Ray Allen scored 29 points to lead the reigning National Basketball Association champion Boston Celtics past Houston 103-99 here on Tuesday, handing the Rockets their first loss of the season.
Allen, who went 11-of-15 from the field, scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to thwart a last-minute comeback bid by Houston, which missed a chance for a 4-0 start for the first time since 1996.
Boston center Kendrick Perkins scored 15 points and Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who rose to 3-1.
Yao was defending Ray Allen of NBA's champinon Boston Celtics. (Osports.cn photo)Tracy McGrady, who led the Rockets with 26 points, had a chance to pull Houston within a point with 10 seconds remaining but missed a free throw and the Celtics hung on for the triumph.
Luis Scola added 21 points for Houston, which also had 15 points from Ron Artest plus eight points and seven rebounds from center Yao Ming, a Chinese superstar who struggled with 4-for-14 shooting from the field.
In San Antonio, Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points and grabbed seven rebounds to spark the Dallas Mavericks past winless San Antonio 98-81 on Tuesday, dumping the Spurs to their worst start since 1973.
Jason Terry added 29 points and six assists for the Mavericks, who improved to 2-2, while Josh Howard contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds for Dallas.
German star Nowitzki helped ignite a 24-9 Dallas run late in the second quarter that gave the Mavericks a 54-36 half-time lead and enough points to comfortably hold off a late charge by the Spurs.
San Antonio trimmed the deficit to 80-73 on two free throws by rookie George Hill with 7:29 remaining but Dallas answered by scoring the next eight points to seize command for good.
French guard Tony Parker led the Spurs with 22 points while Tim Duncan added 19 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for San Antonio.
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Raja Bell scored 22 points and Shaquille O'Neal added 18 to spark the hot-shooting Phoenix Suns past New Jersey 114-86 on Tuesday.
The Suns went 43-of-68 from the field, hitting 63 percent for the game and 77 percent of their first-half shots to blister the Nets. Bell went 7-of-9 from the field, including 6-of-6 in 3-point shots.
Amare Stoudemire added 14 points for the Suns while Canada's Steve Nash and Leandro Barbosa each added 12 for Phoenix, which went 12-of-18 in 3-pointers. Nash added 11 assists.
Vince Carter scored 19 points to lead the Nets, who also had 15 points from Chinese star Yi Jianlian.
The Suns seized a 92-77 lead after three quarters and sizzled in the fourth, outscoring New Jersey 22-9 to end any hopes of a rally.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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