The Basketball Diaries

Charlotte Bobcats 95 Boston Celtics 83

From the "How The Hell Did That Happen Dept." we get this: The Charlotte Bobcats beat the Celtics on Wednesday night. In Boston. The same Bobcats who were 1-11 on the road going into last night against those same Celtics who were 29-3 and 16-1 at home. Is Ray Allen, who missed the game with a pinched nerve, that important to the Celtics? Jason Richardson had the big night for the Bobcats, scoring 34 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. "I'm not surprised because we're a pretty good team," Richardson said. "It just doesn't show in our record."

Dallas Mavericks 102 Detroit Pistons 86

Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs jumped out on the Pistons with a big first quarter, and the Mavericks were able to hold off the Pistons from there on out. It's the second straight loss for the Pistons, who just had an 11-game win streak snapped in their last game against the Celtics. "Always when you're playing at a high level, you're always concerned at some point about a little let-up," coach Flip Saunders said. "You can have a let-up, you cannot play well, but it shouldn't affect your effort. I didn't think we gave a consistent effort."

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 90 Cavs 81
• Raptors 109 Sixers 96
• Nets 99 Sonics 88
• Rockets 101 Knicks 92
• Lakers 109 Hornets 80
• Bucks 98 Heat 92
• Suns 129 Pacers 122 OT
• Blazers 109 Warriors 91
• Magic 113 Clippers 106