Heat 100, Celtics 84

Finding out shortly before the game that Dwyane Wade would be sitting out with a bruised right knee could have sent reeling Miami into an even bigger tailspin.

Instead, it proved inspiring.

And the team's five-game home slide is over.

Luol Deng scored 23 points, James Ennis scored 10 of his 16 in the fourth quarter and the Heat topped Boston on Sunday night.

"We needed a home win bad," said guard Mario Chalmers, who had 11 points and 10 assists. "Everybody stepped up. I think we had six people in double-digits tonight. That's what we need from everybody, each and every game."

Norris Cole scored 15 for Miami, which was without anyone from its former Big Three — Wade, Chris Bosh or LeBron James — for the first time in 154 games. Bosh missed his fifth straight game with a left calf strain and James now plays for Cleveland, which visits Miami on Christmas.

Tyler Zeller scored 22 for Boston, which had won three straight. Jeff Green and Kelly Olynyk added 13.

"They made a lot of big shots — kind of deflating shots," Zeller said. "We did a good job trying to push back. We just have to get over that hump and tie the game or (go) ahead."

Boston got the game's first basket, and never led again. Miami scored the next nine points, led by 10 at the half and after Boston got within five early in the third, the Heat went on a 9-0 run to rebuild a 65-51 lead.

Boston was within eight with 5:54 left, but Ennis took care of that with a 3-pointer, then a follow slam on the next Miami possession and the Heat maintained control the rest of the way.

Rookie Marcus Smart got his first start at point guard for Boston, which is still adjusting to life after the trade that sent Rajon Rondo to Dallas and brought Jameer Nelson, Brandan Wright and Jae Crowder to the Celtics.

Not only did all three Celtics newcomers play, but there were times when they were on the court together.

"We're all guessing a little bit, especially with the new guys. ... This is a little bit of an exploratory time for us," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "We don't get the chance to do that during practice. We have to do that during games."

The lineup with Smart — who finished with three points and four assists — was Boston's fifth of the season.

Raptors 118, Knicks 108

The Raptors put a winning punctuation mark on a stretch of games against struggling opponents.

Their next six contests will provide a significantly greater challenge.

Lou Williams and Kyle Lowry each scored 22 points and Toronto beat New York for its sixth consecutive win, all against Eastern Conference teams with losing records.

Toronto, which leads the East at 22-6, visits Chicago on Monday, the first game on a season-high, six-game road trip that finishes with five against Western Conference opponents.

"We're looking forward to this challenge," Toronto's Greivis Vasquez said. "Any time you go to the West it's not easy, but I think we're good enough to come out with a couple of wins and do our job. We've got to remain humble and hungry and continue to work."

With the World Junior Hockey Championships moving into Air Canada Centre over the holidays, the Raptors won't play at home again until Jan. 8 against Charlotte. After Chicago, they'll visit the Clippers, Denver, Portland, Golden State and Phoenix.

"We should be ready for it because we've been preaching it," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.

The challenging stretch will be made even more difficult by the ongoing absence of leading scorer DeMar DeRozan, who remains sidelined with a torn tendon in his left groin. Toronto has gone 9-3 without DeRozan, whose return date is unknown.

"We're playing for a lot of different things but mainly we want our franchise player back," Vasquez said. "We need him. It's unfair if you're going to analyze us without our best scorer."

Vasquez had 21 points and Terrence Ross scored 18 for the Raptors, who never trailed in matching their longest winning streak of the season. Toronto also won six straight from Nov. 15 to 26.

Carmelo Anthony scored 28 for the Knicks, who lost their fifth straight and have dropped 15 of 16 overall. Jason Smith had 16 points and Jose Calderon finished with 15 points and 10 assists.

Anthony acknowledged finding it hard to fathom that the Knicks are 20 games below .500 at 5-25.

"It doesn't seem real," he said.

Nets 110, Pistons 105

Mason Plumlee scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and had 12 rebounds in Brooklyn's victory over Detroit.

Joe Johnson added 16 points, including four free throws in the final 12 seconds.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 20 points for Detroit, and Andre Drummond finished with 18 points and 20 rebounds.

Cavaliers 105, Grizzlies 91

LeBron James had 25 points and 11 assists, Dion Waiters scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Cleveland handled one of the Western Conference's best teams, beating Memphis.

James scored 16 points in the second half and the Cavs shot a season-best 61 percent from the field to improve to 3-6 against West teams. Anderson Varejao added 18 points and Kyrie Irving had 17 points and 12 assists for the Cavs, who are 11-3 since their sluggish 5-7 start.

Cleveland, which has won eight of nine at home, is 9-2 when James has at least nine assists.

Marc Gasol had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who played without forward Zach Randolph. He's nursing a sore and swollen right knee he injured Friday night in a loss at Chicago.

Jon Leuer added 16 points for Memphis, which dropped to 21-6.

Kings 108, Lakers 101

DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points and 14 rebounds in his second start since returning from a serious illness, and Sacramento beat Los Angeles to snap a five-game losing streak.

Rudy Gay scored 24 points, and Ben McLemore added 23 points and eight rebounds to help the Kings pull away late. Sacramento had lost 10 of 12 games — going 2-8 while Cousins recovered from viral meningitis — and fired coach Michael Malone last week.

Tyrone Corbin won for the first time in three games as Sacramento's interim coach.

Nick Young scored 26 points, and Kobe Bryant had 25 for the Lakers, who have lost six of eight. Bryant shot just 8 of 30 and had five rebounds and three assists.

Pelicans 101, Thunder 99

Anthony Davis scored 38 points to lead New Orleans past Oklahoma City.

It was the third-highest point total of Davis' career. He made 16 of 22 shots and had 12 rebounds.

Jrue Holiday had 11 points and matched a career high with 15 assists for the Pelicans.

Russell Westbrook scored 29 points for the Thunder, but he missed a 3-pointer that could have given Oklahoma City the lead in the closing seconds. Reggie Jackson added 19 points.

Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant missed his second straight game because of a sprained right ankle.

Suns 104, Wizards 92

Eric Bledsoe and Markieff Morris each scored 17 points, Goran Dragic added 16 and Phoenix beat Washington to end the Wizards' winning streak at six.

The Suns finished 3-0 on their trip after losing six in a row. They opened the road swing in Charlotte on Wednesday night and beat New York on Saturday.

Rasual Butler led the Wizards with 17 points, and Kevin Seraphin had a season-high 16.

Washington cut it to 95-89 on Paul Pierce's layup with 2:40 to play, but the Suns scored nine straight — seven by Bledsoe — to take a 104-89 lead with 1:01 to play.

Pacers 100, Timberwolves 96

C.J. Miles scored 28 points and David West bulled his way to the basket for two big points with 34 seconds to play to help Indiana hold off Minnesota.

Miles hit 10 of 18 shots and Roy Hibbert had 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Pacers, who got 48 points from their bench. They shot a season-high 50 percent from the field on the second night of a back-to-back and forced 16 turnovers to win for just the second time this month.

Mo Williams had 24 points and 10 assists for the Timberwolves.

76ers 96, Magic 88

Michael Carter-Williams scored 21 points and Philadelphia rallied in the second half to beat Orlando for its third victory of the season.

The 76ers ended a five-game losing streak. All three of their victories have come on the road.

Victor Oladipo had 23 points for the Magic.