Iverson's 51 not enough for Denver
Allen Iverson scored a season-high 51 points, but Kobe Bryant's 25 led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 111-107 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night in Denver.
Carmelo Anthony had 26 points and 8 rebounds and Marcus Camby had 20 rebounds for the Nuggets. Vladimir Radmanovic scored 21 points and Derek Fisher added 20 for the Lakers.
Iverson was held scoreless in the fourth until his layup with 3:15 left gave Denver a 102-99 lead. They were his only 2 points of the period.
Iverson, whose career high of 60 came against Orlando on Feb. 12, 2005, had 49 points through three quarters and was 17-for-23 from the field entering the fourth. He scored 16 of Denver's 30 points in the third, when the Nuggets took advantage of Bryant's foul trouble to tie the game at 88-88.
Celtics 113, Sixers 103: Paul Pierce had 19 points and 12 assists, Kevin Garnett scored 22 points and visiting Boston broke open a surprisingly tight game in the fourth quarter to beat Philadelphia.
Ray Allen added 12 points for Boston (15-2), but it was Eddie House and James Posey who sank the big 3-pointers that let the NBA-best Celtics remain undefeated in the Atlantic Division.
Wizards 105, Cavaliers 86: Caron Butler scored 27 points to lead host Washington past the Cleveland, which has lost four straight with LeBron James sidelined by a sprained left index finger.
Suns 136, Raptors 123: Leandro Barbosa scored 35 points, Canadian star Steve Nash had a season-high 18 assists and Phoenix set a season high in points in beating host Toronto.
Shawn Marion added 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Suns, who have won four straight and 12 of their past 14. Amare Stoudamire had 25 points and 6 rebounds.
Knicks 100, Nets 93: Jamal Crawford scored 29 points, Zach Randolph added 25, and visiting New York overcame the absences of Stephon Marbury and Eddy Curry to beat New Jersey.
Fred Jones and David Lee stepped into the lineup and finished in double figures, helping New York beat its cross-river rival for the second time in the last 12 regular-season meetings.
Pistons 91, Hornets 76: Richard Hamilton scored 21 points to help visiting Detroit win its fifth straight. As has often been the case during the streak, the Pistons received balanced scoring, help from the bench and rebounded well. Unlike the other games, though, Detroit trailed New Orleans by double-digits early and had to come back.
Rockets 105, Grizzlies 92: Tracy McGrady finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his third-career triple-double, and Yao Ming added 24 points and 13 rebounds to help host Houston beat Memphis.
Spurs 97, Mavericks 95: Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 37 points to help San Antonio overcome the absence of Tim Duncan and beat visiting Dallas.
Tony Parker added 23 points for the Spurs, who lost almost all of an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.