PORTLAND, Ore. — Rafer Alston lamented that it's gotten so bad for the New Jersey Nets after 15 straight losses that there's nothing more to say for inspiration.

"You bust out a speech at 0-5. You use different quotes from different champions and leaders at 0-10," he said. "But at this point it's all inside of you as individuals. You've got to find something inside of you to leave on the floor."

The Nets moved a loss closer to the record for the NBA's worst start to a season last night when they dropped yet another game, 93-83, to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The NBA record is 17 straight losses to start a season, set by the 1988-89 expansion Miami Heat and matched by the Los Angeles Clippers in the lockout-shortened 1999 season.

The Nets travel next to Sacramento for a game against the Kings tomorrow before wrapping up their four-game road trip at the Lakers on Sunday.

Greg Oden continued a recent run of strong play with 18 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers, who have won 10 of their last 12.

Brook Lopez had a career-high 32 points and added 14 rebounds for the Nets

Nuggets 124, Timberwolves 111: Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points, Nene had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and visiting Denver never trailed in handing Minnesota its 14th straight loss.

Bobcats 116, Raptors 81: Gerald Wallace broke out of his shooting slump with 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, helping host Charlotte romp past Toronto for the most lopsided victory in team's six-year history.

Pacers 86, Clippers 73: Troy Murphy had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and host Indiana used a 31-14 fourth quarter to end its four-game losing streak, while handing Los Angeles its third straight road loss.

Celtics 113, 76ers 110: Paul Pierce scored 27 points and Ray Allen and Eddie House each made two free throws in the final three seconds to help host Boston hold off Philadelphia.

Heat 99, Magic 98: Michael Beasley dunked a missed shot by Dwyane Wade with 1.6 seconds remaining, lifting visiting Miami over Orlando, which pleaded for a goaltending call to no avail.

Cavaliers 98, Pistons 88: LeBron James scored 12 of his 34 points in the first quarter and visiting Cleveland turned a nine-point lead into 60-42 halftime lead en route to beating Detroit.

Hornets 102, Bucks 99: David West had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Darren Collison added 18 points, including two free throws to break a 97-all tie with 38 seconds left in overtime as host New Orleans defeated Milwaukee.

Mavericks 130, Rockets 99: Jason Kidd had seven assists to reach 10,337 in his career and move into second place on the NBA's career assists list as visiting Dallas rolled past Houston.

Spurs 118, Warriors 104: Tony Parker scored 32 points and host San Antonio used a 22-3 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to beat Golden State for its season-best third consecutive victory.

Suns 126, Grizzlies 111: Amare Stoudemire scored 18 of his 28 points in the third quarter when Phoenix made 17 of 20 field-goal attempts to pull away from Memphis for its 15th consecutive home victory.

Kings 111, Knicks 97: Donte Greene made six 3-pointers and tied a career high with 24 points, and host Sacramento never trailed in beating New York to snap a four-game losing streak.

NOTES

Iverson plans to retire: With no apparent interest from NBA teams, Allen Iverson is set to retire, according to an online report. Commentator Stephen A. Smith published a statement on his Web site yesterday attributed to Iverson. It said Iverson plans to retire but also that "I feel strongly that I can still compete at the highest level."