Charlotte, N.C. ? The Boston Celtics had no problems with their offense against the Charlotte Bobcats. It was their defense that was nonexistent and led to a heated halftime speech.

“The players were pretty loud when we went in there,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “It wasn’t a pleasant speech at halftime. It didn’t need to be.”

Although the Celtics played tougher defense in the second half, they still needed Raef LaFrentz and Antoine Walker to combine for three three-pointers in the final 1:32 to lead them to a 119-110 victory over the Bobcats on Monday night.

The Celtics went up by 15 in the first quarter, only to allow the Bobcats to score 40 points in the second quarter. After shooting 76 percent in the first half, the Celtics went into halftime tied at 68.

“That scared the heck out of me,” Rivers said.

Walker finished with 25 points to lead the Celtics to their fourth straight victory and a four-game season sweep of the Bobcats. Boston has won eight of nine games since reacquiring Walker in a trade with Atlanta last month.

“Right now, we are playing good basketball and at a high energy level, and we are trying to make a run for this Atlantic Division title,” said Walker. “We played a good game. We just didn’t play good defense.”

Ricky Davis led the Celtics with 27 points. Paul Pierce and LaFrentz scored 15 each, Gary Payton finished with 12, and Tony Allen had 11.

But after the victory, the Celtics still were finding fault with their performance.

“The way the first quarter was going, I thought I was going to be able to rest in the fourth quarter,” Pierce said. “When you play around with teams like this, you make it into a dog fight, but it was good for us because you can learn from these types of games and teams.”

Charlotte's Matt Carroll (13) reaches for a loose ball as Boston's Tony Allen, left, reacts on the bench and Ricky Davis (12) closes in during the third quarter. The Celtics won, 119-110, Monday in Charlotte, N.C.

It was a contentious game, with five technical fouls called, including consecutive calls on Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff that forced him to the locker room with more than 10 minutes to play in the game.

Heat 110, Bucks 71

Miami — Dwyane Wade scored 29 points on 10-of-12 shooting, Shaquille O’Neal added 21 points, and Miami beat Milwaukee to move into a virtual tie with Phoenix and San Antonio for the NBA’s best record. It was the largest victory margin of the season for Miami (49-16).

Pistons 114, Hawks 108, OT

Atlanta — Tayshaun Prince scored a career-high 31 points, and Detroit bounced back from the lowest-scoring game in franchise history. Rasheed Wallace added a season-best 28 points for the Pistons. Detroit played without coach Larry Brown, who underwent additional surgery Monday on an ailing hip.

Wizards 95, Lakers 81

Washington — Larry Hughes had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Gilbert Arenas scored 21 points to help Washington’s sweep the season series from the Lakers for the first time in franchise history.

Spurs 112, Hornets 89

San Antonio — Tim Duncan had 18 points and 13 rebounds for San Antonio after missing two games because of a sprained right ankle and tightness in his back. While Duncan returned, point guard Tony Parker missed his first game of the season because of a quadriceps injury, and Manu Ginobili sat out with a groin injury.

Grizzlies 104, Blazers 83

Memphis, Tenn. — Mike Miller scored 27 points, and Lorenzen Wright had 19 points and nine rebounds for Memphis. Earl Watson added 16 points and seven assists for Memphis.

Rockets 97, Warriors 94

Oakland, Calif. — Tracy McGrady had 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Houston wrapped up its unbeaten West Coast swing. Juwan Howard added 18 points and seven rebounds before leaving because of a sprained right knee late in Houston’s fifth straight victory.