EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Ray Allen and the Boston Celtics wasted no time turning a rematch with the New Jersey Nets into another rout.

Allen scored 25 points to lead the Celtics to a 105-85 win yesterday afternoon. The Celtics put the game away in the opening quarter, taking an 18-2 lead behind nine points from Allen. Boston had beaten New Jersey by 32 points at home Wednesday.

"From our vantage point, we didn't look at this as a game that would play out like it did in Boston," Allen said. "They have been playing well together and they've won some big games. We know first hand that if teams get out and get confidence, they can keep it going the whole game. We've lost a couple of games this year that way. It was a group effort, and a four-quarter effort."

Devin Harris and Vince Carter, the Nets leading scorers, had front row seats for the entire second half to watch the Celtics road show as New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank benched his two stars.

"I was totally embarrassed by our performance," Frank said. "It starts with me and goes on to our main players. It was an embarrassing start to the game I decided to go in another direction."

Paul Pierce and Eddie House both had 13 points for the Celtics, while Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe each had 12. Rajon Rondo came close to a triple double with eight points, nine rebounds and 14 assists.

"It was a great start," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "It's one of the things we talked about. If you get off to a good start, it gives you a chance to play well the whole game. I thought the whole team was running well."

The defending champions have won four straight, all at the expense of the Nets and the Toronto Raptors. The Celtics have won seven straight from the Nets.

Brook Lopez led New Jersey with 28 points and Jarvis Hayes added 15 for the Nets, who dropped their third straight game. Harris had seven points and Carter finished with five.

Carter understood Frank's decision.

"He made the call so I have to live with it," Carter said. "It's not easy to do but he felt like we weren't giving much to the team and he made a decision to go with a different unit. It's like that sometimes."

76ERS 107, KNICKS 97

NEW YORK — Andre Iguodala had 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Philadelphia beat New York to return to .500 at 20-20 with its seventh straight victory.

Andre Miller added 27 points and eight assists for the 76ers, making a pair of baskets in a 10-0 burst after the Knicks had closed within one with 5 minutes remaining.

Elton Brand is ready to return to the 76ers, which could come tomorrow when they host Dallas. Brand, who has missed the last 15 games with a dislocated right shoulder, is expected to practice today and then be re-evaluated before the Sixers decide on his availability for Monday.

HORNETS 91, PISTONS 85

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Chris Paul had 23 points and 14 assists, David West added 20 points, and New Orleans had four others score in double figures in handing Detroit its fifth straight loss.

"We defended, we ran, and we got some transition baskets," Paul said. "That's when we are at our best. This is only the second time in my four years in the league that we've beaten Detroit, so I'll take it."

Detroit, with Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton already playing at less than 100 percent, got a scare when Allen Iverson hurt his knee in the third period. He was helped off the court, but returned to start the final quarter.

BOBCATS 102, TRAIL BLAZERS 97

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gerald Wallace had 31 points and 16 rebounds, and Emeka Okafor hit two free throws with 2.7 seconds left to seal Charlotte's win over Portland.

Okafor had 22 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte, which has won three in a row. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points, and Brandon Roy added 17 for Portland, 2-2 on its four-game East Coast trip.

"The chemistry is starting to come together, with the team as well as the coaches," Wallace said.

ROCKETS 93, HEAT 86

HOUSTON — Yao Ming set a Houston record by going 12-for-12 from the field, and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Rafer Alston added a season-high 22 points in a victory over Miami.

Ming's perfect shooting night eclipsed Joe Meriweather's 10- for-10 game against Atlanta in 1976. Ming's only miss came at the free-throw line, where he was 2-for-3.

"I was able to get the ball in the post and I had energy," said Yao. "I was close to the basket. This doesn't happen every night, but that's the way I was played."

MAVERICKS 115, JAZZ 108

DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki scored 39 points, Jason Terry added 22 points, and Jason Kidd had 11 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds to help Dallas beat Utah and end a four-game losing streak.

Leading 101-99, Dallas then pulled away, despite getting a scare when Nowitzki went down with an ankle injury. He briefly headed to the locker room, but ended up missing only a little more than a minute on the clock.

"It didn't matter if there was a hand in his face or two bodies on him," said Utah's Deron Williams. "He hit shot after shot and willed his team to victory."

SPURS 92, BULLS 87

CHICAGO — Tony Parker had 20 points and eight assists, Tim Duncan added 18 points and 14 rebounds, and San Antonio bounce back after its worst loss of season Friday night to beat Chicago.

With San Antonio down 82-81 in the final 2 minutes, Parker spun around Derrick Rose for a layup. Then, on the defensive end, Bruce Bowen stole a pass from Andres Nocioni to set up Manu Ginobili's 3-pointer that gave the Spurs an 86-82 lead with 1:04 left.

"What happened in Philadelphia was embarrassing," Ginobili said. "We held a talented team to 87. That's who we are. That's who we want to be."

MAGIC 106, NUGGETS 88

DENVER — Hedo Turkoglu scored 31 points, Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis had 23 each and Orlando completed a perfect four-game West Coast trip with a rout of Denver.

"It was a very impressive road trip," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Come out, get four straight, three of them against teams leading their division. Yeah, I think it's a very impressive road trip."

Dwight Howard had 14 points and 20 rebounds to help the Magic win their seventh straight and ninth in 10 games.

CLIPPERS 101, BUCKS 92

LOS ANGELES — Brian Skinner scored 18 points and Los Angeles overcame a fourth-quarter injury to Marcus Camby, beating Milwaukee to snap a 12-game losing streak.

The Clippers, whose skid began with a 119-85 thumping at Milwaukee on Dec. 20, played the final 8:53 without Camby after he sprained his left ankle after landing awkwardly with a rebound of Steve Novak's missed jumper.

NOTE

Mavericks: Owner Mark Cuban is getting his money's worth out of his latest fine. The NBA hit Cuban with a $25,000 penalty Friday for "improper interactions with Denver Nuggets players," mostly stemming from an incident involving Denver's J.R. Smith. So Cuban posted on his blog that he would donate $25,000 to whatever charity Smith chose.

Yesterday, Cuban posted an update saying he's waiting to hear back from the Nuggets, but he's already come up with a backup plan: "I'm going to give the money to the (NHL) Players Association Goals and Dreams Fund in the names of Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore."

Moore played for the Colorado Avalanche until being the victim of one of the most gruesome attacks in an NHL game.