Boston ? LeBron James might be the most crowd-pleasing player ever.

He goes into opponents’ buildings, sells them out, and loses.

James remained winless on the road as a pro after Paul Pierce scored 19 points to help the Boston Celtics beat the Cavaliers, 91-82, Friday night. It was Cleveland’s sixth loss in as many road games this year — five of them sellouts — and its 27th in a row overall.

“It’s not wearing on me yet. It’s a long season,” said James, the high school phenom who was the first overall pick in the NBA draft. “I don’t like it, of course. I’m a winner. But it can’t start wearing on me this soon.”

Vin Baker had 13 points with 11 rebounds for Boston, which had its second sellout of the season, its first since opening night. The 17,624 will be able to say they saw James’ Boston debut, but they won’t have much else to say about it.

James scored just 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting in his first regular-season game at the home of the NBA’s most successful franchise. He hit a three-pointer early in the fourth period to cut Boston’s lead to eight points, but he missed two jumpers — one of them wide open — late in the quarter as the Cavs fought to trim the Celtics’ double-digit lead.

“He brings a sold-out crowd, like Jordan did his last year,” Pierce said. “He’s going to pretty much sell out every arena. It’s good for the NBA, it’s a fresh face.”

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 22 points on 7-for-9 shooting — the only Cavaliers player to shoot better than 50 percent as Cleveland made just 27 of 77 shots from the floor (35 percent).

The Celtics placed Raef LaFrentz on the injured list Friday with right knee tendinitis. He could return Nov. 26.

Cleveland's LeBron James, center, shoots between Boston's Eric Williams, left, and Paul Pierce. The Celtics defeated the Cavaliers, 91-82, Friday night in Boston.

Pacers 101, Sonics 78

Indianapolis — Jeff Foster had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Ron Artest shut down Rashard Lewis, leading Indiana over Seattle. Foster’s previous career-high of 17 came exactly two years earlier against Boston. His willingness to run the floor and hustle down rebounds created easy scoring opportunities for the Pacers as they handed Seattle its second loss of the season.

Foster was one of six Indiana players to score in double figures. Artest and Jermaine O’Neal scored 16 apiece, with Al Harrington adding 13 off the bench.

Jazz 85, T’wolves 77

Minneapolis — Carlos Arroyo scored a career-high 30 points to lead Utah to its first road win this season. Arroyo’s previous high was 18 points in Utah’s season opener against Portland. He tied that mark by halftime with a mix of short- and medium-range jumpers and a few nice drives to the basket. Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 23 points and 14 rebounds, but the Timberwolves never overcame their slow start and finished 29-for-74 from the floor.

Heat 105, Wizards 101

Miami — Eddie Jones scored 27 points and reached a three-point milestone as Miami won its second game in a row Jones became the 24th player in NBA history with 1,000 career three-pointers. He finished with four threes, giving him 1,002 for his career and tying him with Danny Ainge for 23rd on the career list. After starting the season 0-7, the Heat have won back-to-back games for the first time since last December.

Lakers 94, Pistons 89

Los Angeles — Shaquille O’Neal scored 21 points, including a pair of clutch free throws late in the game, and added 15 rebounds and eight assists to lead Los Angeles past Detroit. Gary Payton also had 21 points, and Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone scored 16 each. Malone, playing despite a sore left hamstring, also had nine rebounds.

The victory was the Lakers’ 19th in a row at home stretching back to last February, their longest such streak since they won 24 straight on their court during the 1987-88 to 1988-89 seasons.

Clippers 104, Warriors 98

Oakland, Calif. — Chris Wilcox scored a career-high 21 points to go with nine rebounds and Los Angeles won its third straight game. Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. won the first official father-son NBA matchup in 27 years. His son, second-year Warriors forward, Mike Jr., faced his dad twice during the preseason. Quentin Richardson added 19 points.

