Basketball-NBA: Tony Allen goes off for 32 points as Celtics clip Nets

Los Angeles (dpa) - The Boston Celtics' Big Three were given the night off, but Tony Allen was on.

Allen erupted for 32 points, and the defending champion Celtics clipped the host New Jersey Nets 111-108 Thursday in pre-season play.

With Celtics coach Doc Rivers deciding just before game time to rest all-stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, the other Allen got the call and took the spotlight.

"You know that's how it normally is," Rivers said. "When you sit down starters, everybody else wants to show you that they should be a starter. They want to show you that they can play."

"Tony was explosive and under control for the most part, and I thought he made passes as well," Rivers added. "He was hot."

Although Allen led the Celtics on this rare occasion, he said he just wants to contribute in whatever role he's asked to play.

"My coach is behind me, and my teammates are behind me," he said. "I just want to be a piece to the puzzle, that's all."

Eddie House added 21 points, Gabe Pruitt had 14 and Brian Scalabrine contributed 11 for Boston (4-1), which erased an early 14-point deficit.

Vince Carter topped New Jersey (2-1) with 19 points. China's Yi Jianlian, acquired in an off-season trade, added 15 in his Nets' debut before fouling out in the third quarter.

Trailing 110-102 with just over a half-minute remaining, the Nets closed to within two on three free throws by Keyon Dooling (14 points) and a 3-pointer from Chris Douglas-Roberts with 16 seconds left.

House lost the ball, giving his former club a chance to level the game. Douglas-Roberts drove down the right side for a layup, but House stripped the rookie of the ball with 4.4 seconds to go. JR Giddens made the first of two free throws to ice the victory as time expired.

Elsewhere:

Detroit Pistons 85, Dallas Mavericks 81:

Chauncey Billups buried a go-ahead jumper with 1:19 remaining, and the Pistons overcame a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to surprise the visiting Mavericks.

Richard Hamilton had 17 points, Billups finished with 16 and Tayshaun Prince tallied nine of his 12 in the final frame for Detroit (5-1), when it outscored its guests 36-19.

German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki had 15 points for Dallas (3-2), which led 39-27 at halftime.

San Antonio Spurs 91, Cleveland Cavaliers 70:

Tim Duncan had 16 points and 13 rebounds as the visiting Spurs kept the Cavaliers winless through four preseason games.

Matt Bonner scored 15 points, and Frenchman Tony Parker added 14 for San Antonio (2-2), which held its hosts to 28 second-half points.

Lithuanian Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 10 points, and Olympic gold medalist LeBron James had six with five assists in 17 minutes for Cleveland, which shot 34 per cent (27-of-80) from the field.

Minnesota Timberwolves 90, Toronto Raptors 86:

Ryan Gomes scored 11 of his 17 points in the final quarter, including a pair of game-sealing free throws with 10 seconds left, lifting the visiting Timberwolves (4-1) to a preseason victory over the Raptors.

Italy's Andrea Bargnani tossed in 22 points, and Kris Humphries added all 10 of his in the final quarter for Toronto (2-2), which made a late run after falling behind 52-37 at halftime.

Orlando Magic 94, Charlotte Bobcats 84:

Rashard Lewis scored 14 of his 26 points in the third quarter, rallying the Magic past the winless Bobcats.

Behind Lewis' offensive outburst, the Magic wiped out a 51-38 halftime deficit to take a 69-67 advantage and pulled away in the final period.

Dwight Howard had 15 points, and Keith Bogans added 14 off the bench for Orlando (3-1), which lost starting forward Hedo Turkoglu to a right groin strain in the opening quarter.

Gerald Wallace had 18 points and nine rebounds before leaving with a lower back injury in the third quarter for Charlotte, which fell to 0-4 under new coach Larry Brown.