Indianapolis ? Hammered during the last four days for their involvement in an ugly brawl with Detroit fans, the Indiana Pacers and their fans finally have something to feel good about.

Jamaal Tinsley scored 29 points, and James Jones had a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pacers to a 106-96 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

It was the Pacers’ second game without Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson and first since the team learned of the harsh punishment handed down by the NBA on Sunday.

Artest was banned for the season, Jackson for 30 games and O’Neal for 25 for fighting with fans in Friday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons.

Against the Celtics, a ragtag group of role players and journeymen fed off a raucous home crowd to pull out an improbable victory.

“Our heart is a little sore with our three best players not with us,” said Fred Jones, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. “I think the fans filled that void.”

The Pacers did all the little things to win, and the hometown fans loved every minute of it. The Pacers outrebounded Boston 45-33 and made 31 of 33 free throws.

“In a lot of cities, people just come to see stars,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “But in this city, people come to watch the game of basketball, and they love it. It just means so much to us as a franchise to get this kind of support in the situation we’re in.”

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 20 points, but shot just 6-of-14 from the field.

With several Pacers wearing Jackson’s and O’Neal’s arm bands, they delivered a total team performance.

The determined bunch dove for loose balls, made the extra pass and knocked down free throws, giving their beleaguered fans something to cheer after being bombarded by replays of their team’s involvement in one of the ugliest instances of player-fan violence in U.S. sports history.

When Jones poked a pass away and fed Tinsley for a layup and a 12-point lead in the third quarter, the crowd roared its approval, giving a standing ovation.

Indiana guard Jamaal Tinsley (11) puts up a shot while guarded by Boston's Paul Pierce, left, and Gary Payton. The Pacers won, 106-96, Tuesday at Indianapolis.

Tinsley returned after missing Saturday’s game because of a wrist injury sustained in the brawl at Detroit.

Wizards 102, Raptors 86

Washington — The Wizards dominated the boards and surviving another Toronto rally.

Antawn Jamison scored 28 points, and Gilbert Arenas had 26, but it was the 64-47 rebounding advantage that allowed Washington to win three in a row for the first time since March 2003.

Jamison had 13 rebounds, Jared Jeffries had 12, Brendan Haywood 11 and Jarvis Hayes grabbed nine. The rebounding offset a 35 percent shooting performance in the first half. Larry Hughes finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.

The Raptors have lost six of seven.

Bobcats 91, Pistons 89

Charlotte, N.C. — Rookie Emeka Okafor had his best game yet with 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Bobcats, who won for just the second time this season.

The Pistons had all their players back from suspensions stemming from their brawl last week with the Indiana Pacers except for Ben Wallace, who sat out the second of six games. Chauncey Billups, suspended for Sunday’s game, led Detroit with 24 points.

Sonics 103, T-Wolves 92

Minneapolis — Rashard Lewis scored 27 points, Ray Allen added 24, and Seattle beat Minnesota.

Seattle made 10 of 19 three-points attempts. It was the fifth time this season the Sonics have made at least 10 treys. Lewis hit four of them, all during a 31-14 run. Allen had 10 points during that span.

Seattle also got a combined 39 points from three key reserves. Vladimir Radmanovic had 17 points, Antonio Daniels 12 and Danny Fortson 10. Daniels added 11 assists and Fortson seven rebounds.

Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Knicks 104, Hawks 88

New York — Nazr Mohammed had another strong game against the team that traded him last season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 rebounds to lead New York.

Stephon Marbury had 11 assists — all in the first half — and Jamal Crawford scored 17 as New York improved to .500 and moved past Boston and Toronto into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.

Antoine Walker scored 20 and Al Harrington 19 for Atlanta.

Blazers 99, Heat 87

Miami — Zach Randolph had 24 points, and Derek Anderson added 19, helping Portland pull away from Miami.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 16 for Portland, which hasn’t beaten a sub-.500 team this season — but moved to 4-1 when facing clubs with winning records.

Shaquille O’Neal had 17 points and 13 rebounds — his seventh double-double in the last eight games for Miami, which shot 37.5 percent in the second half and fell to 1-4 against the Western Conference. The Heat are 7-0 against the East.

Dwyane Wade added 19 points and nine assists for Miami, which had won three straight. Shandon Anderson had 15 of his season-high 17 points in the first half for the Heat.

Nuggets 90, Nets 88

Denver — Kenyon Martin had 22 points and 12 rebounds against his former team, and Earl Boykins hit a runner with 21 seconds left to lift Denver to its fourth straight win. Richard Jefferson, who led New Jersey with 26 points, got the Nets within a point by hitting one of two free throws with 37 seconds left. But Boykins banked in a shot to make it 90-87.

Kings 102, Rockets 96

Sacramento, Calif. — Peja Stojakovic scored 22 points, and Bobby Jackson got 10 of his 18 in the fourth quarter to help Sacramento complete a perfect five-game homestand. Tracy McGrady scored 25 points for the Rockets, who lost in Sacramento for the 11th straight time.

Lakers 100, Bucks 96

Los Angeles — Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, and Los Angeles held off Milwaukee in the final minute. Lamar Odom added 17 points and Chris Mihm 12 for Los Angeles.

Desmond Mason scored 26 points off the bench, and reserve Mike James added 18 points and 11 assists for the Bucks, who lost their fifth in a row overall and seventh straight against the Lakers since November 2001.

Vlade Divac played his first game since rejoining the Lakers as a free agent. He started the second quarter, drawing rousing cheers.