No apology coming from Iverson

"Do I say all the right things all the time? I doubt it," Iverson said. "But the ultimate goal is to win games. That's the only thing it's about."

Iverson sees no reason to back down from his comments, but he also realizes they caused a stir because of his long history of provocative opinions and actions, from his infamous disdain for practice with the Sixers to a few lesser stirs in Denver and Detroit last season.

Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley shook hands with Iverson in the locker room last night and could be heard chatting about plans for a meeting with the veteran guard.

Heisley, who flew into Los Angeles earlier in the day, backed coach Lionel Hollins in the perceived dispute this week, saying the coach would handle the Grizzlies' rotation and calling Iverson's comments "inappropriate," according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Hollins refused to speak about Iverson earlier in the week, but said yesterday he has no problem with Iverson's pointed words. He also doesn't intend to have a special chat with the 10-time All-Star. "Every player has his opinion of his self-worth and what he expects, but I have to coach the whole team," Hollins said.

Iverson got his first game action with the Grizzlies on Monday night in Sacramento, and played 27 minutes off the bench against Golden State on Wednesday. He was not in the starting lineup last night.

In games last night:

* At Boston, Jason Richardson scored 34 points and had 10 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns handed the Celtics their first loss of the season, 110-103.

* At Orlando, Dwight Howard had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help the Magic hold off Charlie Villanueva and the Detroit Pistons, 110-103. Villanueva scored 22 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to get past the defending Eastern Conference champs, who led by 19 early and never trailed.

* At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 22 points, Jermaine O'Neal added 18 and the Heat dealt the Denver Nuggets their first loss of the season, 96-88. Miami is 5-1 for only the third time in its 22 seasons, and beat Denver for the first time since Dec. 17, 2004. Denver (5-1) got 30 points from Carmelo Anthony.

* At New York, LeBron James scored 33 points in his only visit to Madison Square Garden this season, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 100-91 victory over the Knicks.

* At Indianapolis, Tyler Hansbrough scored 13 points in his pro debut to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Washington Wizards, 102-86.

* At Charlotte, Raja Bell scored 24 points and the Bobcats beat the road-weary Atlanta Hawks, 103-83. Ronald "Flip" Murray, of Strawberry Mansion High, added 15 points in his Charlotte debut.

* At New Orleans, Chris Bosh scored 27 points and the Toronto Raptors used a 27-4 run in the third quarter to take a 107-90 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

* At Minneapolis, Andrew Bogut had 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks used a second-half surge to top the Minnesota Timberwolves, 87-72.

* At Houston, Trevor Ariza and Carl Landry scored 21 points apiece and the Rockets extended their winning streak over the Oklahoma City franchise to 11 games by beating the Thunder, 105-94. *