SACRAMENTO, Calif. — If this is how the Boston Celtics respond to a losing streak, pity the next team that is forced to face them in that situation.

The Celtics bounced back from back-to-back losses in emphatic fashion, beating the Sacramento Kings, 108-63, last night in one of the most one-sided wins in franchise history.

"That's our statement," Paul Pierce said. "We feel like the last couple of games we haven't been living up to what we've been doing most of the year. We wanted to get back to that and establish our defense. I thought we did that."

The Celtics held Sacramento to just 19 field goals on 28-percent shooting, the fewest shots made by the Kings in the shot-clock era and the second fewest allowed by the Celtics.

The 45-point margin of victory matched the sixth biggest by the Celtics, who also beat the New York Knicks by that amount last season. The last time Boston had a bigger win was a 153-107 victory over the Baltimore Bullets on Nov. 27, 1970.

"I don't even actually know the margin," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "I never look at that honestly. I know we won and that's all that counts for us."

The Celtics started this four-game road trip with a franchise-record 19-game winning streak and a 27-2 record that was the best start in NBA history. But the defending NBA champions lost a Christmas Day showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers and then again the following night at Golden State to show their first signs of vulnerability this season.

After getting a day off to regroup, the Celtics once again looked like the class of the NBA.

Kevin Garnett made 10 of 11 shots to lead Boston with 21 points and 11 rebounds despite playing just under 23 minutes. Ray Allen added 19 on 7-for-8 shooting and Eddie House had 15 off the bench.

The Kings, who were led by John Salmons' 11 points, have lost 16 of their last 18 games.

"This is frustrating going through things like this," Kings guard Bobby Jackson said. "We can't keep making excuses. That's just it. I'm embarrassed. I hope everybody else is embarrassed, too. I wouldn't even say we competed. We didn't even show up."

LAKERS 130, WARRIORS 113

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, and Pau Gasol had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as Los Angeles rolled.

Jamal Crawford returned to the Warriors' lineup after missing two games with a groin strain and had 22 points.

CAVALIERS 93, HEAT 86

CLEVELAND — LeBron James scored 33 points as Cleveland remained the league's only unbeaten team on its own floor with its 16th straight victory at Quicken Loans Arena.

Dwyane Wade scored 29 points for Miami, which saw its winning streak snapped at four.

HORNETS 105, PACERS 103

INDIANAPOLIS — Chris Paul scored 11 of his 19 points in the final 3:36 and David West made a 17-foot fadeaway jumper with 2.5 seconds remaining to help New Orleans rally past Indiana.

Danny Granger led the Pacers with 34 points.

NUGGETS 117, KNICKS 110

NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points after missing three games with a bruised right elbow as Denver handed New York its sixth straight loss.

Nate Robinson scored 20 points and David Lee had 19 for the Knicks, who have yielded an average of 115.5 points during their skid.

MAVS 98, CLIPPERS 76

LOS ANGELES — Josh Howard had 29 points, nine rebounds and a career-best seven assists as Dallas overcame the loss of suspended leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki, who was penalized for a flagrant foul and automatic ejection in Friday's loss to Utah.

Marcus Camby had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles.