The Charlotte Bobcats stunned Boston 114-106 in overtime to continue the Celtics' sudden slide in the NBA on Tuesday.
Beaten by their surprising nemesis for the second time in two seasons, the defending champions have quickly gone from unbeatable to vulnerable. After a team-record 19-game winning streak and an NBA-record 27-2 start, the Celtics lost for the fifth time in seven games, leaving battered, bruised and angry by coach Larry Brown's upstart Bobcats.
Paul Pierce scored 28 points, but had a key turnover in overtime. Ray Allen scored 20 points on 7-of-20 shooting for the Celtics.
Raymond Felton scored 25 points and rookie D.J. Augustin added 11 of his 20 points in overtime for Charlotte.
Hornets 116, Lakers 105
At Los Angeles, David West scored 15 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, and Chris Paul added 32 points and 15 assists as New Orleans snapped the Los Angeles Lakers' 15-game home winning streak.
West shot 14-of-23 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the foul line in matching his career high. He also grabbed 11 rebounds as the Hornets (21-10) won for the 16th time in 21 games and avenged two losses to the Lakers in New Orleans earlier this season.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 39 points and seven assists, but scored only two in the fourth quarter.
76ers 104, Rockets 96
At Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala scored 28 points and reeling Philadelphia returned home from a dreadful road trip to beat Houston.
The Sixers needed to escape the Lone Star State to finally defeat a team from Texas. They lost at Dallas and San Antonio in the final two games of a 1-5 road trip and had lost five of seven overall, parking them in last place in the Atlantic Division.
Heading home was the perfect tonic. Iguodala continued on his recent scoring surge and scored nine points in the third quarter to help the Sixers stretch the lead to 11.
Luis Scola led six Rockets in double figures with 18 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.
Magic 89, Wizards 80
At Orlando, Florida, Hedo Turkoglu scored 22 points and Orlando held off a late scoring burst by Caron Butler to beat Washington.
(Agencies via China Daily January 8, 2009)
