Nets match worst start with loss to Lakers

A few hours after New Jersey fired coach Lawrence Frank, the undermanned Nets had little prayer of keeping up with the defending league champions, who won their sixth straight game.

Falling behind by 27 points in the first half despite clearly playing hard for temporary head coach Tom Barrise, the Nets matched the starts of the 1988-89 Miami Heat and the 1999 Los Angeles Clippers.

New Jersey must beat the Dallas Mavericks at home on Wednesday to avoid sole possession of an embarrassing NBA record.

Celtics 92, Heat 85 At Miami, Kevin Garnett scored 24 points on 11 of 12 shooting and Ray Allen delivered the big blow with a 3-pointer with 1:38 left as Boston rallied to beat Miami.

Paul Pierce scored 15 points and Kendrick Perkins finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Boston, which opened a four-game trip by winning its fourth straight. Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 11 assists for the Celtics, who wasted an 11-point third-quarter lead and were down by five with 9 minutes remaining.

Dwyane Wade scored 27 points for Miami, which has lost six of nine and opens a trip Tuesday in Portland. Michael Beasley added 18 and Jermaine O'Neal finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat.

Clippers 98, Grizzlies 88 At Los Angeles, Eric Gordon scored 29 points as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat Memphis and give coach Mike Dunleavy his 600th regular-season victory.

Al Thornton scored seven of his 18 points in the final 2:26 for the Clippers, who held the Grizzlies to just 2-for-18 shooting in the fourth quarter. Marcus Camby added 14 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles.

Marc Gasol led Memphis with 26 points and was 13-for-18 from the field after starting the day tied with Portland's Greg Oden for the league's best field goal percentage at .633.

Timberwolves 106, Nuggets 100 At Denver, Ryan Gomes scored 27 points to help Minnesota snap a 15-game losing streak.

Corey Brewer and Jonny Flynn each scored 16 points in helping Minnesota rally from 17 points down in the first half and register their first win since a season-opening win against New Jersey.

Carmelo Anthony matched a season-high with 19 points in the first quarter and finished with 32 for Denver.

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