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PORTLAND — Brandon Roy thinks the Portland Trail Blazers are shaping up to be a pretty good team.

“I’m not going to go out on a limb and say we’re going to win a championship,” he said. “We have tons of room to improve. That’s why I think we’re a pretty good team because we’re winning games and we still have room to improve.”

In the latest win, the Blazers used a 17-point, second-half run to beat the New Orleans Hornets 101-86 on Friday night.

Roy, who is often cautiously optimistic, had 25 points and 10 assists. The All-Star guard has scored 20-plus points in 10 of the team’s last 12 games.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Blazers (11-6), who are off to their best start since they opened the 2000-01 season 12-6.

The Blazers also improved to 7-0 this season at the Rose Garden, their best start at home since they went 9-0 in the 1998-99 season.

“Still, we’ve got to keep improving,” coach Nate McMillan said. “I’m really pleased with our games at home and the fan support we get but we’ve got to make our own noise out on the road. I’m happy with our record and where we are but there’s a lot of season left and we must continue to get better.”

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Hornets (9-6), who were led by Peja Stojakovic with a season-high 21 points. New Orleans was playing the second game of a back-to-back after edging the Denver Nuggets 105-101 on Thursday night.

Chris Paul, who has had triple-doubles in two of the Hornets’ last three games, had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. It was New Orleans’ fifth straight loss in Portland.

“We are nowhere near where we need to be,” Paul said. “We have a lot of work to do, mentally, physically ... as a team. It’s a long season but the only way that we’re going to get in the playoffs is if we start winning games.”

The Blazers led by as many as nine points in the first half, but James Posey’s layup helped narrow it to 38-37 for the Hornets. New Orleans couldn’t get closer and Portland led 50-48 at the break.

New Orleans pulled ahead early in the second when Stojakovic’s jumper made it 56-54.

The Hornets took a 69-65 lead on David West’s 20-foot jumper, but the Blazers went on a 17-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Rudy Fernandez, that made it 82-69.

In the midst of the run, Fernandez was fouled by Devin Brown and he stumbled before grasping his ankle in pain. There were several tense moments before Fernandez shook it off and made the foul shots, to the chants of “Rudy! Rudy!” from the Rose Garden crowd.

When he made his run-capping 3-pointer, Fernandez raised his arms and held up three fingers.

Steve Blake’s 3-pointer in the final minute made it 101-84, the Blazers’ largest lead of the game.

Hornets coach Byron Scott he was amazed that the game was even close for a time. He said his team lacked both energy and aggressiveness.

“It was the way that we lost, more than anything,” Scott said. “I’m not disappointed with the loss. I’m disappointed with the way that we lost.”

Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft who sat out all of last season after knee surgery, made his fourth start of the season and had one point and eight rebounds in 23 minutes.

The Trail Blazers, the NBA’s second-youngest team behind the Golden State Warriors, were coming off a 106-68 rout of Miami at home on Wednesday night.

Heat 107, Suns 92

PHOENIX — Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 43 points and the Miami Heat beat the Phoenix Suns 107-92 Friday night in the first matchup between the teams since the Shaquille O’Neal for Shawn Marion blockbuster trade last February.

Neither O’Neal nor Marion was much of a factor in the game dominated by the unstoppable Wade. O’Neal scored 12 points and Marion had 10.

Leandro Barbosa, playing on his 26th birthday, led the Suns with 20 points. Raja Bell had 16 and Amare Stoudemire 14 for Phoenix, which played without the injured Steve Nash.

Pistons 107, Bucks 97

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Allen Iverson scored 17 points in his first game as a reserve this season, leading Detroit over Milwaukee.

Iverson was benched by Pistons coach Michael Curry to begin the game, punishment for missing a mandatory team practice on Thanksgiving. He apologized Friday morning, then sat on the bench for almost 10 minutes as Rodney Stuckey started instead.

Richard Jefferson and Ramon Sessions each scored 21 points for the Bucks, who lost their third consecutive game and trailed by as many as 15 points. Milwaukee center Dan Gadzuric, starting in place of the injured Andrew Bogut, had 12 rebounds.

Cavaliers 112, Warriors 97

CLEVELAND — LeBron James scored 23 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas added a season-high 21, and Cleveland matched the best home start in franchise history by beating Golden State.

Cleveland (13-3) has won 12 of 13 and is a league-best 9-0 at home, equaling its top home start, first set in 1976-77 and repeated in 1991-92.

The Warriors (5-11) have lost five straight, including the first four on their current road trip. Golden State is 2-7 away from home and ends its trip in New York on Saturday night.

Spurs 109, Grizzlies 98

SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker had 15 points and seven assists in his first game in three weeks, leading San Antonio over Memphis.

Manu Ginobili scored 14 points and Tim Duncan added 11. Ginobili was in his third game back for the Spurs, who have won four straight and have their three All-Stars healthy for the first time this season.

O.J. Mayo scored 32 points for Memphis, which lost for the second time this week to resurgent San Antonio. Since starting the season 1-4, the Spurs have won eight of 10.

Raptors 93, Hawks 88

TORONTO — Chris Bosh had 30 points and 10 rebounds, Jason Kapono scored 16 points and Toronto Raptors beat Atlanta.

Joey Graham added 11 points and Jamario Moon had 10 for Toronto, with guard Jose Calderon picking up 11 assists.

Mike Bibby scored 24 points for Atlanta, Joe Johnson had 18 and reserve Maurice Evans added 17.

Celtics 102, 76ers 78

BOSTON — Ray Allen scored 23 points and Kevin Garnett added 16 to lead Boston to its seventh straight victory.

Allen was 10-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-5 on 3-pointers. In the last three games, he is 13-for-19 from behind the arc.

Elton Brand scored 18 points and Louis Williams added 15 for the 76ers, who had their lowest-scoring game of the season and lost their third straight.

Timberwolves 105, Thunder 103

OKLAHOMA CITY — Craig Smith scored a season-high 23 points, Mike Miller drilled the game-winning jumper from the left baseline with 0.1 seconds left, and Minnesota handed Oklahoma City a franchise record-tying 14th straight loss.

Al Jefferson finished with 19 points and nine rebounds to narrowly miss his eighth double-double. Miller scored 18 points and reserve Sebastian Telfair contributed 12.

Kevin Durant and Jeff Green led Oklahoma City with 22 points apiece.

Jazz 120, Kings 94

SALT LAKE CITY — Deron Williams had nine of his 15 assists during a 44-point third quarter, and Utah pulled away from Sacramento.

Williams finished with 13 points before sitting out the fourth quarter and resting his left ankle, which he sprained in the preseason and caused him to miss 13 games. He had done enough running in the third period already when the Jazz outscored the Kings 44-17, going 16-for-19 from the floor and making 10 of 13 foul shots to take a 94-67 lead into the fourth.

C.J. Miles scored 16 of his 18 in the third, including a dunk off an alley-oop from Williams during a 3-on-none break as the Jazz blew open the game after letting the Kings tie it at 50 at halftime.

Bobcats 115, Pacers 108, OT

INDIANAPOLIS — Raymond Felton tied a career high with 31 points and Charlotte beat Indiana Pacers in overtime. Emeka Okafor had 14 points and 20 rebounds.

Jason Richardson finished with 21 points, D.J. Augustin scored 17 and Gerald Wallace added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats (5-10), who won for just the second time in their past seven games.

Danny Granger had a season-high 35 points, and Marquis Daniels and T.J. Ford each scored 20 for the Pacers (6-9).