Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and Chauncey Billups added 24 to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers 111-93 Tuesday for their best start in 24 years. Anthony, who was averaging 38 points, shot just 6-for-17 from the field but made 11 of 14 free throws. Nene added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Nuggets (4-0), who are off to their best start since the 1985-86 season. Former Denver guard Dahntay Jones led the Pacers with 20 points, and Danny Granger added 18 for Indiana (0-3). Celtics 105, 76ers 74: At Philadelphia, Paul Pierce scored 21 points and Rasheed Wallace had 20 as Boston remained unbeaten with a victory over Philadelphia. The Celtics are unbeaten in five games, even without the usual standout performances from Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Allen didn't score his first field goal until the third quarter and had five points. Garnett made just one basket on seven shots and scored three points when he was yanked with the game out of hand. Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 17 points. Philadelphia missed 15 of 16 3-point attempts. Cavaliers 102, Wizards 90: At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 27 points and Shaquille O'Neal added a season-high 21 while wearing out Washington's big men as Cleveland beat Washington for its third straight win. Mo Williams scored 15 and Daniel Gibson 14 for the Cavs, who made nine 3-pointers in the second half – four in the fourth quarter when James was out. Williams and Gibson were a combined 7-for-9 on 3s. Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas scored 22 apiece to lead the Wizards. Lakers 101, Thunder 98, OT: At Oklahoma, City, Kobe Bryant scored 31 points and hit the go-ahead jumper in overtime as the Los Angeles Lakers got tested in their first road game of the season, beating Oklahoma City. Bryant connected on a turnaround jumper from the left side with 2:29 to play to give the defending NBA champions a 99-97 lead and then hit two free throws with 18 seconds remaining to push the lead to three. Pistons 85, Magic 80: At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Ben Gordon scored 23 points and Rodney Stuckey added 20 as the short-handed Detroit handed Orlando its first loss of the season. Suns 104, Heat 96: At Miami, Steve Nash scored 30 points and added eight assists as Phoenix used a dominant fourth quarter to beat Miami in a matchup of NBA unbeaten teams. Amare Stoudemire finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds for Phoenix. Miami got 23 points from Dwyane Wade and 18 from Quentin Richardson. Mavericks 96, Jazz 85: At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored a club-record 29 of his 40 points during a frantic fourth-quarter comeback as Dallas beat Utah. Bulls 83, Bucks 81: At Chicago, Luol Deng scored 24 points while grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds as Chicago rallied from 18 down to beat Milwaukee. Hawks 97, Trail Blazers 91: At Portland, Oregon, Jamal Crawford scored 27 points off the bench as Atlanta outlasted Portland.
