Allen Iverson made himself at home in a corner stall in the Detroit Pistons’ locker room, laughing out loud at “Sanford and Son” on a portable TV monitor.
“That is crazy!” Iverson said.
A little later, he was welcomed to the Motor City with a standing ovation so loud that the public-address announcer couldn’t be heard.
Then, the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics spoiled everything Sunday night in Iverson’s home debut, beating the Pistons 88-76.
Iverson soaked in the thundering ovation.
“That’s all you want when you get traded,” said Iverson, acquired from Denver last Monday in a deal that sent Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb to the Nuggets. “You want to get that initial feeling of how they embrace and accept you.”
Iverson scored 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting and had four assists and four turnovers. On Friday night in his first game with the Pistons, he had 24 points and six assists in a 103-96 loss at New Jersey.
Memphis 90; Sacramento 115, Golden State 98; and Toronto 89, Charlotte 79.
In Auburn Hills, Mich., Tony Allen scored 12 of his 23 points in the second quarter for Boston. Using four backups, the Celtics outscored the Pistons 30-10 in the period.
“That’s our job,” Allen said. “If we don’t come in and give the team a lift, we aren’t doing what we are supposed to do.”
The defending champions didn’t have any trouble keeping their big cushion in a rematch of the Eastern Conference finals.
“Our bench has been phenomenal,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “We’ve started out slow in three or four games, but the energy of the bench has been tremendous. There isn’t one guy that carries them.”
Tayshaun Prince led Detroit with 23 points and eight rebounds.
Lakers 111, Rockets 82
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 23 points, Pau Gasol added 20 points and 15 rebounds and the Lakers beat Houston to improve to 5-0.
Jordan Farmar had 16 points and six assists, Andrew Bynum added 13 points and seven rebounds and the Lakers shot 65.8 percent in the second half. Los Angeles has won its five games by an average of 22.4 points.
Aaron Brooks led Houston with 20 points.
Hawks 89, Thunder 85
At Oklahoma City, Joe Johnson scored 25 points to help Atlanta improve to 5-0, the Hawks’ best start since they were 11-0 in 1997-98.
Murray had 14. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 20 points.
Clippers 103, Mavericks 92
At Los Angeles, Baron Davis had 22 points and 10 assists, Al Thornton had 17 points and the Clippers snapped a season-opening six-game losing streak.
Marcus Camby had 14 rebounds and 10 points for the Clippers. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 33 points and seven rebounds.
Knicks 107, Jazz 99
At New York, Jamal Crawford scored 32 points, and the Knicks (4-2) moved two games over .500 for the first time since they were 16-14 on Jan. 1, 2005.
Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 17 rebounds for Utah (5-1).
Nuggets 100, Grizzlies 90
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points, Chauncey Billups had 16 points and 10 assists, and Nene added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Rookie guard O.J. Mayo scored a season-high 31 points and had eight rebounds for Memphis, but he had only five points in the second half.
Kings 115, Warriors 98
At Sacramento, Calif., Kevin Martin scored 27 points to lead the Kings to their third straight home victory after an 0-4 start on the road.
Andris Biedrins had 16 points and 18 rebounds for Golden State.
Raptors 89, Bobcats 79
At Charlotte, N.C., Chris Bosh had 30 points and 15 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani added 18 points to help Toronto snap a two-game losing streak.
Bobcats rookie D.J. Augustin scored 11 of his 14 points in the second quarter.
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