Shaquille O'Neal had 13 points and nine rebounds, but he
missed two free throws with 1:02 left and Boston holding a two-point lead.
Philadelphia had two chances to equalize, but Andre Iguodala slipped and turned
the ball over the first time and then had his shot blocked by Kevin Garnett the
next.
Allen hit a pair of free throws with 5.6 seconds left to
finish it off.
Elton Brand had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday
scored 15 points for Philadelphia, which was coming off a 45-point loss to the
Chicago Bulls - its worst in three years.
At San Antonio, Manu Ginobili and
Gary Neal scored 22 points apiece as San Antonio beat Denver - playing without
All-Star Carmelo Anthony because of the death of his sister - for its 10th
straight victory.
The Spurs improved their NBA-best record to 25 wins from 28
games. It ranks among the 11 best starts to a season in NBA history.
Ty Lawson and J.R. Smith led the Nuggets with 22 points
apiece, and Kenyon Martin played 17 minutes in his season debut after missing
the first 26 games while recovering from knee surgery.
The Nuggets said Anthony would return after Christmas.
Their next game is Christmas Day at Oklahoma City.
At Minneapolis, Al Jefferson had
23 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks against his former team and Utah
coach Jerry Sloan moved into sole possession of third place on the career
victories list.
Jefferson scored 21 points in the second half and Deron
Williams added 25 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Jazz, who
came back from 12 points down at the start of the fourth quarter.
Sloan picked up victory No. 1,211, moving past Pat Riley
into sole possession of third place on the career list.
Only Don Nelson (1,335) and Lenny Wilkens (1,332) have more
victories in NBA history.
Kevin Love had 25 points and 19 rebounds and Michael Beasley
added 24 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. The Timberwolves have lost seven
straight games.
At Washington, Carlos Boozer scored 30
points and Derrick Rose added 25 to help Chicago beat the Wizards for its ninth
victory in 10 games.
Boozer also had 10 rebounds and a season-high seven assists
to go with his second 30-point performance this season. The Bulls have won nine
of 12 since Boozer returned after missing the first 15 games with a broken hand.
Luol Deng added 14 points for Chicago.
Nick Young scored 22 points for the Wizards.
At New York, Amare Stoudemire scored
23 points and Wilson Chandler added 21 as New York ran past Oklahoma City to
end a three-game losing streak.
Rookie Landry Fields had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the
Knicks.
In a game featuring the NBA's top two scorers, Stoudemire
nearly matched league leader Kevin Durant, who finished with 26. But Stoudemire
had far more help, with the Knicks putting six players in double figures.
Raymond Felton added 12 points and 10 assists.
At Toronto, Richard Hamilton scored
a season-high 35 points, Rodney Stuckey had 21 and Detroit beat Toronto to end
a five-game losing streak against the Raptors.
The Pistons fell one point shy of matching a season high and
ended an eight-game road skid, winning away from home for the first time since Nov.
14 at Sacramento.
Charlie Villanueva had 18 points and former Raptors star
Tracy McGrady added a season-high 17 for the Pistons.
Leandro Barbosa had 21 points for Toronto.
At Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 23
points in his best game since his return from elbow surgery to lead Atlanta
past Antawn Jamison and Cleveland.
Jamison had 23 points but Atlanta was stronger with its
balanced attack in its eighth straight home victory. Al Horford had 18 points,
Marvin Williams added 17 and Josh Smith had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the
Hawks. Mo Williams had 18 points for Cleveland. The Cavaliers have lost 12
straight on the road and 12 of 13 overall.
At Los Angeles, Kevin Martin scored
28 points, including four free throws in the final 16 seconds, and Houston
nearly blew an 18-point lead in the second half before holding on for its
fourth straight victory.
Luis Scola added 22 points and Shane Battier had 13 points,
10 rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets, who never trailed and recorded
their third wire-to-wire victory - one more than they had all of last season.
Rookie Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 24 points and tied
a season high with 18 rebounds.
At New Orleans, Emeka Okafor had 21
points and 10 rebounds, Chris Paul added 12 points and 14 assists as New
Orleans shot 53.9 percent and made eight of 16 3-point attempts.
David West and Marcus Thornton each scored 18 points and
Marco Belinelli had 14 for the Hornets.
Devin Harris had 21 points and eight assists for New Jersey.
