BOSTON, Nov. 28 - Ray Allen scored 23 points Friday and Boston blew the game open in the second quarter en route to a 102-78 decision over Philadelphia.

The Celtics won their seventh straight and improved the best record in the Eastern Conference to 15-2.

Boston expanded a six-point lead after one period into an 18-point cushion at halftime. The Celtics held the 76ers scoreless for almost the first 4 minutes of the second quarter.

Kevin Garnett added 15 points and the Boston bench received most of the second-half playing time. Leon Powe, Tony Allen and Glen Davis all scored 10 for the Celtics.

Los Angeles  - Chris Paul started slowly but finished with a flurry.

Paul scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, and James Posey knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer with 19.1 seconds left as the visiting New Orleans Hornets nipped the Denver Nuggets 105-101 on Thursday night for their fourth straight win.

"I'm one of those guys who try to let the game come to me," said Paul, who also dished out 10 assists.

"Right before the third quarter, coach said to me, you need to get it going a little bit, so I tried to. I just got a little more aggressive and we got out in transition.

"J. R. Smith shot the ball amazing tonight," he added. "This is a great win for our team."

Los Angeles  - With the dreamy prospects of having superstar LeBron James in a New York Knicks' uniform two seasons from now, the atmosphere in the Big Apple was electric until he and the Cleveland Cavaliers short-circuited the moment, at least for now.

"King James" scored a game-high 26 points before sitting out the final quarter, and the surging Cavaliers shrugged off the distractions to hammer the Knicks 119-101 on Tuesday night for their 10th win in the last 11 games.

Los Angeles - Through the first 12 games, the San Antonio Spurs missed their leading scorer Manu Ginobili, but the Argentine star hardly missed a beat once he returned to action.

George Hill scored 20 points and Roger Mason added 18 with five three-pointers as the visiting Spurs welcomed back Ginobili with a 94-81 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

Ginobili had not played this season while recovering from off- season surgery on his left ankle. However, the energetic All-Star guard scored 12 points in just over 11 minutes in his season debut.

Washington  - Matching their worst start in franchise history, the Washington Wizards fired head coach Eddie Jordan on Monday and replaced him with team director of player development Ed Tapscott on an interim basis.

The Wizards compiled a 197-224 record during Jordan's five-plus years, including playoff appearances in the last four seasons.

Los Angeles - Randy Wittman hasn't had much to smile about this season, but the Minnesota Timberwolves coach beamed a rare happy face after Sunday's game.

Randy Foye had 23 points and a career-high 14 assists as the Timberwolves spanked the Detroit Pistons 106-80 for their first road victory of the season.

Minnesota entered the game with a 2-9 record, including 0-5 away from home, before dominating one of the Eastern Conference powerhouses with ease.