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BOSTON – Paul Pierce scored 29 points, reserve Leon Powe had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat Cleveland 105-94 on Friday night to move within percentage points of the Cavaliers in the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers (48-13) lead Boston (49-14) in winning percentage .787 to .778, though the Celtics took the lead in the head-to-head tiebreaker, 2-1, with an April 12 game in Cleveland remaining.

Mo Williams scored 26 for Cleveland and LeBron James had 21, shooting just 5-of-15 from the field to go with 9-for-12 from the line. He spent the final minutes on the bench after the Cavaliers couldn't narrow a double-digit deficit.

All-Star forward Kevin Garnett missed his seventh straight game for Boston with a strained knee muscle, and backup Glen "Big Baby" Davis was ejected in the third quarter for a flagrant foul. Powe filled in and reached season highs in both points and rebounds, giving the Celtics a spark with a blocked shot and a basket at the other end that opened a 94-83 lead.

After James missed a 3-pointer, Powe grabbed the rebound and Pierce hit a pair of free throws, then Powe dunked to give the Celtics a 98-83 lead — their biggest of the game.

The home team has won the first three matchups of the season series, and home court could prove even more important if they meet again in the playoffs. Boston eliminated the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year en route to its NBA-record 17th championship; the home team won all seven games in the series.

The crowd noise at tipoff was reminiscent of last spring's playoffs, but nothing in the first half really excited the fans as much as James' missed dunk with 8 minutes left in the first period. Bringing the ball back with for a tomahawk slam, he instead banged it off the back of the rim — to the delight of the sellout crowd.

The intensity returned in the second when the players went chest-to-chest under the Cavs basket after Davis wrapped up Anderson Varejao to prevent an easy layup. James and Ray Allen began jawing at each other while officials tried to separate them. They were each called for technical fouls, as was Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Davis was called for a flagrant foul and ejected — exacerbating Boston's problem at power forward. (All seemed to be forgiven later in the third, when Allen fouled James to stop him from an easy basket; James helped Allen up and gave him a friendly tap on the behind.)

After the free throws, James hit a 3-pointer and Williams followed with a fadeaway jumper that cut Boston's seven-point lead to 55-54. Cleveland soon made it 57-all, but Pierce hit a jumper before Allen hit a 3-pointer and then scored on a breakaway, losing the handle of the ball only to have it bounce off James and back into Allen's hands for the reverse layup.

Boston led 68-63 when Pierce hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it an 11-point game.

Notes:@ It was the first time in NBA history that two teams leading their divisions by at least 17 games had met. ... Joe Smith, who was traded last summer in the deal that brought Williams to Cleveland, returned after buying out his contract with Oklahoma City and re-signing with the Cavs on Thursday. ... Cleveland forward Ben Wallace missed his fifth straight game with a broken right fibula. ... Cleveland shot 38 free throws to 12 for Boston. ... James went 13:11 between field goals as the score went from 55-52 to 88-77.

MIAMI – Eddie House 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 on Wednesday night.

Ray Allen scored a game-high 27 for the Celtics, who were a season-high 15-for-25 from 3-point range. It matched the most 3's ever allowed by the Heat in their 21 seasons. Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Paul Pierce added 14 points for Boston.

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 (22-19).

Boston never trailed, running out to a 29-10 lead after one quarter and maintaining a double-digit lead the rest of the way. The Celtics (35-9) visit Orlando (33-8) on Thursday in a matchup of two of the league's top teams.

Miami got within 11 twice in the latter stages of the third quarter, only to have House — a former Miami guard — shoot the Heat back each time. House dribbled his way free for a 20-foot jumper near the top of the key, then took a pass from Pierce for a 3-pointer that gave Boston a 78-64 lead entering the fourth.

House essentially finished what Allen started.

Allen — who attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama on Tuesday, spending more than an hour walking to his seat in the wintry air — showed no signs of fatigue. He made his first three shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, to stake Boston to a quick 11-2 lead.

From there, the defending NBA champs were off and running.

Miami got within 11 once in the fourth quarter as well, only to see that snuffed out by an 8-0 run by Boston. Garnett hit a jumper, Allen then made consecutive 3-pointers, and the building quickly emptied during a time-out with 3:56 left and Boston up 95-76.

For good measure, Allen made another 3 — his fifth of the night — on Boston's next possession.

