Boston — When the Philadelphia 76ers last visited Boston, they were ushered out of the playoffs by the hot-shooting tandem of Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker.
The Celtics have changed, but the result was the same Wednesday night.
Walker scored 20 points to lead six Celtics in double digits, and Boston survived Pierce's bad shooting to beat Philadelphia 91-81 for its sixth straight victory. Walker and Pierce had two points each in the fourth quarter, when the bench pitched in to preserve the victory.
"I'm going to have games like this," said Pierce, who shot 4-of-20. "If those guys come to play, it's a weight off my shoulders."
Pierce scored 13, but two of his baskets were key, including a 3-pointer to start the 13-0 run that turned a six-point third-quarter deficit into a 72-65 fourth-quarter lead. He also hit a fadeaway jumper after the Sixers had cut an 11-point deficit to seven with 2:01 left.
But the Celtics also got nine points in the fourth from Walter McCarty and six from Vin Baker. The starters scored a total of just eight points in the final quarter.
"All any team needs when it has one of its stars struggling like Paul was, you need other guys to step up," said Sixers guard Allen Iverson, who scored 25. "An all-around team effort like that is tough to beat."
Eric Snow had 13 assists for the Sixers, who are still looking for their first road win of the season. They're are 4-0 at home and 0-3 on the road.
"It was surprising to see things slip away like that," said Iverson, who went 3-for-6 from 3-point range after missing his first 19 this season. "It was tied at 65 at the end of three, and then things went bad in the fourth."
The game matched two teams that met in the first round of the playoffs last year, when Boston beat Philadelphia 3-2 in the best-of-5 series. But a handful of players on each roster weren't around when the cities rekindled their rivalry from the 1980s.
Boston forward Paul Pierce, left, drives to the hoop as Philadelphia's Todd MacCulloch (11) provides resistance on Wednesday night. The Celtics won, 91-81. Pierce played college ball at Kansas.
"It would be great if we could get it back to what it used to be," Iverson said. "I'd be thrilled to be a part of it, and it would be something I'd cherish."
Philadelphia led 65-59 with two minutes left in the third before Boston scored the next 13 points to take the lead for good.
Pierce hit a 3-pointer, McCarty hit one of two free throws and Eric Williams made a pair to tie it at 65-all. Pierce made a nice drive to the basket to put in a layup with 0.2 seconds left in the third, but he was called for an offensive foul, and the game remained tied heading into the fourth.
Mavs 103, Cavaliers 99
Cleveland - Dirk Nowitzki scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, helping Dallas remain the NBA's only unbeaten team and improve to 8-0. Michael Finley scored a season-high 26 points and Walt Williams and Steve Nash had 14 apiece for the Mavericks, who overcame a career-high 34 points by Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a dunk by Cavs guard Ricky Davis on which he jumped over Nash.
Dallas rallied from a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to extend the best start in franchise history.
Jumaine Jones had 23 points for the Cavs, who dropped their fifth straight since their home opener when they stunned the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.
Nowitzki made two free throws with 4:14 left to put Dallas ahead 89-87. Davis, who was kept out of the starting lineup while being disciplined by coach John Lucas, then hit a runner in the lane to tie it, and made a steal on Dallas' next possession.
As he approached the basket, the 6-foot-7 Davis took off in the middle of the lane and soared over the 6-foot-3 Nash's head before slamming the ball in to give the Cavs a 91-89 lead.
Davis, the Cavs' leading scorer, didn't start for the first time as punishment for an on-court squabble with teammate Bimbo Coles and Lucas during Tuesday night's loss at Indiana. Lucas benched Davis for all but six minutes against the Pacers.
Nets 91, Spurs 82
East Rutherford, N.J. - Lucious Harris broke open a close game by hitting his first three shots of the fourth quarter. Richard Jefferson added a career-high 27 points and Jason Kidd had 18 as the Nets remained perfect at home, winning their fifth straight.
Tim Duncan had 21 points, Stephen Jackson added a season-high 20 and David Robinson had 14 rebounds for the Spurs.
The difference in the game was Harris. The backup shooting guard scored 12 of his 15 points in the final 12 minutes to break open a game in which neither team led by more than seven points in the first three quarters.
Hornets 102, Wolves 98
New Orleans - Courtney Alexander scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as the New Orleans Hornets preserved their perfect home record.
Alexander hit all 10 of his free throws, eight of them in the final period. He also made a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 94 with just more than two minutes left.
Jamal Mashburn had 25 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, now 5-0 in its new home. Baron Davis scored 15, and P.J. Brown had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Kevin Garnett and reserve Rod Strickland led Minnesota with 16 points each. Troy Hudson added 14.
Bucks 108, Bulls 101
Milwaukee - Michael Redd scored a season-high 24 points and the Milwaukee Bucks blew a 25-point lead before rallying in the fourth quarter.
Ray Allen had 19 and Kevin Ollie added a season-high 14 to give Milwaukee its ninth straight victory against the Bulls at the Bradley Center.
Jalen Rose had 24 for Chicago, rookie Jay Williams added 20 and Donyell Marshall scored 19 and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Kings 104, Warriors 93
Oakland, Calif.- Chris Webber had 33 points, seven rebounds and two technical fouls.
Bobby Jackson had 17 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds :quot; just missing his second career triple-double. Peja Stojakovic and Vlade Divac had 17 points apiece.
Webber got two technical fouls in the second half :quot; the second for hanging on the rim after a ferocious dunk. He didn't get thrown out because of a new NBA rule that says certain types of technicals don't mandate ejections.
Suns 75, Nuggets 72
Denver - Stephon Marbury scored 19 points, including 10 in the pivotal third quarter.
Shawn Marion added 14 points and nine rebounds for Phoenix, which won its third straight. Juwan Howard led Denver with 19 points. Nene Hilario had 14 points.
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