NBA roundup: Magic hand Suns first loss of season

ORLANDO, Fla. — Ryan Anderson had 20 and 10 rebounds, Dwight Howard scored 25 and the short-handed Orlando Magic defeated the previously unbeaten Phoenix Suns 122-100 on Wednesday night.

Playing without injured Vince Carter and suspended Rashard Lewis, the Magic built a 23-point lead in the third quarter to pull away from the Suns.

Amare Stoudemire finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds for Phoenix (4-1), which was looking to match the 1984-85 team for the franchise's best start. The Suns had come back from deficits in the first half but never did come close after the Magic built a big lead late.

NUGGETS 122, NETS 94: At East Rutherford, N.J., Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony woke up the unbeaten Nuggets in a 44-point third quarter and Denver continued its best start since 1985-86 with a victory over the winless Nets. The win was the fifth straight for Denver, one shy of the 85-86 start, and it handed the Nets their fifth straight loss, tying the worst start in franchise history, set in 1996-97. Ironically, New Jersey led 51-50 at intermission until Denver put on an offensive show in the third quarter, hitting 17 of 25 shots and outscoring the Nets 44-26. Chris Douglas-Roberts had 19 points to lead the Nets, who were without All-Star guard Devin Harris and four other injured players.

CELTICS 92, TIMBERWOLVES 90: At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 12 points and 11 rebounds in his third game back in Minnesota since he was traded in 2007, helping the Celtics remain undefeated with a victory over the Timberwolves. Rajon Rondo scored 14 of his 18 points in the third quarter for the Celtics (6-0), who join the Denver Nuggets as the only two teams in the league without a loss. The Wolves had a chance to tie in the final 10 seconds of the game. But Garnett forced a jump ball with Corey Brewer on an amazing defensive play to stay undefeated in five games against the Timberwolves. Oleksiy Pecherov scored a career-high 24 points and Al Jefferson added 18 points for the Timberwolves.