Boston ? John Carroll really enjoyed his first game as an NBA head coach. Imagine how he’ll feel when his team actually wins.

The Detroit Pistons beat Boston, 106-103, Wednesday night despite squandering a 14-point second-half lead.

The game came one day after Jim O’Brien’s surprising resignation as coach of the Celtics.

“It was one of the most enjoyable nights I’ve had as a basketball coach,” Carroll said. “I’m really extremely proud of how hard they played for me.”

Boston had a good chance to win after overcoming a 68-54 deficit and taking a 93-90 lead with 2:56 left. But Detroit hit 11 of 12 free throws after that, with Ben Wallace, who entered the game having made 51 percent of his shots from the line, going 4-for-4 down the stretch.

“Ben Wallace has worked at his free-throw shooting,” Carroll said. “Just when you least expect something, something pops up, and you’ve got to deal with it.”

That’s what happened to the Celtics Tuesday when O’Brien resigned and Carroll, in his seventh season as a Boston assistant, was named interim coach. Danny Ainge, Boston’s executive director of basketball operations, cited philosophical differences between him and O’Brien as the reason for O’Brien’s resignation.

“We knew that those guys were going to come out hard (and) play very hard for their new coach,” Detroit guard Chauncey Billups said. “We continued to play aggressive.”

Billups scored eight of his 21 points in the final five minutes, and Mehmet Okur also had 21. Wallace added 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Detroit's Ben Wallace (3) blocks a shot by Boston's Mark Blount (30) as the Pistons' Tayshaun Prince (22) looks on. The Pistons defeated the Celtics, 106-103, Wednesday night in Boston.

Boston was led by Paul Pierce with 26 points and Jiri Welsch with 19.

“This was a tough game to coach because one of the better guys in the league got fired, or left,” Detroit coach Larry Brown said.

Kings 99, Rockets 94

Houston — Mike Bibby equaled a season high with 28 points as Sacramento, after trailing for most of the game, rallied past Houston. A record crowd of 18,209 saw the game, including Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly and Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb — both in town for the Super Bowl.

Sacramento led only once in the first half, 18-17, and trailed until Bibby fed Darius Songaila for a reverse layup and a 77-76 lead with 8:39 left.

Nuggets 115, Bulls 99

Denver — Marcus Camby grabbed a career-high 24 rebounds, and Carmelo Anthony added 21 points and seven rebounds, helping Denver snap a season-long three-game losing streak. It was the 45th time in 48 games that Anthony has scored in double figures. Camby’s rebounds were seven short of the franchise record held by Dikembe Mutombo.

Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik had guaranteed a win after Monday’s loss to Minnesota.

Jazz 91, Mavericks 88

Salt Lake City — Raja Bell made two free throws with 12.3 seconds left and finished with 18 points against his former team to help Utah beat Dallas.

Andrei Kirilenko had 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in his second game after missing four with a sprained ankle. The Jazz rallied from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Dallas for the second time in three games this season.

Michael Ruffin and Greg Ostertag each pulled down 11 rebounds as Utah dominated the boards 45-24.

Hornets 101, Bucks 100

New Orleans — Jamal Mashburn made his first game of the season one to remember, scoring New Orleans’ final 13 points as the Hornets pulled out a victory over Milwaukee. Mashburn, returning from minor knee surgery, started slowly but was 8-for-10 in the second half and finished with 24 points.

Baron Davis, back after three games out with a sprained left ankle, scored 23 points, including four three-pointers, as New Orleans won its third straight and snapped the Bucks’ three-game winning streak.

Blazers 88, Grizzlies 76

Memphis, Tenn. — The longest winning streak in Grizzlies history ended at eight games as Zach Randolph had 21 points and nine rebounds in Portland’s victory over Memphis. Rasheed Wallace added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Portland, which has won the first two games on a three-game road trip.

Portland’s physical inside defense affected Memphis leading scorer Pau Gasol, who was held to 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting.

Lakers 96, Sonics 82

Los Angeles — Gary Payton had 24 points against his former team, and Shaquille O’Neal and Rick Fox returned to action as Los Angeles beat Seattle. The Lakers won despite Ray Allen’s third career triple-double and first this season. Allen had 22 points and season-high totals of 10 rebounds and 10 assists. O’Neal missed 12 games because of a strained right calf, and Fox was playing for the first time since tearing a tendon in his left foot nine months ago. O’Neal had seven points and five rebounds in 18 minutes, and Fox scored two points in eight minutes.

Warriors 97, T’wolves 90

Oakland, Calif. — Erick Dampier recorded his 23rd double-double with 21 points and 19 rebounds, and Golden State spoiled Kevin Garnett’s triple-double and snapped Minnesota’s five-game winning streak. Garnett had 20 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists.

Raptors 94, 76ers 84

Toronto — Donyell Marshall had 19 points and 10 rebounds as Toronto ended a five-game losing streak. Allen Iverson, the NBA’s leading scorer, missed his second straight game because of sprained right index finger. Philadelphia has lost four straight and six of seven, falling to 19-27.

Magic 104, Wizards 100

Washington — Tracy McGrady had 39 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead Orlando over Washington. McGrady started the game with a four-point play and followed with a three-point play, a three-pointer and a layup en route to 18 first-quarter points.

Cavaliers 94, Heat 93

Cleveland — Ira Newble blocked Dwyane Wade’s shot in the final second, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 30 points on 14-for-16 shooting as Cleveland defeated Miami. Wade, returning to the lineup after missing 13 games with a sprained wrist, had his short shot swatted away by Newble as Cleveland improved to 17-28.

Pacers 101, Suns 79

Indianapolis — Al Harrington had 24 points and six rebounds to help Indiana avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season. The Pacers broke the game open with a 14-2 run in the first four minutes of the second half to take a 66-46 lead.