New Orleans forward James Posey reaches in on Portland center Joel Przybilla in the first half Friday. Associated Press Photo.

NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Hornets signed free-agent James Posey for his defense, his championship pedigree and his clutch shooting.

The first two things should benefit the Hornets in the long run. His big-shot ability helped them beat the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

David West scored 18 points and Posey hit two 3-pointers — New Orleans’ only baskets in the last 8:30 — to help the Hornets outlast the Blazers 87-82.

Posey’s first 3-pointer gave the Hornets the lead for good, 77-74. His next one extended the lead to four at 80-76, allowing them to hold on in a game where neither team led by more than seven points.

“It just came in the flow of the game,” Posey said. “The guys on this team trust each other to do what we do best. I got open, and they were able to find me.”

West almost fumbled a pass out of bounds on Posey’s go-ahead 3, retrieving the ball just before it landed on the baseline and finding Posey wide open in the corner. For once, a shot went through the net.

Posey hit a combined four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Hornets broke open close games against Phoenix and Cleveland earlier this season.

“I’ve already seen it,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “Now it is becoming an instant replay.”

Portland’s only field goals in the last 6:59 came on Brandon Roy’s two 3-pointers in the final minute.

Roy had a chance to tie it in the last 10 seconds, but his wild turnaround 3-pointer came nowhere close. New Orleans guard Devin Brown sealed the win two free throws with 7.3 seconds left.

“They picked up the pressure, and we stopped being aggressive and started running around,” Roy said. “We almost look timid sometimes. We have to work on that.”

Chris Paul added 17 points, nine assists and four steals to help the Hornets improve to 5-4. Portland lost for the first time in five games.

An already low-scoring game slowed down even more in the fourth quarter, when Portland shot 4-for-15 while New Orleans went 5-for-17.

The Blazers answered a 17-10 start for the Hornets with a 9-2 run to tie the score at 19, setting the tone for the rest of the night. New Orleans led by 2 at the end of the first quarter, Portland was ahead by three at the half and the Hornets went back ahead by two at the end of the third quarter. In the first half, both teams shot 18-for-36 from the field, had 17 rebounds and committed seven fouls.

Paul failed to score 20 points and hand out 10 assists for the first time this season, but he did enough to help the Hornets win. He, West and Posey, who finished with 14 points, were the only New Orleans players in double figures.

Injury-plagued Portland center Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, had career bests with 11 points and 11 rebounds in his second game back from a sprained foot he sustained in the season opener after missing all of his rookie season following microfracture knee surgery. He had seven of those points in the fourth quarter, including an emphatic dunk, but he received little help from his teammates.

“It felt good that I finally got my wind back somewhat,” Oden said.” I’m getting there. I’m still working on it and still trying to improve.”

LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points for the Trail Blazers.

Roy hit a desperation 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left to close the gap to 84-82. After a timeout, the Hornets inbounded the ball easily to Paul, who dribbled until he was fouled with two-tenths of a second remaining.

“We didn’t play great, but we still could have won this game,” Roy said. “That’s the only thing we can really take from tonight.”

Pistons 106, Lakers 95

LOS ANGELES — Rasheed Wallace had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Allen Iverson added 25 points and the Detroit Pistons handed the Los Angeles Lakers their first loss of the season, 106-95 Friday night.

Kobe Bryant scored 29 points for the Lakers, but went 12-of-30 from the floor.

The Lakers, who won their first seven and were outscoring opponents by an average of 18 points, had been the only team in the NBA without a defeat.

Both Bryant and Iverson moved up on the NBA’s career scoring list. Bryant has 21,817 points and jumped into 21st ahead of Larry Bird (21,791) and Gary Payton (21,813). Iverson (23,156) passed Elgin Baylor (23,149) to jump to No. 19.

Iverson was playing his fifth game since being traded from Denver to Detroit, and the Pistons are 3-2 since his arrival.

Tayshaun Prince added 18 points in Detroit’s balanced scoring.

76ers 94, Pacers 92

INDIANAPOLIS — Thaddeus Young had 25 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame a 26-point deficit to beat Indiana.

