Boston ? Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz beat the New Jersey Nets the same way they used to rough up opponents at Kansas University. Pierce had 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his fifth career triple-double, and LaFrentz added 21 points and eight rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 110-89 victory over the Nets on Wednesday night.

“To get a triple-double through three quarters is pretty impressive,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “You could tell early on, his body chemistry and how he got everybody else involved, that he wanted this game.”

Pierce had 14 points and four assists in the third quarter to help the Celtics, 4-2 in their last six games, open an 87-58 lead with 1:35 left in the quarter. Pierce and LaFrentz combined for 26 of the Celtics’ 32 points in the period.

“When Raef and I played together in college, we always had good chemistry,” said Pierce, who teamed with LaFrentz at Kansas from 1995 to 1998. “I try to find him on the court because he has good hands and is a great finisher.”

The game featured four former Jayhawks. Billy Thomas had 13 points, and Jacque Vaughn added eight points for New Jersey.

Gary Payton added 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting for the Celtics. With the victory and Philadelphia’s loss to Houston, Boston moved back into first place in the Atlantic Division.

Rockets 118, 76ers 95

Philadelphia — Tracy McGrady outperformed the NBA’s leading scorer, and Houston knocked Philadelphia out of first place in the Atlantic. McGrady made five three-pointers and had 34 points and nine assists for the Rockets. Allen Iverson — leading the NBA with an average of 29.0 points — had 15 points of his 28 points in the first quarter.

Mavs 90, Hornets 82

Boston's Paul Pierce, left, slams into New Jersey's Jabari Smith. Pierce had 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Celtics past the Nets, 110-89, Wednesday night in Boston.

New Orleans — Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, and Jerry Stackhouse added 19 points to lead Dallas. Erick Dampier had 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Suns 108, Timberwolves 79

Minneapolis — Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points to lead six Phoenix players in double-digit scoring in the Suns’ victory. Shawn Marion had 19 points to help the Suns finish 5-1 on their six-game trip.

Raptors 98, Pacers 97

Indianapolis — Chris Bosh had 25 points and 15 rebounds, and Jalen Rose hit two free throws with less than a second to go, lifting Toronto.

Pistons 99, Hawks 84

Auburn Hills, Mich. — Chauncey Billups scored 27 points, and Richard Hamilton had 21, helping Detroit earn its fifth straight victory. Tayshaun Prince added 17 points, Antonio McDyess had 12, and Ben Wallace finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons.

Blazers 97, Nuggets 94

Portland, Ore. — Nick Van Exel scored 26 points to help Portland beat Denver, ending the Nuggets’ three-game winning streak under new coach George Karl.

Kings 111, Warriors 107, OT

Oakland, Calif. — Brad Miller scored four of his career-high 38 points in the final 10.8 seconds of overtime.