The Boston Celtics seem to bring out the best in the Charlotte Bobcats.

Jason Richardson had 34 points along with nine rebounds, and the visiting Bobcats handed the Celtics' just their fourth loss of the season, 95-83 on Wednesday night.

The league-best Celtics (29-4) had their nine-game winning streak stopped and fell to 16-2 at home.

"This is big win for us," said Richardson, after the Bobcats improved to 2-11 on the road. "We beat the best team in the NBA and handed them just their second loss on their home-court."

Nazr Mohammed had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Raymond Felton chipped in with 16 points and eight rebounds for the Bobcats (13-21) who turned in their second solid outing in as many nights after clipping the Nets at home.

"We haven't been able to win on the road against a good team, and we needed to win back-to-back games," said Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace, who contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds. "So it was big for us in a few categories."

Kevin Garnett scored 24 points while Paul Pierce had 13 for Boston, which missed top gun Ray Allen (pinched nerve in his neck) and rookie Glen Davis (sore right knee).

"For some reason Charlotte plays its best games against us," said Pierce, whose club escaped with a last second victory in their first meeting of the season. "Tonight was their best game of the season. We took one on the chin and we just have to bounce back."

The Bobcats wiped out an 11-point second quarter deficit and carried a 72-65 advantage into the final quarter. After Richardson's layup extended the lead to 81-70 with 7:08 remaining, Pierce converted a three-point play to pull the Celtics within 83-76.

However, Richardson hit two free throws, and Mohammed made a pair of close-in baskets to keep the Bobcats in front down the stretch.

"Give them all the credit, they played great, they played hard," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "Jason Richardson was fantastic tonight."

Elsewhere: Portland Trail Blazers 109, Golden State Warriors 91 Steve Blake scored a season-high 24 points, before leaving in the second half with a left calf injury, helping the Blazers to their 17th victory in the last 18 games.

Dallas Mavericks 102, Detroit Pistons 86 Reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points, and the Mavericks' fifth straight victory gave them a share of first place with San Antonio atop the Southwest Division.

Richard Hamilton netted 18 points for visiting Detroit (26-9) which dropped its second straight game following an 11-game winning streak.

Phoenix Suns 129, Indiana Pacers 122 (OT) Raja Bell scored 27 points, including two of his six 3-pointers in the final 2 1/2 minutes of overtime, and the short-handed Suns sent the Pacers to their seventh straight road loss.

Brazil's Leandro Barbosa also scored 27 points, Amare Stoudemire had 25 for the Suns (25-10) who overcame a 16-point deficit in regulation without Grant Hill (appendectomy) and lost Steve Nash to stomach flu during the game.

Danny Granger and Shawne Williams led the Pacers (16-21) with 22 points apiece.

Houston Rockets 101, New York Knicks 92 Chinese superstar Yao Ming scored 36 points, Rafer Alston added 20 and the visiting Rockets pulled away in the final frame for their season-high fourth straight victory.

Jamal Crawford led the Knicks (9-25) with 21 points.

Atlanta Hawks 90, Cleveland Cavaliers 81 Joe Johnson scored 27 points, Josh Smith had 19 and the Hawks broke a four-game slide by ending the Cavaliers' four-game winning run.

LeBron James had 31 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers (18-18) who won the previous six meetings in Atlanta since 2003.

Toronto Raptors 109, Philadelphia 76ers 96 Anthony Parker tied his season best with 22 points, Chris Bosh had 21 and the Raptors sent the visiting Sixers to their fifth straight loss.

Spain's Jose Calderon had 17 points and nine assists for Toronto.

Willie Green led the 76ers (14-22) with 18 points.

New Jersey Nets 99, Seattle SuperSonics 88 Richard Jefferson scored 28 points, carrying the host Nets to their sixth win in the last seven games.

Frenchman Johan Petro matched a career-high with 22 points for Seattle (9-26), losers of five straight.

LA Lakers 109, New Orleans Hornets 80 Kobe Bryant scored 19 points, Andrew Bynum added 17 and the visiting Lakers rolled to their 14th win in the last 16 games.

Chris Paul scored 32 points for New Orleans (23-12) which lost for just the second time in the last 10 games.

Milwaukee Bucks 98, Miami Heat 92 Mo Williams tossed in a season-high 35 points and the Bucks handed the visiting Heat its ninth straight loss.

Dwyane Wade scored 34 points for Eastern Conference-worst Miami (8-28) losers of eight in a row on the road.

Orlando Magic 113, LA Clippers 106 Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, and Dwight Howard had 17 points and 17 rebounds, leading the Magic to its league-high 16th road victory.

Corey Maggette matched his season-high with 27 points for the Clippers (10-22) who lost for the ninth time in 10 games.