Ray Allen added 19 points and Rajon Rondo had 11 rebounds and 12 assists to go with five points to help Boston improve their record against Western Conference teams to 16-0.

"It was a great effort," Pierce said. "We played with a lot of intensity, and that's what it's going to take to beat these elite teams."

Tim Duncan had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Manu Ginobili scored 21 for San Antonio, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.

The Spurs trailed by three points with one minute 13 seconds to play, but Michael Finley missed a three-pointer and Boston outscored San Antonio 8-3 for the remainder of the game.

ADVERTISEMENT

"Too many bad plays down the stretch," Duncan said. "A great shot by Mike that rattles in and out, and something like two turnovers in a row." Kobe Bryant scored 33 points as the Los Angeles Lakers spoiled Shawn Marion's Miami Heat debut with a 104-94 road win. The loss was the seventh in a row and 22nd in 23 games for the Heat. Marion had 15 points and 14 rebounds in his first game since joining Miami from the Phoenix Suns in a trade for Shaquille O'Neal. The New Jersey Nets scored 21 unanswered points and shocked the Dallas Mavericks 101-82 behind Vince Carter's 29 points. The Nets turned a 40-34 deficit into a 55-40 lead with the big run in the second and third quarters. The Mavericks made only 36.5 percent of their shots with Dirk Nowitzki hitting four of 16 in a 21-point performance. Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points and Allen Iverson had 25 points and 13 assists as the Denver Nuggets pounded the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-83, despite 30 points by LeBron James. Tayshaun Prince connected on five three-pointers and scored 21 points to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 113-87 romp past the Charlotte Bobcats. Andrea Bargnani had 16 points and Jose Calderon contributed 15 points and 10 assists in the Toronto Raptors' 105-82 road win over Minnesota. Amare Stoudemire had 31 points, including two game-clinching free throws with 7.5 seconds to play, and the Phoenix Suns handed the Washington Wizards a 108-107 loss.

AGENCIES