BOSTON — Now the Celtics are losing at home, too.

The defending NBA champions dropped their second straight and sixth in eight games last night, falling to the Houston Rockets, 89-85, on Von Wafer's go-ahead 3-pointer with 44 seconds left. It was the Celtics' first loss in Boston since a Nov. 14 defeat to Denver sent them on a 19-game winning streak.

"In our last timeout, you could see it in our guys' eyes. Like, 'Shoot, we're going to lose this home game,' " Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "It bothered them. You could see that. And I was thinking 'That's a good thing.' "

Yao Ming had 26 points and eight rebounds, clinching it on a putback with 12.9 seconds left to help the Rockets snap a three-game losing streak and a five-game road skid.

"Yao is unstoppable," said Rockets forward Ron Artest, who scored 17 points playing most of the game in foul trouble. "Then, when you have shooters surrounding him, it's hard to guard him. He shot right over the top. When he's playing like that, we're going to be tough to beat."

Paul Pierce scored 26 points, and Kevin Garnett had 18 and eight rebounds for the Celtics, who opened the defense of their 17th NBA title with victories in 27 of their first 29 games. But talk of running away with another championship has disappeared as the people in Boston — and the rest of the league — wonder what's happened.

"Nobody said it was going to be easy. I know, at times, we do make it look easy," Garnett said. "We are a very, very confident team. ... I feel we have the mind-set to weather the storm."

Wafer, starting in place of Tracy McGrady, had 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting. But he squared up for the open 3 when Aaron Brooks regained control of his dribble and made the pass into the corner.

McGrady had missed one game with a sore left knee before returning against Philadelphia on Tuesday night and struggling in the second half. Brooks came off the bench with 19 points for the Rockets, who avoided a second straight season sweep by Boston.

"Aaron Brooks made big shots in the fourth quarter," Yao said. "This is a big win for us, because we have a lot of respect for the Celtics."

Cavaliers 111, Bobcats 81: LeBron James scored 21 points before grabbing an early seat on the bench and host Cleveland warmed up for its matchup tomorrow against Boston with a rout of Charlotte to improve to 18-0 at home.

Raptors 99, Wizards 93: Andrea Bargnani scored 25 points and Chris Bosh added 18 for visiting Toronto, down to nine players after trading Hassan Adams to the Los Angeles Clippers in a money-saving move earlier in the day.

Nets 100, Grizzlies 89: Vince Carter had 25 points and 12 assists, and despite playing without leading scorer Devin Harris (sore right hamstring), host New Jersey never trailed in a game for the first time this season.

Magic 106, Hawks 102: Dwight Howard had 23 points and 19 rebounds for visiting Orlando, which nearly squandered a 21-point advantage, in a matchup of the top two teams in the Southeast Division.

Timberwolves 129, Thunder 87: Randy Foye matched his career high with 32 points in just three quarters and host Minnesota won its fourth straight game and six of its last eight following a 13-game losing streak.

76ers 110, Bucks 105: Andre Miller hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left, and finished with 28 points, and Andre Iguodala made three free throws in the final 17 seconds to help visiting Philadelphia turn back Milwaukee.

Jazz 116, Hornets 90: Paul Millsap had 27 points and 14 rebounds to extend his NBA-leading double-double streak to 19 games and host Utah held New Orleans to two field goals in the second quarter to open up a 58-46 halftime lead.

Nuggets 108, Heat 97: Playing without scoring leader Carmelo Anthony, out at least three weeks after fracturing a finger on his right hand Monday, Chauncey Billups, Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith scored 21 points apiece to help host Denver win its fifth straight.

Pacers 113, Suns 100: Danny Granger hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and finished with a career-high 37 points to lead visiting Indiana past Phoenix, playing without Shaquille O'Neal, who missed the game because of back spasms.

Lakers 114, Warriors 106: Pau Gasol had 33 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, Kobe Bryant added 21 points and Sasha Vujacic's 3-pointer with 7:18 left put visiting Los Angeles ahead for good, 90-87, in its victory over Golden State.

Trail Blazers 84, Pistons 83: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points and Travis Outlaw hit a fadeaway jumper with 8.9 seconds to go as host Portland rallied from a 14-point deficit to snap Detroit's seven-game winning streak.