PHILADELPHIA - Allen Iverson spent another day waiting to be traded, and the Philadelphia 76ers lost again without him. Paul Pierce and Ryan Gomes each scored 18 points, and Tony Allen had 16 to help the Boston Celtics beat the 76ers 101-81 Wednesday night, handing Philadelphia it's ninth straight loss.

"It's a challenge for myself and it's certainly a challenge for the players," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said.

The Sixers (5-16) have lost nine straight for the first time since a 13-game losing streak in 1996-97, and have lost 13 of 14 overall. Philadelphia has only two wins since a 3-0 start.

Iverson was inactive for the fourth straight game while Philadelphia tries to trade the former MVP. Although Miami coach and president Pat Riley expressed a "level of interest" in acquiring the guard, it's uncertain if the Heat are actually involved in any serious discussions with Philadelphia about making a deal.

"I would be delinquent in my responsibilities if I wasn't interested in Allen Iverson," Riley said Wednesday night. "That's all I'm going to say. I'm not going to comment any more. It's like when Shaquille came out there. I was frothing at the mouth. So my level of interest can be gauged on that comment."

In other NBA games Wednesday, it was: Toronto 91, Orlando 84; Phoenix 99, Miami 89; Indiana 101, Detroit 90; Washington 120, Denver 91; Cleveland 104, Charlotte 101; New York 94, Atlanta 82; New Jersey 108, Milwaukee 95; Portland 85, Memphis 79; San Antonio 95, Minnesota 82; Chicago 99, Seattle 84; Dallas 110, the Los Angeles Lakers 101; and Utah 105, the Los Angeles Clippers 86.

Once one of the fiercest rivalries in the NBA, the 76ers-Celtics series has cooled during the last decade. Without Iverson crashing all over the court, the rivalry loses a little more luster.

"The whole feeling of the game was different," Pierce said. "There was not much energy in the building. I guess it's time for him to move on. The trade is what he wanted. He wants to be happy."

Kevin Ollie led the Sixers with 14 points and Andre Iguodala had 12.

Raptors 91, Magic 84

Rookie Andrea Bargnani had a season-high 23 points and added six rebounds as visiting Toronto snapped a four-game losing streak.

Carlos Arroyo, making his first start of the season, led the Magic with 22 points.

Suns 99, Heat 89

Shawn Marion had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Steve Nash had 18 points and 11 assists to lead Phoenix to its 12th straight victory. The Suns finished a road trip 5-0 for the first time since April 1998.

Alonzo Mourning had 19 points for the Heat, who fell to 9-12 overall and 4-7 at home.

Pacers 101, Pistons 90

Jermaine O'Neal had 26 points and 14 rebounds to help host Indiana snap a three-game losing streak against Detroit.

Chauncey Billups had 22 points for the Pistons.

Wizards 120, Nuggets 91

Gilbert Arenas scored 34 points to lead six Washington players in double figures and the Wizards won for the fourth time in five games. Caron Butler had 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Brendan Haywood added 12 points and 13 rebounds in his first start of the season for Washington, which improved to 8-3 at home.

Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 37 points.

Cavaliers 104, Bobcats 101

LeBron James scored 22 points and Larry Hughes made a crucial steal and two free throws in the final 30 seconds to help Cleveland improve to 10-2 at home.

Rookie Adam Morrison had 16 points for Charlotte.

Knicks 94, Hawks 82

Eddy Curry had 20 points and nine rebounds and Jared Jeffries added 15 points in his first start of the season for host New York.

Marvin Williams led Atlanta with 23 points and seven rebounds.

Nets 108, Bucks 95

Vince Carter scored 36 points and Jason Kidd registered his 80th career triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as New Jersey won consecutive games for only the third time this season.

Charlie Villanueva scored 23 points for visiting Milwaukee, while Michael Redd had a season-low nine, snapping a streak of 101 games in which had scored in double figures dating to April 15, 2005.

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