After trailing by 10 points to start the fourth quarter, the Celtics cut the deficit to two before Durant hit a 3 that made it 81-76 with 4:42 left. Garnett made a pair of free throws, then Durant threw down a tomahawk dunk.

Oklahoma City then hit four 3-pointers in a row — one from Thabo Sefolosha, two from Westbrook and another from Sefolosha that made it 95-85 with 24 seconds left. The Thunder were 2-for-11 from 3-point range in the first three quarters and 5-for- 8 in the fourth.

Kendrick Perkins had seven points and five rebounds in his first game back in Boston since the trade that sent him to Oklahoma City and broke up the starting lineup from the Celtics' 2008 NBA championship team.

Lakers 73, Mavericks 70

In Los Angeles, Derek Fisher hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds to play and the Lakers survived a dismal offensive game by both teams for a victory over Dallas, snapping the Mavs' five-game winning streak.

Vince Carter missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the defending champions, who swept Los Angeles out of the second round of the postseason last spring, ending the Lakers' bid for a three-peat.

Neither team looked much like a championship contender in their first meeting since, with 3? miserable offensive quarters before the exciting finish.

Fisher scored 13 points and led a 10-0 run midway through the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks rallied to tie it on Jason Terry's running jumper at the top of the key with 9.9 seconds left.

Kobe Bryant, whose streak of four straight 40-point games ended with just 14 with seven assists against the Mavs, drew the Dallas defense before passing to Fisher. The veteran point guard calmly drilled a long 3-pointer from the wing.

Carter's desperation try was far off, and the Lakers celebrated their ninth consecutive home victory since Christmas.

Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles, which has won six of seven overall despite barely scoring 70 points — the franchise low in the shot-clock era, set in November 2002.

76ers 94, Bucks 82

In Philadelphia, Jrue Holiday scored 24 points and Andre Iguodala had 21 to help the 76ers beat Milwaukee and remain unbeaten at home.

Magic 102, Knicks 93

In New York, Ryan Anderson scored a career-high 30 points, extending his NBA lead with seven 3-pointers, and Orlando completed a perfect four-game road trip.

Carmelo Anthony had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks.

Clippers 101, Nets 91

In Los Angeles, Blake Griffin had 23 points and 14 rebounds and the Clippers beat New Jersey without injured point guard Chris Paul after blowing an 18-point lead.

Grizzlies 102, Bulls 86

In Memphis, Rudy Gay scored 24 points and Mike Conley added 20 points and eight assists to help the Grizzlies end short-handed Chicago's five-game winning streak.

Rockets 114, Wizards 106

In Washington, Kevin Martin scored 25 points, Samuel Dalembert added 20 and Houston broke away in the third quarter to beat the Wizards.

John Wall scored a career-high 38 points on 13 of 22 shooting for Washington. He began the game making under 35 percent this season.

Cavaliers 102, Bobcats 94

In Charlotte, Kyrie Irving had 25 points and seven assists to lead Cleveland.

Trail Blazers 84, Hornets 77

In New Orleans, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points and Portland snapped a three-game skid.

Hawks 93, Raptors 84

In Atlanta, Josh Smith scored 28 points and pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds and Joe Johnson added 27 points to help the Hawks win their third straight game.

Timberwolves 99, Kings 86

In Minneapolis, Kevin Love had 33 points and 11 rebounds and Luke Ridnour added 25 points and nine assists to lead the hosts over Sacramento.

Forward Lawrence Blackledge has agreed to play for the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix after his release from the Osaka Evessa last week, the two-time defending bj-league champion announced on Monday. The Japan Times first reported the move in last Friday's editions.

Blackledge, a Marquette University product, is the league's second-leading shot-blocker (3.0 per game). He's averaging 9.4 points in 22 games (all starts).

The Phoenix are 14-10, one game behind the Eastern Conference coleaders, the Niigata Albirex BB and Akita Northern Happinets.

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Cole's late hot streak lifts Heat over Celtics

MIAMI — Norris Cole stepped to the foul line with 9.3 seconds left, set to clinch the game as cries of "M-V-P" rained down upon him from the sold-out stands.