The first quarter was one to forget for the Heat, who finished with a season-low 10 points after the opening 12 minutes, digging a 19-point hole.

Shawn Marion, who was limited to eight minutes — he took treatment for a sore left groin throughout the day but wound up starting — missed an easy dunk, perhaps the ultimate lowlight for Miami.

The Celtics also outrebounded Miami 18-5 in the first quarter, finishing the game with an 48-30 margin.

There was fleeting hope for Miami midway through the second quarter, when Wade's dunk off a fast break drew the Heat within 41-29 with 5:54 left in the half.

That's when House took over, sparking a 16-5 run by the Celtics.

He hit four 3-pointers in a span of 4:04, chatting with anyone in his general vicinity after the last two. Meanwhile, Miami missed eight of its final 10 shots of the half.

Notes:@ Miami had given up 15 3-pointers on four other occasions, most recently against Phoenix on Nov. 9, 2007. ... House's six 3-pointers in the second quarter were the most Miami had ever allowed in a quarter. ... Miami's franchise record for lowest-scoring first quarter is eight points. For any quarter, it's seven. ... The Celtics got C Kendrick Perkins back after a five-game absence with a sore left shoulder. Perkins played in about 6-minute intervals, which is what Boston coach Doc Rivers planned. ... Hall of Fame QB Dan Marino was in the crowd, as was former Heat trainer Ron Culp, who retired last season after 20 years with the club.

NEW YORK – Wilson Chandler scored a career-high 31 points and the New York Knicks snapped an eight-game losing streak against the sputtering Boston Celtics with a 100-88 victory Sunday night.

AP – New York Knicks guard Quentin Richardson (23) and forward Jared Jeffries (20) get tangled up with Boston

Al Harrington added 30 for the Knicks, who hadn't beaten Boston at Madison Square Garden since March 23, 2005, dropping the last six meetings. Capitalizing on a quiet night for Kevin Garnett, they seized control in the third quarter, never let it get too close in the fourth and added to what is now clearly a Celtics slump.

Chandler put the finishing touches on the upset when he took a long outlet pass from David Lee and made a layup while being fouled, hitting the free throw for a 98-86 lead with 2:11 to play.

Paul Pierce scored 31 points for the Celtics, who lost for the fourth time in six games after a 27-2 start. Ray Allen added 16, but Garnett, who seemed to hurt his right leg late in the third quarter, had only six points on 1-of-6 shooting with nine rebounds.

Lee had 14 points and 14 rebounds as he and Chandler, who scored 15 points in the decisive third quarter, consistently outworked Garnett and Boston's front line.

Meanwhile, the defending NBA champions lacked their usual poise, frequently yelling at each other or the officials.

Boston lost three of four on its West Coast road trip over the holidays, creating some belief they needed more depth for a run at a repeat. ESPN.com reported Thursday that could come from Stephon Marbury, the banished Knicks guard who is seeking his release. The report said the Celtics would be interested once a buyout is completed.

Celtics players seemed willing to accept that move and said they weren't caught up in the speculation, even with a huge media crowd in their locker room before the game.

"We can't really worry about it all," point guard Rajon Rondo said. "We've got to go out there and go with the staff at hand. You've got to talk to the general manager and coach (Doc) Rivers. We got to go out there and play every night regardless of who they bring in."

The Celtics led 53-50 at halftime, shooting 54 percent from the field and getting 15 points from Pierce and 12 from Allen. Garnett took only one shot and had six points at halftime, but grabbed five rebounds and blocked four shots, sending one of Chandler's attempts a few rows behind the baseline in the first quarter.

With the Celtics leading by two in the third, Chandler nailed a 3-pointer, then hit a jumper before being fouled by Garnett behind the arc and making all three free throws for a 66-60 lead with 6:39 left in the third quarter. The lead reached 11 on a long 3-pointer by Harrington, and the Knicks were ahead 78-68 heading to the fourth after outscoring Boston 28-15.

Notes:@ Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said center Eddy Curry, out all season with a knee injury, could play for the first time this season on a four-game Western Conference road trip that begins Tuesday. ... Garnett appeared to land gingerly after throwing a behind-the-back pass to set up a dunk late in the third quarter. He had his leg wrapped below his right knee early in the fourth before returning with just under 6 1/2 minutes remaining.

