Celtics remain perfect; Suns win
The Boston Celtics won one for Doc Rivers and sent the New Jersey Nets a message in the process.
Hours after attending the funeral of his father in Illinois, Rivers saw the new-look Celtics remain the NBA's only undefeated team and personally show the Nets they are the team to beat in the Atlantic Division with an impressive 112-101 win on Saturday night in East Rutherford, N.J.
"A long day for me. A tough day for me," said Rivers, clad in a dark suit and tie. "I was going to stay at home and my mom said, 'Go to the game.' That's what my dad would want. It's still very emotional. I needed this probably more than anybody. I told them that after the game."
The victory was the fifth straight for Boston, which is off to its best start since winning six in a row to start the 1987-88 season. That was the last time the trio of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish got to the Eastern Conference finals.
Boston's new big three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen put on another impressive performance against the Nets (4-2).
Pierce, who was scoreless in the first quarter, had 13 of his 28 in the third when Boston turned a 7-point halftime lead into a 21-point margin. Allen added 27 points, and Garnett had 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Rivers had told the team on Friday that he did not know whether he would return after attending the funeral of Grady Alexander Rivers Sr. in Maywood.
However, the coach walked into the locker room about 75 minutes before the game.
"It was a great boost of confidence," Pierce said. "It was a tough situation for him. He could have easily not come. It definitely brought my spirits up when I looked up and I saw him."
Garnett said having Rivers back gave the team a shot of energy.
"It was a great example," Garnett said. "Everybody perked up like little kids when their pops comes through the door. It was a cool moment."
Suns 106, Magic 96: Leandro Barbosa scored a career-high 39 points, and Phoenix withstood a 33-point, 18-rebound effort by Dwight Howard to beat host Orlando.
Grant Hill had 14 points and 8 rebounds in his Orlando return but couldn't quiet a hostile crowd soured on him since he signed with Phoenix. Hill was booed all night, an unusual experience for the popular all-star who spent seven years in Orlando but missed two-thirds of the games with several ankle injuries.
Nuggets 113, Pacers 106: Carmelo Anthony had 32 points and 10 rebounds to rally Denver past host Indiana.
Allen Iverson added 27 points and 10 assists, and Linas Kleiza scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Nuggets, who trailed by 25 in the first half.
Jazz 118, Grizzlies 94: Carlos Boozer scored 31 points, and Deron Williams had 20 points and 13 assists to lead host Utah over Memphis.
Andrei Kirilenko had 15 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists to fall just shy of his third career triple-double as the Jazz won its third game in a row.