Break on through: New Jersey's Kris Humphries tries to drive past Atlanta's Zaza Pachulia during the Hawks' 106-70 win on Tuesday. AP

No, this wasn't a scene from his days at Cleveland State.

Taking over in just his second NBA game — and with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all on the floor, no less — Cole scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, including three huge jumpers down the stretch to save the Heat in a 115-107 win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.

"You grow up and live for moments like that," Cole said.

James scored 26 points, Wade had 24 points, eight assists and four blocks, and Bosh scored 18 for the Heat, which led by 20 points midway through the third quarter before having its lead twice sliced to three points in the final minutes. And both times, Cole took passes from James and knocked down jumpers, keeping short-handed Boston at bay.

"He's got savvy," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Great pickup."

Ray Allen scored 28 points on 8-for-12 shooting for the Celtics, while Rajon Rondo finished with 22 points and 12 assists and Keyon Dooling scored 18 off the Boston bench.

Through two games, Miami (2-0) has trailed only once — by two points, for all of 14 seconds. Boston turned the ball over 24 times, and Miami turned those into 33 points.

"Any team you turn the ball over that much they're going to score on you," Allen said. "We just have to settle in on both ends of the floor. Whether you score or not, they're going to run down your throats."

Lakers 96, Jazz 71

In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 22 points and nine rebounds, and the Lakers avoided just the fourth 0-3 start in franchise history with a victory over Utah.

Metta World Peace scored 14 points for the Lakers, who had much more life than the Jazz despite playing their third game in three nights to open the season.

Los Angeles ran away with a dominant third quarter, making a 27-8 surge out of halftime in the club's first win for new coach Mike Brown.

Hawks 106, Nets 70

In Newark, New Jersey, Marvin Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks opened a double-digit lead early and cruised to a victory over the sluggish Nets in their final home opener in New Jersey.

Jeff Teague added 13 points, Joe Johnson had 11 and the Hawks got big games off the bench from Zaza Pachulia (13 points and 11 rebounds) and Vladimir Radmanovic (17 points) in finally opening the lockout-delayed season by embarrassing the Nets in a game in which the crowd was booing the Brooklyn-bound team by halftime.

Bucks 98, Timberwolves 95

In Milwaukee, rookie Jon Leuer converted a three-point play with 1:17 left, helping the Bucks hold off Minnesota in their home opener.

Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and Stephen Jackson added 16 for the Bucks, who were playing without forward Drew Gooden because of a suspension and several other key players because of injuries.

Blazers 101, Kings 79,

In Portland, Gerald Wallace had 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists, leading the Blazers to a victory over Sacramento.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers (2-0). Nicolas Batum added 15 points and five rebounds off the bench.

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Celtics edge Knicks for 2-0 lead in series

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics pulled out their first two playoff games with big finishes. They want to play much better from the start next time.

Luck of the Irish: Celtics forward Paul Pierce, left, and Knicks players Carmelo Anthony (7) and Toney Douglas chase a loose ball on Tuesday in Boston. The Celtics won Game 2 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series 96-93. AP

"We were lucky to win," coach Doc Rivers said after a 96-93 victory on Tuesday night over the depleted New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony's 42 points.

Kevin Garnett sank the go-ahead basket with 14 seconds left then stole the ball with 4 seconds remaining as the Knicks — without Amare Stoudemire for the second half and Chauncey Billups for the whole game — still gave the Celtics all they could handle.

"I probably (have) never been more proud of a team and how they battled the circumstances," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said, "how hard they played and how tough they played."

Billups had a strained left knee and his status for Game 3 on Friday night is uncertain. Stoudemire had back spasms but expects to be back when the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series resumes.

Anthony matched his career playoff high for points and set a new high with 17 rebounds as the Knicks held a 53-37 advantage on the boards. Toney Douglas had 14 points in place of Billups.

"The Celtics didn't do anything special," Anthony said. "They won two games on their home court. Now it's our turn to go to our home court and try to do the same thing."