LOS ANGELES – Perhaps now the Los Angeles Lakers can put the anguish of losing the NBA finals to Boston and the embarrassment over the way the series ended behind them.

Kobe Bryant had 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Pau Gasol scored seven of his 20 points in the final three minutes, and the Lakers beat Boston 92-83 Thursday to snap the Celtics' franchise-record 19-game winning streak.

AP – Boston Celtics' Rajon Rondo drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers' Andrew Bynum during the first

The game was the first between the teams since the Celtics romped to a 131-92 victory in Game 6 of the finals last June to win their first championship in 22 years and league-high 17th title. The Lakers blew a 24-point second-quarter lead in Game 4 at Staples Center to fall behind 3-1 — a deficit that's never been overcome in the finals.

The victory was the 1,000th for Phil Jackson, enabling him to become the sixth NBA coach to reach that milestone. The 63-year-old Jackson has a career record of 1,000-423 in 17-plus seasons as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Lakers. He became the fastest to win 1,000 games, surpassing Pat Riley, who did it in 1,434 games.

"Here we are, a game that's been pointed to since the schedules came out," Jackson said beforehand.

The longtime rivals have met in the NBA finals 11 times, with the Celtics going 9-2.

The Celtics entered with a 27-2 record — the fastest start by a two-loss team. They were in pretty good shape when Kevin Garnett put them ahead 81-79 with 3:57 remaining, but the Lakers went on a 13-2 run to finish the game.

Lamar Odom had 10 points and seven rebounds, and Sasha Vujacic also scored 10 for the Lakers (24-5), who won their 12th straight game at home, where they're 15-1. Andrew Bynum, who missed most of last season and the playoffs with an injured knee, had nine points and seven rebounds.

Garnett shot 11-of-14 in leading the Celtics (27-3) with 22 points, and he also had nine rebounds. Paul Pierce added 20 points and 10 rebounds, but didn't score in the fourth quarter. Ray Allen scored 14 and Rajon Rondo had 12 assists for Boston.

A 15-foot jumper by Gasol with 2:48 snapped an 81-all tie and put the Lakers ahead for good. Allen's 3-pointer failed, and Gasol scored from close range off an assist from Bryant with two minutes left, putting Los Angeles up by four and sending the crowd of 18,997 into a frenzy.

Garnett answered with a jumper to draw the Celtics within two, but Gasol's three-point play with 1:28 left put the Lakers on top 88-83. Gasol then blocked a 3-pointer by Allen, setting up Trevor Ariza for a dunk that gave Los Angeles a seven-point lead with 1:12 to go. Bryant's basket completed the scoring.

Boston's Eddie House made his only basket with 8:09 remaining to tie it at 75. Neither team led by more than two points after that until the Lakers took command down the stretch.

Pierce scored five points and Allen added three during an 8-0 run that put Boston ahead 64-62. Then, with Bryant on the bench, Odom made two 3-pointers, and the Lakers outscored the Celtics 9-3 to finish the third period and take a 71-67 lead.

Vujacic scored eight points and Bryant added six during a 16-5 run to begin the second quarter, giving the Lakers a 39-29 lead, and they were on top 51-45 at halftime. The Celtics shot 2-of-13 to begin the period and 7-of-12 to finish it. Boston attempted only two free throws in the half — by Pierce with 13.5 seconds left.

Neither team led by more than three in the first quarter, which ended with the Celtics on top 24-23. Boston shot 61.1 percent to 47.6 percent for the Lakers, but committed six turnovers.

Notes:@ Boston's Glen Davis returned to action after missing two games because of a concussion sustained in a traffic accident last Sunday, and had four points and four rebounds in a reserve role. ... The Lakers played without backup point guard Jordan Farmar, who underwent knee surgery Wednesday and will be sidelined approximately eight weeks. ... The game marked the first time in NBA history that two teams met with so few losses (seven) this late in the season. ... The game was the 10th straight for the Lakers on Christmas. They have an overall record of 20-15 on Christmas including 11-6 at home. ... It was the Celtics' first game on Christmas since 2002. They have a 10-15 record, going 9-15 on the road and 1-0 at a neutral site. They have never played at home on Christmas. ... The game was the first on Christmas between the teams since 1970, when the Lakers won a 123-113 decision at the Forum in nearby Inglewood.