Los Angeles  - The Detroit Pistons' second game with newly-acquired Allen Iverson was worse than the first.

Reserve Tony Allen scored 23 points, Ray Allen had 17 and the Celtics rolled to their fourth straight victory by punishing the Pistons 88-76 in Iverson's home-debut at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

"It was our best defence of the year by far, and it was all game," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "We had active hands, were physical, got up in their bodies, and it was neat to see."

The Celtics (6-1) blew the game open in the second quarter, led by Tony Allen and a strong defence. Allen erupted for 14 points and the defending NBA champions outscored their hosts, 30-10 for a commanding 47-29 at halftime en route to the easy victory.

Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points, but Richard Hamilton - averaging 20 points through five games - finished with just three on 0-for-8 field goal shooting for Detroit (4-2) which hit an icy 35 per cent.

Iverson scored 24 points in a loss to New Jersey on Friday night after being acquired from Denver in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb at the start of the week

In this one, "The Answer" had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and four turnovers in 31 minutes.

Iverson thinks he and his new teammates need more time together to find the right chemistry.

"I'm a totally different player than what they been used to playing with," the nine-time All-Star guard said. "We have to get a little more familiar with each other. And, we weren't playing no scrubs, those guys are the world champions. We have a ways to go, but we'll get it sooner or later."

However long it takes, Iverson is committed to helping the Pistons win another NBA title and his first.

"My goal is to win a championship," he added. "That's all I'm concerned about."

Elsewhere: Denver Nuggets 100, Memphis Grizzlies 90 Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points while newly-acquired Chauncey Billups had 16 points with 10 assists and six rebounds as the Nuggets tamed the visiting Grizzlies.

Rookie OJ Mayo topped Memphis (1-4) with 31 points..

LA Lakers 111, Houston Rockets 82 Kobe Bryant scored 23 points, Spain's Pau Gasol had 20 with 15 rebounds and the undefeated Lakers (5-0) blew out the visiting Rockets, in an early season match-up between Western Conference powerhouses.

Jordan Farmar added 16 points off the bench for the Lakers, who trailed by 12 after one, but dominated their guests 95-54 in the final three quarters.

Aaron Brooks scored 20 points while China's Yao Ming had 12 with eight boards for Houston (4-3) which shot 37.8 per cent (31-of-82) from the floor.

Atlanta Hawks 89, Oklahoma City Thunder 85 Joe Johnson scored 25 points, Flip Murray had nine of his 14 in the decisive fourth-quarter, and the Hawks rallied to run their record to 5-0.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder (1-5) with 20 points.

New York Knicks 107, Utah Jazz 99 Jamal Crawford scored 32 points, Zach Randolph had 25 with 14 rebounds and the Knicks handed the visiting Jazz its first loss of the season after five straight wins.

Chris Duhon chipped in with 16 points and nine assists for the Knicks (4-2) who moved above the .500 mark for the first time since a 16-14 record on Jan. 1, 2005.

Carlos Boozer collected 19 points and 17 rebounds for Utah (5-1). Russian Andrei Kirilenko had 18 points and Turkey's Mehmet Okur finished with 17.

LA Clippers 103, Dallas Mavericks 92 Baron Davis had 22 points with 10 assists, foul-plagued Al Thornton had 17 points and the Clippers beat the short-handed Mavericks for their first victory of the season after six losses.

German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki scored 33 points for Dallas (2-4) which had won the last six meetings. Gerald Green, filling in for Josh Howard (left wrist sprain) had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Toronto Raptors 89, Charlotte Bobcats 79 Chris Bosh had 30 points with 15 rebounds, and the Raptors outscored the Bobcats 26-12 in the final quarter to fashion the come-from-behind road win.

Rookie DJ Augustin topped Charlotte (2-4) with 14 points.

Sacramento Kings 115, Golden State Warriors 98 Kevin Martin scored 27 points before leaving with a left ankle injury in the third quarter, sparking the host Kings to their third straight win.

Latvian centre Andris Biedrins topped the Warriors (2-5) with 16 points and 18 rebounds. (dpa)