NBA: Boston 95, Cleveland 89

CLEVELAND, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Ray Allen led a second-quarter comeback Tuesday and Paul Pierce hit the key shots down the stretch, giving Boston a season-opening 95-89 win over Cleveland.

The outcome spoiled the Cleveland debut of Shaquille O'Neal, who hopes to team with superstar LeBron James to bring the Cavaliers the championship that has thus far eluded the franchise.

The game was the first of the 1,230 contests that make up the NBA regular season and provided the year's first unexpected result. Cleveland lost its season opener at home after dropping only two contests all last season on its own court.

The Celtics overcame a seven-point deficit after the first period with a 30-point second quarter. Allen scored 11 of those points while Boston was taking a 51-45 lead at the break.

The lead grew to as many as 13 in the third period but Cleveland closed to within four points on several occasions in the fourth. That was the margin when James attempted a 3-pointer with 1:22 to play. He missed it, however, and Pierce quickly hit a jumper that put the Celtics in charge.

Pierce scored six more points in the final minute and finished with 23.

James had 38 points and 10 assists. O'Neal played 29 minutes and had 10 points and 10 rebounds.