The Cleveland Cavaliers are making franchise history, but they aren’t making up any ground on the Boston Celtics.
The Cavaliers matched a club record Friday night with their 11th straight win, 88-72 over the Philadelphia 76ers. Cleveland (20-3) is 19-1 since starting the season 1-2 and can set a record for consecutive wins in Atlanta on Saturday.
“We’re rolling,” LeBron James said.
Not as much as the Celtics.
Paul Pierce scored 28 points and Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Boston to its 14th consecutive victory, 94-82 over the New Orleans Hornets.
The Celtics extended the best start in franchise history to 22-2 and are on their longest winning streak since they won a franchise-record 18 in a row in 1981-82.
“It all goes out the window if we don’t win the championship,” Pierce said.
103.
At Boston, the defending NBA champions took the lead with a 17-4 run early in the third quarter and never trailed again. Kendrick Perkins had nine points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Celtics held a brief ceremony before the game to award the Hornets’ James Posey with the championship ring he won with Boston last season.
Chris Paul had 20 points and 14 assists for the Hornets, while David West had 23 points and 14 rebounds. Posey scored seven points with seven rebounds.
“Pose is a big loss, I’m glad we’ve got him. But we felt like we could have got this one,” Paul said. “I’ll tell you right now that I’m not about any moral victory. We played hard. You win or you lose, and we lost.”
Even the Cavaliers did when they played the Celtics. But Cleveland has only lost once since that game on opening night, and not at all at home.
James scored 28 points and Anderson Varejao added 17 in his first start this season Friday as the Cavaliers improved to 13-0 at home. They were without starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who sprained his left ankle Wednesday in Philadelphia, and reserve guard Daniel Gibson, who is nursing a sprained toe.
“We should be proud of this,” James said. “But there’s a lot of work still to do. It’s a long season. We have to continue get better and continue to work.”
Brand 11 and 11 rebounds in his second game back after sitting two with a sore hamstring. But the Cavs held the Sixers to 47 points over the final three quarters.
“They’re a good basketball team,” Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. “They keep pushing the ball and they keep coming.”
Rockets 119, Warriors 108
At Oakland, Calif., Tracy McGrady had 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists after missing seven games with soreness in his left knee.
Yao Ming added 19 points and 14 rebounds as the Rockets improved to 15-8, their best record after 23 games since the 1996-97 team started 21-2.
Andris Biedrins had 18 points and 12 rebounds in his ninth double-double in 10 home games for the Warriors, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Clippers 120, Trail Blazers 112, 2OT
At Portland, Ore., Zach Randolph scored a season-high 38 points against his former team and added 11 rebounds.
Baron Davis scored 27 points for the Clippers and made a 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime. Brandon Roy scored a career-high 38 points, but the Blazers dropped their third straight game. Rookie Greg Oden had 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Lakers 112, Kings 103
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 32 points, Pau Gasol had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the Lakers avenged a loss to Sacramento earlier in the week.
and Francisco Garcia had 13.
Suns 113, Magic 112
At Phoenix, Grant Hill made a reverse layup with 2.7 seconds left as the Suns snapped the Magic’s four-game winning streak. Jason Richardson scored 21 points in his Phoenix debut, Amare Stoudemire also scored 21 and Steve Nash had 21 points and 10 assists.
Dwight Howard scored 19 points in 22 minutes for Orlando before leaving with a sore knee.
Hawks 87, Heat 73
At Miami, Joe Johnson scored 21 points, Mike Bibby and Josh Smith each added 15 and Atlanta overcame a terrible start. Dwyane Wade had 21 points and eight rebounds for Miami, which lost for the first time in five games.
Grizzlies 103, Bulls 96
At Memphis, Tenn., Rudy Gay scored 29 points and Hakim Warrick added 21, both matching their season highs, giving the Grizzlies their first three-game winning streak under Marc Iavaroni.
Chicago’s Derrick Rose finished with 12 points and a season-high 11 assists.
Pistons 114, Pacers 110
At Auburn Hills, Mich., Richard Hamilton scored 28 points and Allen Iverson had 17 points and 12 assists as Detroit won for just the second time in six games.
Indiana got a career-high 42 points from Danny Granger.
Spurs 98, Timberwolves 86
At Minneapolis, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan each scored 17 points in the Spurs’ fifth consecutive victory.
Al Jefferson had 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost eight in a row and three straight since Kevin McHale took over as coach on Monday.
Raptors 101, Nets 79
At East Rutherford, N.J., Chris Bosh scored 18 points and Toronto capitalized on Vince Carter’s 0-for-13 night to win its second straight under interim coach Jay Triano.
Yi Jianlian and Devin Harris led the Nets with 14 apiece.
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