Magic 88, Hawks 82

In Orlando, following their humbling Game 1 loss to Atlanta, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said that if his team cut down its turnovers and played better defense, he felt like everything would be fine in Game 2.

His team only fulfilled half of that equation Tuesday night, but it was still enough to earn a victory.

Dwight Howard had 33 points and 19 rebounds and Jameer Nelson added 13 points and eight rebounds to help the Magic hold off the Hawks.

"It's not anything I did — our guys did it," Van Gundy said when asked about the adjustments he made after Game 1. "You gotta get out and take the challenge. . . . Every game sort of takes on a life of its own and you just gotta do whatever it takes to get the win on that night."

Mavericks 101 Trailblazers 89

In Dallas, the Trail Blazers must have felt like they were in an NBA time warp. First they got beaten by Jason Kidd, now Kidd and Peja Stojakovic.

Even the Mavericks are feeling the retro mood. They're up 2-0 in a playoff series for the first time since 2006.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 33 points, but was practically a complementary player. He was at his best after the 30-something, former All-Stars built the lead, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter — including the team's final 11 — to help the Mavericks keep the Trail Blazers from ever making a serious push.

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James turns up heat on Celtics

MIAMI (AP) If this was an Eastern Conference semifinals preview, then the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics showed what to expect.

Few pleasantries. Pushing and shoving. And maybe a Game 7 in Miami.

LeBron James scored 27 points, Dwyane Wade added 14 and the Heat moved closer to the No. 2 seed in the East playoffs Sunday by beating the sliding Celtics 100-77.

"It was a playoff-atmosphere type of game, from the fans to both teams' approach to what the game meant," Wade said. "It had that feel."

Miami moved a game ahead of Boston, trimming its magic number to clinch the second seed to two. The teams will finish second and third in some order behind Chicago in the East, slotted to play in the conference semifinals.

"We'd like to play them, I can tell you that," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "And we may have to if we want to go somewhere."

Chris Bosh added 13 points and eight rebounds for Miami, which had been 0-3 against Boston this season, though Heat coach Erik Spoelstra cautioned against overstating the win's importance.

"We proved we can beat them tonight," Spoelstra said. "That's about it, in my mind."

Paul Pierce scored 24 points and Kevin Garnett added 21 for Boston, which lost for the 10th time in its last 19 games. The Celtics were outrebounded 42-26, and outscored 44-26 in the paint.

"What else do you expect? It's Boston-Miami," Garnett said. "Supposedly it's two of, if not the top two, teams in the East. You have to expect that. You have to expect that coming in here you're not going to get the call. You had to expect their passion — a team you have beaten three times."

The Heat finally solved the Boston hex, beating the Celtics for the third time in the last 21 meetings. Bosh had been 1-13 against Boston since March 2007, and the Celtics ended both the 2009-10 seasons for Wade and James.

Bulls 102, Magic 99

In Orlando, Derrick Rose had 39 points and five assists, and Luol Deng added 15 points.

Grizzlies 111, Hornets 89

In Memphis, O.J. Mayo scored 18 points, Marc Gasol added 16 and the Grizzlies continued their march to the postseason.

Pistons 112, Bobcats 101

In Charlotte, Rodney Stuckey scored 24 points, fellow reserve Charlie Villanueva added 20 and Detroit recovered from a terrible start.

Raptors 99, Nets 92

In Toronto, Jerryd Bayless scored 19 points and James Johnson had a season-high 18.

Thunder 120, Lakers 106

In Los Angeles, Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Russell Westbrook added 26 and Oklahoma City sent the Lakers to their fifth straight loss.

Knicks 110, Pacers 109

In Indianapolis, Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points, making the go-ahead jumper with 4.9 seconds left and blocking a potential winning attempt.

Mavericks 115, Suns 90

In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion led the Mavs over Phoenix, keeping alive hopes of snagging the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

Kings 104, Warriors 103

In Oakland, Calif., Marcus Thornton scored 21 points and made several big shots late.

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