Andre Miller added 19 points, Elton Brand had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Andre Iguodala finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers. With the victory, Philadelphia snapped a three-game losing streak against the Pacers.

Danny Granger had 18 points, Marquis Daniels finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and T.J. Ford added 12 points and seven assists for Indiana.

The 76ers tied it at 90 on Iguodala’s free throw with 3:14 left in the fourth quarter and took their first lead, 92-90, on Miller’s layup.

Nuggets 94, Celtics 85

BOSTON — Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups had 18 points each and Kenyon Martin added 16 for Denver, 4-1 since acquiring Billups from Detroit.

The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Celtics (8-2). Ray Allen led all scorers with 26 points. Paul Pierce had 19 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 for the Celtics in their first home loss of the season.

Knicks 116, Thunder 106

NEW YORK — Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph each scored 29 points, combining for 10 in the final 4 minutes after New York had blown most of a 30-point lead.

Nate Robinson made his first five shots, giving him 13 in a row over two games, and Randolph had 19 rebounds in his seventh straight double-double. But seemingly headed to their second straight lopsided victory, the Knicks’ huge cushion was down to seven at 102-95 before Crawford and Randolph bailed them out.

The Knicks (6-3) are off to their best start since also going 6-3 to open the lockout-delayed 1998-99 season. Kevin Durant returned from a one-game absence with an ankle injury to score 23 points for Oklahoma City. The Thunder have lost six straight to fall to 1-8.

Bobcats 104, Jazz 96

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Raymond Felton scored 23 points, and Gerald Wallace added 22 for Charlotte in a matchup of undermanned teams.

While the Bobcats played without top scorer Jason Richardson (knee), the Jazz were without point guard Deron Williams (ankle), sixth-man Andrei Kirilenko (finger) and center Mehmet Okur, who is with his sick father in Turkey.

Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz, who committed 20 turnovers in their third loss in four games following a 5-0 start.

Suns 97, Kings 95, OT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Shaquille O’Neal tied a season high with 29 points and had 13 rebounds and six assists for short-handed Phoenix.

The Suns played without Steve Nash, Matt Barnes and Leandro Barbosa. Nash and Barnes were suspended Friday for a fight against Houston on Wednesday night, and Barbosa left the team Thursday night following his mother’s death in Brazil.

Beno Udrih had 21 points for Sacramento.

Heat 97, Wizards 77

MIAMI — Dwyane Wade scored 24 points before taking the fourth quarter off, and Miami held Washington without a field goal for 9 minutes in the second half.

Michael Beasley scored 19 points for Miami (5-4), which needed 20 games to hit the five-win mark last season. Udonis Haslem had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Antawn Jamison finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, which fell to 0-4 on the road and an Eastern Conference-worst 1-6 overall.

Spurs 77, Rockets 75

SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan scored 22 points and blocked Aaron Brooks’ layup with a second left for San Antonio.

Rookie George Hill, playing in place of Tony Parker at point guard for the Spurs, added 17 points to help San Antonio — down 14 points with 7:37 to go — improve to 3-5.

Ron Artest led Houston with 18 points.

Nets 115, Hawks 108

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Devin Harris, back in the lineup after missing three games because of a sprained left ankle, scored 30 points for New Jersey.

The Nets also got career-best nights from rookies Brook Lopez (25 points), and Ryan Anderson (15). Vince Carter had 26 points to help the Nets end a three-game losing streak. The Hawks, who opened the season with six straight wins, have lost two in a row. Joe Johnson scored 30 of his game-high 32 in the second half.

Magic 102, Mavericks 100

DALLAS — Rashard Lewis scored 23 points, including the tying and go-ahead points on free throws with 10.9 seconds left, for Orlando.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 24 points. The Mavericks (2-7) lost their fifth straight and remain winless at home (0-4) under new coach Rick Carlisle.

Bucks 101, Grizzlies 96, OT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ramon Sessions had 20 points, including a pair of free throws that put Milwaukee ahead with 42.6 seconds left in overtime.

Richard Jefferson led Milwaukee with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had 19 points and 17 rebounds. O.J. Mayo led Memphis with 25 points.