Kidd Gets Rude Welcome Back

Jason Kidd gave Boston Celtics’ fans a reason to boo. For once, Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce didn’t.

Walker had 29 points and 13 rebounds and Pierce scored 28 as the Celtics ruined Kidd’s return from a four-game absence by defeating the Phoenix Suns, 99-83, Friday night at Boston.

Kidd, charged last week with domestic violence assault, a misdemeanor, against his wife, was booed nearly every time he touched the ball. The fans cheered him for the first time when he missed two free throws early in the second quarter.

“That’s what they’re supposed to do, express themselves and get behind the home team,” said Kidd, who didn’t start and struggled after entering the game with 4:14 left in the first quarter. “They expressed themselves every time I touched the ball, but it didn’t affect me.”

Kidd finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes, but the Suns had a tough time against Boston’s defense, which has improved since the resignation of coach Rick Pitino.

The Celtics had 11 steals and six blocks, both above their average, and held the Suns to three-for-18 shooting in the third quarter.

Philadelphia 105, Detroit 89--Allen Iverson scored 44 points and George Lynch added 14 points and 13 rebounds at Philadelphia as the 76ers won for the 15th time in 17 games.

Philadelphia has the NBA’s best record at 33-10. Jerry Stackhouse scored 34 points on 12-for-32 shooting and Joe Smith added 15 for Detroit, which has lost 13 of 15.

Philadelphia took the lead for good with a 12-0 run over a four-minute stretch from the first quarter into the second.

Washington 106, Atlanta 99--Chris Whitney scored 18 points on a sore left ankle, including a game-clinching three-pointer, and the Wizards rallied to beat the Hawks at Atlanta for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Washington was bolstered by the return of Whitney, Mitch Richmond and Rod Strickland. Richmond scored 18 points after sitting out 25 games with a knee injury. Strickland, who sat out 14 games because of disciplinary matters and a shoulder injury, added six points in 17 minutes.

Seattle 107, Golden State 105--Rashard Lewis’ slam dunk with one second left at Oakland gave the SuperSonics their fourth win in a row.

Ruben Patterson blocked Marc Jackson’s layup as time expired to preserve the victory for Seattle, which blew two fourth-quarter leads but hung on to beat the Warriors for the sixth consecutive time.

Houston 106, Vancouver 89--Steve Francis had 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his second career triple-double in the Rockets’ victory at Houston.