BOSTON — Chris Paul gets the individual accolades. Rajon Rondo has the team success.

Together, it's enough to make each player a little envious.

Paul outplayed Rondo last night, but the Celtics beat the New Orleans Hornets, 97-87, anyway as Boston improved to 4-0 behind Paul Pierce's 27 points. After the game, Paul pursued Rondo toward the Celtics' locker room and had to be blocked by Boston assistant coaches.

"Rondo is a lucky guy, to play with guys like Pierce, (Ray) Allen and (Kevin) Garnett," Paul, who scored 22 points with eight assists, said with a sly smile.

Asked if that was meant as a slight toward Rondo, the two-time All-Star said, "No, no. He is a great point guard and he's a champion. It's my hope to achieve that."

Rondo had even less to say on the matter, which seemed to stem from a second-quarter incident when the two got tangled up under the basket after Allen's 3-pointer. Referees stepped between them as words were exchanged and the players were assessed matching technical fouls.

"Rajon has requested you not ask anything about Chris Paul now, tomorrow, or any other time," Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said when Rondo limped out of the trainer's room favoring his right ankle.

"We have different styles based on what each team needs," Rondo said. "He has to do a lot more than what I have to do. My job is easy playing with these guys."

Allen scored 17 points, Garnett had 14 and Rondo had 10 assists and six points for Boston, which pulled away with an 11-3 run in the last four minutes to turn an 86-83 lead into an 11-point runaway. But even after it was over, Paul was still upset with Rondo.

The Hornets point guard walked toward the Boston locker room as the Celtics were filing off the court before Celtics' assistant coaches stopped him; New Orleans coach Byron Scott came over to retrieve him.

Rondo looked back but kept walking.

"The game's over; you just want everybody to clear the floor," Allen said. "They're both feisty; they're both aggressive, in your face. It can get pretty chippy out there.

"But you have to be able to walk off the floor and say, 'Way to compete tonight. For those 48 minutes, I cannot stand you. I wanted to fight you. I wanted to do everything I could.' And when you walk off the floor, you say, 'Way to battle.' "

Peja Stojakovic scored 26 as a reserve for New Orleans, including 6-for-10 3-point shooting. Emeka Okafor had 10 rebounds for New Orleans.

The Celtics, who won their first eight in their 2007-08 championship season but just two straight to start last year, have won four games in six nights, including a season-opening victory over the rival Cleveland Cavaliers and All-Star LeBron James.

"When you are winning, you can do that," Paul said, without elaborating on what he was referring to. "They are on top; we are on the bottom. We want to get where they are. ... They've established themselves as a team that won't beat themselves."

Heat 95, Bulls 87: Dwyane Wade scored 25 points to push his career total to 10,005, and Udonis Haslem had 19 points and 11 rebounds off the bench as host Miami improved to 3-0.

Luol Deng scored 26 points for Chicago.

Magic 125, Raptors 116: Jameer Nelson scored 30 points, J.J. Redick had a career-high 27 and Orlando improved to 3-0 thanks to a season-high 17 3-pointers.

Chris Bosh led the host Raptors with 35 points and 16 rebounds while Andrea Bargnani added 26 points.

Lakers 118, Hawks 110: Kobe Bryant had 41 points and eight rebounds, Andrew Bynum added 21 points and host Los Angeles pulled away with 18 consecutive points in the third quarter to hand Atlanta its first loss of the season.

Joe Johnson scored 27 points for the Hawks.

Trail Blazers 83, Thunder 74: Steve Blake scored 18 points and Brandon Roy made a late push to finish with 16 for visiting Portland.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 23 points but also matched his career-high with nine turnovers.

NUGGETS 133, GRIZZLIES 123: Carmelo Anthony continued his torrid start for 3-0 Denver with 42 points.

O.J. Mayo scored a career-high 40 points for visiting Memphis.

SUNS 120, TIMBERWOLVES 112: Channing Frye hit six 3-pointers and scored 25 points, and Jason Richardson had 23 points in his first game following a two-game suspension to lead host Phoenix (3-0).

Ryan Gomes led Minnesota with 23 points.