NBA news: Rondo gets first triple-double

Associated Press

The way Rajon Rondo played, there was no way the Boston Celtics could lose to the Indiana Pacers again.

Rondo notched his first career triple-double and Ray Allen scored 31 points, leading the Celtics over the Pacers, 114-96 on Wednesday night for their 10th straight victory.

"He was amazing," Kevin Garnett said. "It was like there was three Rondos. I looked up and it came off the rim and he is grabbing a rebound, then I got back on defense and he beat me back. He was everywhere tonight."

Rondo scored 16 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and handed out a career-high 17 assists. Garnett added 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics.

"We had a great incentive," Paul Pierce said. "They beat us last time, and they beat the Lakers last night."

Rondo, who also added three steals, secured his triple-double with 10:32 remaining in the third quarter after he grabbed two offensive rebounds and followed with a nifty pass to Garnett for an easy layup.

"(Allen) Iverson, (Nate) Archibald and Isiah (Thomas) are all little guys who could score," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. "Rondo is more of a play-making point guard with the rare combination of speed and quickness. It is a perfect fit for this team because we have so many great scorers."

Raptors fire Mitchell after blowout

The Toronto Raptors fired coach Sam Mitchell on Wednesday and replaced him with assistant Jay Triano, one day after an embarrassing loss at Denver.

Mitchell led the Raptors to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and was honored as the NBA's coach of the year for 2006-07. Toronto was off to a sluggish 8-9 start, due in part to injuries.

General Manager Bryan Colangelo said Tuesday night's 132-93 loss to the Nuggets was the final straw.

Wednesday's highlights

Magic 100, Timberwolves 89: Dwight Howard had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Rashard Lewis also scored 23 points to lead the Magic to a home victory over the Timberwolves.

Hedo Turkoglu added 22 for the Magic, who have won two of three despite missing their top three guards with injuries.

The Magic's starting backcourt of J.J. Redick and Anthony Johnson combined for only seven points, but former Western Kentucky star Courtney Lee came off the bench to score a career-high 19. Lee shot 8-for-10 from the field and made all three three-pointers.

"Due to the injuries, I'm getting to play more and get more comfortable with the players and the system," Lee said. "It shows hard work pays off."

Cavaliers 118, Knicks 82: LeBron James scored 21 points and then grabbed an early seat on the bench as the Cavaliers improved to 10-0 on their own floor for the first time in their history and won for the 14th time in 15 games.

"They're really good everywhere," Knicks first-year coach Mike D'Antoni said before his team was rocked by Cleveland for the second time in a week.

The 36-point margin of victory was Cleveland's largest in 171 games against the Knicks.

Hornets 104, Suns 91: Chris Paul had 24 points and 15 assists to lead the host Hornets over the Suns.

Amare Stoudemire led Phoenix with 26 points, while Leandro Barbosa added 19 and Grant Hill 17. However, the Suns were unable to keep pace with guard Steve Nash sidelined because of an illness. Shaquille O'Neal also sat out for Phoenix, hoping to be fresh when the Suns play Thursday night at Dallas.

Lakers 114, 76ers 102: Kobe Bryant tormented his hometown team again, scoring 32 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the host 76ers.

The Lakers improved to 15-2 one night after they lost in Indiana on a late tip.