Boston ? It took the Boston Celtics a half to get used to playing without Gary Payton. After that, the New Orleans Hornets didn’t have a chance.

Paul Pierce had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth career triple-double, and Boston recovered from an awful first half without its injured point guard to beat New Orleans, 108-90, Monday night, sending the Hornets to their eighth consecutive loss.

“We were a little bit stagnant, a little confused. In the second half, we started to get things going,” said Pierce, a Kansas University product. “With or without Gary, these are games we’re supposed to win.”

Another former Jayhawk, Raef LaFrentz, had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Ricky Davis scored 23 for Boston, which had lost four of its previous five games.

Payton did not dress for the game because of a strained left hamstring, ending his streak of 305 consecutive games played — the second-longest active streak in the league. Marcus Banks made his third career start and had five points and one assist after getting into early foul trouble.

Boston coach Doc Rivers complained of 16 first-half turnovers that led to 17 Hornets points. New Orleans also grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in the first half to muster a 46-46 tie at halftime.

But the Celtics had 13 assists and six turnovers in the second half while allowing the Hornets only three offensive rebounds.

“The first half, I thought we were pretty much awful. No way around that,” Rivers said. “It was a huge swing.”

Lee Nailon and Baron Davis scored 18 apiece for New Orleans, which fell to an NBA-worst 2-27. Rodney Rogers returned to the lineup after missing 24 games with a sprained left knee.

Sonics 98, Heat 96

Boston's paul Pierce, right, and J.R. Smith of New Orleans struggle for a loose ball. Pierce had a triple-double Monday in the Celtics' victory at Boston.

Miami — Ray Allen scored 35 points, Rashard Lewis added 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Seattle snapped the Heat’s franchise-record 14-game winning streak. Seattle won its sixth straight road game and improved to 10-3 against the Eastern Conference.

With the score 98-95, Lewis fouled Miami’s Eddie Jones on a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining. But the Heat guard connected on only one of three free-throw attempts.

Dwyane Wade scored 23 of his 28 points after halftime for Miami. Shaquille O’Neal had 25 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks for the Heat, who were outrebounded 46-36.

Grizzlies 92, Jazz 82

Memphis, Tenn. — Pau Gasol scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and keyed a third-quarter rally as Memphis won its fourth consecutive game.

Gasol, who had 17 points in the third quarter as Memphis took the lead, was 9-of-15 from the field to help send the Jazz to their sixth straight loss.

Pistons 87, Bulls 80

Chicago — Richard Hamilton scored 28 points, 20 in the second half, and Ben Wallace had 16 rebounds and seven points.

Tayshaun Prince added 15 points, and Rasheed Wallace scored 10 points for the Pistons, who have won five of their last six games. Ben Gordon gave Chicago a 70-69 lead on a jumper with 7:39 left, then Hamilton sparked a 14-4 run. Gordon scored 27 points for Chicago, and former Kansas guard Kirk Hinrich added 19.

Cavs 94, Bobcats 83

Charlotte, N.C. — Unhampered by a plastic mask he wore to protect his broken left cheekbone, LeBron James scored 26 points to lead Cleveland over Charlotte. James added eight rebounds and six assists. Former KU All-American Drew Gooden added 19 points.

Kareem Rush scored 19 points to lead the Bobcats, who lost their sixth straight game.

Emeka Okafor had his streak of double-doubles snapped at 19 games after scoring 12 points with just five rebounds.

Raptors 105, Magic 94

Toronto — Chris Bosh tied his career-high with 25 points, and Morris Peterson scored a season-high 21 to lead Toronto over slumping Orlando. Bosh also had 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who ended a three-game losing kid.

Steve Francis had 19 points for the Magic, who have lost four straight overall and six in a row on the road.

Orlando got off to another slow start, trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half. In their previous three losses, the Magic trailed by as many as 19, 11 and 25 in the first half. Orlando’s frustration showed in the fourth quarter when Francis received a technical and Cuttino Mobley was ejected after getting two technicals.

Clippers 102, Nuggets 98

Denver — Corey Maggette had 33 points and 11 rebounds, and Rick Brunson hit a three-pointer with 21 seconds left to lift Los Angeles. The Nuggets did their best without injured center Marcus Camby (back) and Greg Buckner (groin) for the second straight game.

Nene had 20 points and 13 rebounds with Kenyon Martin in foul trouble most of the game, and Carmelo Anthony had 21 points.

Sixers 112, Warriors 104

Oakland, Calif. — Allen Iverson scored 29 points, Andre Iguodala had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Philadelphia hung on to beat Golden State.

Kenny Thomas also scored 19 points for the 76ers, who made 13 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter to improve to 4-2 on an eight-game road trip — their longest in 10 years.

Troy Murphy had 29 points — including a career-high four three-pointers — and 17 rebounds for the Warriors, who had just nine players suited.