Nuggets 106, Magic 101

Denver — Earl Boykins and Andre Miller each scored 27 points, and Denver withstood 51 points from Tracy McGrady to hand Orlando its eighth straight loss. Boykins had 11 points in the fourth quarter and Miller added eight to help the Nuggets offset 19 points by McGrady in the period. McGrady was 20-for-30, including 8-of-11 from three-point range. Nuggets rookie Carmelo Anthony had17 points and 14 rebounds.

Kings 94, Raptors 64

Sacramento, Calif. — Peja Stojakovic scored 17 points and Darius Songaila had 14 points and seven rebounds in Sacramento’s 11th straight home victory. Brad Miller had 10 points and 12 rebounds while tying his career high with four blocked shots against the punchless Raptors, who didn’t even come close to reaching their league-low average of 76 points per game.

Sacramento took control with a 25-8 run in the third quarter, fast-breaking past the Raptors for easy baskets. Stojakovic scored eight points in the rally as the Kings won their 21st straight home game against Eastern Conference opponents.

Vince Carter scored 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting for Toronto, which lost its sixth straight in Sacramento and remained winless on the road this season. The Raptors lost their ninth straight road game dating to last spring.

Nets 85, Knicks 80

East Rutherford, N.J. — Jason Kidd scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and New Jersey defeated New York. Kidd had 10 assists, and Kenyon Martin added 21 points and 10 rebounds as the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions snapped a two-game losing streak and three-game losing streak at home by handing the Knicks their third straight loss.

Kerry Kittles added 15 points, including a late three-pointer that helped break things open. Kidd played 36 minutes, with rookie Zoran Planinic getting the extra playing time and scoring nine points.

Allan Houston almost single-handedly kept the Knicks in the game in the second half, scoring 20 of his 31 points. Kurt Thomas added 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Keith Van Horn had nine points and 11 rebounds against one of his former teams.

Kidd, who has been averaging more than 41 minutes, got the Nets going early in the fourth quarter after Clarence Weatherspoon slammed home a dunk off a baseline drive and added two free throws to give New York its final lead, 63-60.

Kidd tied the game with a second-chance three-pointer, then fed Martin for pick-and-roll layups. Two free throws by Jefferson stretched the lead to 71-63 before the Knicks drew to 74-73 on a three-pointer by Howard Eisley, who had nine points and six assists in his first start of the season.

76ers 100, Spurs 96

Philadelphia — Allen Iverson scored 15 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and had 12 assists, leading Philadelphia past San Antonio. Mark Jackson scored 16 and Aaron McKie added 14 for Philadelphia, which won its second straight despite missing its starting frontcourt.

Tim Duncan had 35 points and 15 rebounds, Manu Ginobili scored 21 and Tony Parker had 19 for San Antonio. The NBA champions had won two straight since Duncan and Parker returned from ankle injuries.

The Sixers were without forwards Kenny Thomas (back) and Glenn Robinson (ankle) and center Derrick Coleman (knee). They didn’t need them as Iverson took control down the stretch.

Rockets 90, Suns 85

Houston — Steve Francis had 26 points and Yao Ming had 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead Houston to its fourth consecutive victory over Phoenix. Yao missed two free throws with 43 seconds left, but then hit two with 30 seconds to play. Francis added two foul shots with 22 seconds remaining and two more with 10 seconds left to clinch it.

The Rockets are in first place in the Midwest Division, the first time they’ve been there after five or more games since Dec. 21, 1997.

Stephon Marbury led the Suns with 33 points, 22 in the first half. Amare Stoudamire had 18 points and a season-high five blocks.

Joe Johnson’s three-pointer gave the Suns a 65-64 lead after three quarters. Bostjan Nachbar had five quick points to lift the Rockets into a 69-69 tie, and a 6-0 run gave Houston a lead it would not relinquish.

Marbury scored nine of the Suns’ first 11 points of the second quarter as Phoenix took a 32-31 lead. Behind eight points from Stoudamire the rest of the quarter, Phoenix led by as many as eight.