Los Angeles - Randy Wittman hasn't had much to smile about this season, but the Minnesota Timberwolves coach beamed a rare happy face after Sunday's game.

Randy Foye had 23 points and a career-high 14 assists as the Timberwolves spanked the Detroit Pistons 106-80 for their first road victory of the season.

Minnesota entered the game with a 2-9 record, including 0-5 away from home, before dominating one of the Eastern Conference powerhouses with ease.

"This is the sort of thing that will put a smile on your face. That was as good as a performance that we've had from start to finish," Wittman said. "We never let our foot off the accelerator tonight and we stayed with what we were doing that was good. I can't ask for anything more."

Wittman also singled out Foye's sparkling effort.

"Tonight showed what kind of player Randy can be," he said. "We've been talking to him for the last two days, telling him that he needed to be more aggressive."

"Everything seemed simple tonight," Foye said. "Coach told me to go for it, and there was a lot of energy out there."

Ryan Gomes scored 20 points, Al Jefferson had 19 and reserve Craig Smith added 16 for Minnesota (3-9), which rebounded from a
95-78 home loss to Boston on Friday night.

"We weren't happy with the way we lost to Boston, and we knew we were playing a similar team tonight," said Gomes, whose club was outscored 35-10 in the decisive third quarter by the defending league champions. "Tonight, we did the job."

Tayshaun Prince scored 20 points but Allen Iverson had just nine on three-of-11 shooting for Detroit (8-5) which shot an icy 37 per cent form the floor.

"We've had tough shooting games but you wouldn't expect it tonight against a team that had won only two games," Iverson said. "It was just a tough night, nobody could throw a rock in the ocean."

Iverson was especially tough on himself: "I stunk up the gym tonight," he said. "I couldn't do anything right on the offensive end. It was one of the nights you wish you never have, but they happen.

"It will be tough to sleep tonight."

The Pistons received some good news, though, when Antonio McDyess announced he will return to the club. After being dealt to Denver with Chauncey Billups and Cheikh Samb for Iverson on November 3, the veteran forward negotiated a contract buyout and will be able to re-sign after the league's 30-day waiting period ends.

"It was a very difficult decision for him," McDyess' agent, Andy Miller, told ESPN. com. "He was weighing good offers financially, along with other variables he thought were important. But going into the year, he had a team goal set, and to not finish up with it, he didn't want to do that. He wants to finish the year, finish what he started in Detroit, then re-evaluate after the season is over."

Elsewhere: LA Lakers 118, Sacramento Kings 108 Kobe Bryant scored 24 points, and Spain's Pau Gasol had 16, leading eight players in double figures as the Lakers held off the visiting Kings to improve their record to a league best 11-1.

Andrew Bynum collected 15 points with 10 rebounds, Lamar Odom scored 14, and Vladimir Radmanovic had 12 for the Lakers, off to their best start since opening the 2001-02 season 16-1, en route to winning the NBA crown.

John Salmons netted 24 points and Bobby Brown had a career-best 21 for the Kings (5-10) who lost for the fifth time in the last six outings.

Boston Celtics 118, Toronto Raptors 103 Ray Allen scored 21 points, including five 3-pointers to pace a balanced attack, and the streaking Celtics never trailed en route to their fifth straight victory.

Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Tony Allen had 15 points apiece for the visiting Celtics (13-2), who posted a season-high scoring output.

Chris Bosh scored 24 points while Spanish point guard Jose Calderon collected 14 with nine assists for Toronto (6-7) which lost for the seventh time in the last 10 games.

Philadelphia 76ers 89, Golden State Warriors 81 Elton Brand had 23 points with 12 rebounds and Andre Miller hit a huge 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining as the 76ers regrouped after blowing an 18-point halftime cushion to hold off the visiting Warriors.

Kelenna Azubuike led Golden State (5-8), which erased a 57-39 deficit only to fall short at the end.

Denver Nuggets 114, Chicago Bulls 101 Kenyon Martin scored 26 points, Carmelo Anthony had 21 with 13 rebounds, and the Nuggets closed on an 18-2 run to run past the Bulls for their fifth straight home win.

Brazil's Nene and Chauncey Billups also had 21 points apiece for Denver (9-5) which outscored their visitors 31-16 in the final frame.

Ben Gordon scored 28 points while Drew Gooden had 21 for the Bulls (6-8) who dropped to 1-6 on the road. (dpa)