• The Celtics are 4-0 for the second time in three seasons. Each of the last three times they started 4-0, they advanced to at least the Eastern Conference finals. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Rajon Rondo is the first player in Celtics history with at least 10 assists in each of the team's first four games of a season. Tuesday in Philadelphia, Rondo could become the fourth NBA player in the past 10 seasons to record 10 or more assists in each of his team's first five games of a season. Mark Jackson achieved the feat in 2000-01, as did Steve Nash in 2006-07 and Chris Paul last season.
• Carmelo Anthony has scored 40-plus points in back-to-back games and is averaging an NBA-best 37.7 points per game so far this season. He is the first player since Allen Iverson in 2006-07 and the first Nugget since Alex English in 1985-86 to record 30-plus points in each of his team's first three games.
Anthony has become a handful for defenders in the post. For the season, 12 percent of Anthony's overall possessions have come in post-up situations (the second most common possession type for Anthony). In those situations, Anthony is averaging 1.45 points per possession, good for second in the NBA behind only Jermaine O'Neal.
Cavs 102, Wizards 90
Box score | Recap
Nuggets 111, Pacers 93
Box score | Recap
Celtics 105, 76ers 74
Box score | Recap
Pistons 85, Magic 80
Box score | Recap
Suns 104, Heat 96
Box score | Recap
Bulls 83, Bucks 81
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Lakers 101, Thunder 98 OT
Box score | Recap
Mavs 96, Jazz 85
Box score | Recap
Hawks 97, Blazers 91
Box score
Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images
Kevin Durant's Thunder dropped to 0-8 against the Lakers after falling 101-98 in overtime tonight.
ESPNDallas.com
DALLAS -- Jason Kidd usually keeps his hair cropped tight, but flecks of gray pop up when he has gone a week or so without visiting the barber.
The Dallas Mavericks believe the wealth of basketball knowledge inside Kidd's head is more important than any evidence of the 36-year-old point guard's aging process.
Kidd doesn't claim to be the same caliber of athlete he was when the Mavericks made him the second overall pick of the draft 15 years ago. He acknowledges that he doesn't move as well as he did when he carried the New Jersey Nets to consecutive NBA Finals appearances at the beginning of the decade.
"At this point, it's all smarts," said Kidd, who will match up with a pair of elite young point guards in Utah's Deron Williams and New Orleans' Chris Paul the next couple of nights. "I've seen hopefully pretty much everything, so just understanding different situations and anticipating, I can use those skills to bail me out of situations that maybe somebody that didn't know what was coming would be in trouble."
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