INDIANAPOLIS -- Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and Chauncey Billups added 24 to help Denver beat the Indiana Pacers 111-93 on Tuesday night, lifting the Nuggets to 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).
Pacers forward Troy Murphy bruised his lower back when he fell hard to the floor in the first quarter and did not return. He was second in the league in rebounding and third in 3-point percentage last season.
Indiana has lost all its games by double digits.
Denver made 8 of 15 3-pointers on Tuesday while Indiana made just 3 of 22.
The Nuggets led 30-13 at the end of the first quarter, even though Anthony shot 1 for 7. The Nuggets led 55-39 at halftime. Full story
Cavaliers 102, Wizards 90
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 27 points, Shaquille O'Neal added a season-high 21 while wearing out Washington's big men and Cleveland won its third in a row.
The Cavs trailed by 18 in the second quarter before turning up their defense and relying on their superstar combo of James and O'Neal to win their sixth straight at home over the Wizards.
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.
Hawks 97, Trail Blazers 91
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Jamal Crawford scored 27 points off the bench and Atlanta outlasted Portland.
Al Horford's dunk with 56.6 seconds left made it 95-89 and all but sealed it for the Hawks. Horford finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
LaMarcus Aldridge, who was questionable going into the game with a knee injury, led the Blazers with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Horford's dunk on a fast break put the Hawks up 86-80 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. He momentarily stood underneath the basket, staring down the Rose Garden crowd in defiance after Portland led by as many as 12 points in the first half.
Celtics 105, 76ers 74
PHILADELPHIA -- Rasheed Wallace keeps making his hometown his stomping ground.
Boston's top reserve didn't stop having fun just because it was time to play. Wallace hit six 3-pointers as part of a 20-point effort and the Celtics remained unbeaten.
Wallace, who wore a black Phillies jacket to the game, easily had his best game in his short stint with the Celtics. He pretty much caught the ball, let it rip and watched it sink through the net. Wallace made 6 of 8 3-pointers and sank each long attempt about as easily as a layup in the paint.
Wallace was about the only Celtic who had his normal night, even getting whistled for a technical foul for arguing with the refs in the third quarter. His fuse burst late in the quarter when he appeared to be fouled on a shot. The ref called a foul, he just didn't call it a shooting foul and denied Wallace a trip to the free-throw line.
Bulls 83, Bucks 81
CHICAGO -- Luol Deng scored 24 points while grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds, and Chicago rallied from 18 down.
The Bucks had a chance to win it after Joakim Noah missed two free throws, but Ersan Ilyasova missed a 3-pointer, the ball landing out of bounds with 1.8 seconds left.
Derrick Rose scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls rebounded from back-to-back losses with a wild win. His dunk on a backdoor cut bumped the Bulls' lead to 82-75 with 1:28 left, but he also committed a costly turnover in the final minute, when Brandon Jennings picked off a pass and pulled up for a jumper that made it 82-81 with 22 seconds left.
Chicago's Brad Miller then hit the second free throw after missing the first. Noah blocked Jennings but missed both free throws with 13.7 seconds left, keeping the Bucks within two. But they couldn't capitalize.
