MIAMI — Something about playing in Miami brings out the best in Eddie House.

The former Heat guard scored 20 points — more than he'd managed in any game this season — in the second quarter, finishing with 25 and the Boston Celtics ran their winning streak to six games by downing the Miami Heat, 98-83, last night.

It was House's first 20-point game since Boston played at Miami in January 2008.

"Guys found me in open spots, they were fronting the post and we were moving the basketball," House said, while teammate Sam Cassell chanted "Edd-ie! Edd-ie" in the background. "And I was knocking them down."

He was 7-for-11 from 3-point range. Ray Allen was 5-for-6 and the Celtics finished a season-best 15-for-25 from beyond the arc, matching the most 3's allowed by the Heat in their 21 seasons.

Allen finished with a game-high 27 points, Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Paul Pierce added 14 points for Boston.

"Eddie was phenomenal," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "And we needed him, too."

Dwyane Wade accepted his NBA player of the month award for December at halftime, under less-than-ideal circumstances — his team trailed 57-34. Wade finished with 25 points, Daequan Cook scored 20 and Michael Beasley added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat.

"I'm not sure I recognized what team was out there," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We were doing things today I hadn't seen us do this season."

Bobcats 101, Grizzlies 86: Raja Bell scored 25 points, Emeka Okafor added 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Gerald Wallace's steal and dunk opened an 88-79 lead with 4:11 left as host Charlotte beat Memphis for its fourth win in five games.

Pistons 95, Raptors 76: Tayshaun Prince scored 12 of his 25 points in the third quarter and Richard Hamilton came off the bench after the All-Star shooting guard started his first 611 games, as host Detroit Pistons pulled away from Toronto.

KNICKS 114, SUNS 109: Nate Robinson scored 20 points, Tim Thomas added all 10 of his points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter and host New York held Shaquille O'Neal to just one field goal in the second half after he had 18 points in the first half to beat Phoenix.

Hornets 102, Nets 92: Chris Paul had 29 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and host New Orleans, playing without starters Tyson Chandler (left ankle) and David West (back spasms), handed New Jersey its fourth straight loss.

Bucks 133, Mavericks 99: Charlie Villanueva had 32 points and 10 rebounds, Michael Redd added 27 points, and host Milwaukee used a 19-2 run for a 97-76 lead in routing Dallas.

Rockets 108, Jazz 99: Yao Ming had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Rafer Alston scored 23 to lead host Houston past Utah, which played without Andrei Kirilenko, who injured his right ankle in Tuesday's game against Minnesota.

Cavaliers 104, Trail Blazers 98: LeBron James had 34 points and 14 assists, Mo Williams hit six 3-pointers en route to 33 points and a tip-in by Ben Wallace with 6:03 left put visiting Cleveland ahead for good, 83-82, in its win over Portland.

Lakers 108, Clippers 97: Andrew Bynum had 42 points and 14 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant had his second triple-double in three games — 18 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists — as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers.

Wizards 110, Kings 107: Antawn Jamison had 33 points and nine rebounds, helping visiting Washington hold off Sacramento, which trailed by 19 entering the fourth quarter, but closed to 108-107 with 3.9 seconds before falling short on a missed last-second jumper.

Thunder 122, Warriors 121: After Jamal Crawford scored on a 16-foot bank shot with 1.6 seconds left for Golden State, Jeff Green hit a turnaround jumper from 16 feet at the buzzer to win it for Oklahoma City.