Celtics lose again

The Boston Celtics dropped their fourth road game in five as Wilson Chandler and Al Harrington led the New York Knicks to a 100-88 upset over the reigning NBA champions.

Chandler scored 31 points and Harrington added 30 off the bench as the Knicks, who had lost seven of their previous eight games, took control in the second half and never looked back.

New York fell behind by two in the third quarter but Chandler scored eight straight points - including a three-pointer and three free throws as part of a 15-2 run that put the Knicks on top 73-62.

The Celtics pulled to within five late in the fourth, as Paul Pierce buried a three-pointer off an inbounds pass to cut the deficit to 91-86 but Chris Duhon found David Lee cutting to the basket for an emphatic dunk and the Knicks piled on from there.

While Boston are in a slump, last year's beaten finalists had no such problems as the Los Angeles Lakers won their sixth straight game with a 100-86 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Kobe Bryant poured in 26 points and Pau Gasol scored 19 as Los Angeles claimed its 15th consecutive home win.

Both of Boston's closest rivals in the Eastern Conference failed to capitalise on the Celtics' defeat.

Antawn Jamison sank a jumper for the Washington Wizards with 10.5 seconds remaining and LeBron James saw his desperation three-pointer fall short as time expired as the Wizards held on for an 80-77 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who remained one game behind the Celtics.

Anthony Parker scored a season-high 26 points to give the short-handed Toronto Raptors a 108-102 victory over the Orlando Magic, who remained in third place, two and a half games behind the Celtics.

In other games, Allen Iverson finished with 18 points and drew a goaltending call in the closing seconds as the Detroit Pistons held on for an 88-87 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Memphis Grizzlies snapped a 17-game losing streak against the Dallas Mavericks, riding a fourth-quarter surge to a 102-82 triumph.