NBA roundup: Timberwolves hang on in opener

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[October 29, 2015]  LOS ANGELES -- Two days after they lost their coach, the Minnesota Timberwolves opened the season on a high note.

Point guard Ricky Rubio scored 28 points and handed out 14 assists as the Timberwolves held on for a 112-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at Staples Center.

Lakers guard Lou Williams missed a potential game-winning shot just before the final horn, allowing the Timberwolves to prevail.

The win came after Minnesota's coach and president Flip Saunders passed from complications of Hodgkin's lymphoma on Sunday. Sam Mitchell replaced Saunders as interim coach.

Reserve guard Kevin Martin added 23 points for Minnesota (1-0), while rookie center and top draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Lakers forward Kobe Bryant kicked off his NBA-record 20th campaign by scoring 24 points to lead the Lakers (0-1). Bryant, who surpassed former Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton's mark of 19 consecutive seasons with the same club, managed just 8-of-24 shooting and missed 10 of 13 3-point attempts.

Cavaliers 106, Grizzlies 76

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Kevin Love had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Richard Jefferson added 14 points to lead defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland to a victory over Memphis.

The Cavaliers, who lost their season opener on Tuesday night in Chicago, built an early lead by taking advantage of poor Memphis shooting and were never threatened. Cleveland led by 16 points at the end of the first quarter, by 21 at halftime and by 24 after three quarters.

The Grizzlies, coming off three straight 50-win seasons, had difficulty finding a rhythm in their season opener. They shot 19 percent from the field in the first quarter and their perimeter shooting, a perennial shortcoming, was inefficient again.

Wizards 88, Magic 87

ORLANDO -- John Wall scored 22 points, including the winning basket with 12 seconds remaining, to lead Washington past the Magic.

Bradley Beal had 24 points and six rebounds for the opening night victory. The Magic were led by Victor Oladipo, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Elfrid Payton had 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Magic. Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Chris Humphries had 11 points and six rebounds for the Wizards. Marcin Gortat had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Bulls 115, Nets 100

NEW YORK -- Jimmy Butler led six Chicago players in double figures by scoring 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and the Bulls withstood some shaky moments during a wire-to-wire victory over Brooklyn.
 

Nikola Mirotic made four 3-pointers and had 18 points as the Bulls were 14 of 28 (50 percent) from behind the arc. Pau Gasol added 16 points and Derrick Rose contributed 15 for Chicago, which shot 53.8 percent from the field (42 of 78).

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Reserve Andrea Bargnani added 17 points, but Joe Johnson was held to 10 on 4-of-15 shooting from the floor and Brooklyn's starting backcourt of Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington combined for only six points.

Celtics 112, 76ers 95

BOSTON -- Boston overcame an early nine-point deficit and cruised to a victory over young Philadelphia in the opener for both teams.

The loss spoiled the NBA debut of center Jahlil Okafor, the third pick of the 2015 NBA draft. The Duke product sparkled early and late, scoring 10 points in his first 5 1/2 minutes and finishing a strong debut impressively.

He wound up with 26 points and seven rebounds in 37 minutes. He was 10 of 16 from the floor but did have eight of his team's 24 turnovers.

Pistons 92, Jazz 87

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Reggie Jackson led a balanced attack with 19 points and scored the go-ahead basket with 17 seconds left as Detroit beat Utah in the home opener at The Palace.

Jackson also contributed four assists. Andre Drummond had 18 points, a team-high 10 rebounds and two blocks. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 16 points, Marcus Morris added 14, and rookie Stanley Johnson chipped in 11 for Detroit.

Derrick Favors led Utah with 26 points and added six rebounds. Alec Burks delivered 18 points off the bench. Gordon Hayward had 13 points, while Rodney Hood added 12 points and a team-high six assists.

Heat 104, Hornets 94

MIAMI -- Miami, with Chris Bosh back in the lineup for the first time since just before the 2015 All-Star Game, defeated Charlotte at AmericanAirlines Arena. It was the season opener for both teams.

Bosh, who was hospitalized last year due to blood clots in his lungs, had a game-high 21 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in his return. He helped the Heat win its 12th straight home game in its series against Charlotte.

Heat guard Dwyane Wade had 20 points, five assists and just one turnover. Miami also got 19 points off the bench from Gerald Green.

Raptors 106, Pacers 99

TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan had a game-high 25 points and Kyle Lowry added 23 as Toronto's dynamic backcourt duo led the Raptors to a come-from-behind win over Indiana.

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DeRozan scored 18 of his points in the second half, including five straight to give the Raptors the lead for good in the final 90 seconds as they ran their all-time record in season-opening games to 12-9.

George Hill had 19 points to lead the Pacers while forward C.J. Miles chipped in 18.

Nuggets 105, Rockets 85

HOUSTON -- Danilo Gallinari scored a game-high 23 points, and Kenneth Faried and Emmanuel Mudiay flirted with double-doubles as Denver stunned Houston at Toyota Center.

Faried (18 points, nine rebounds) and Mudiay (17 points, nine assists) underscored the Nuggets' balanced offensive attack. The Rockets discovered no such rhythm, shooting a miserable 34.5 percent from the floor, including 8-for-35 (22.9 percent) from behind the 3-point arc, while trailing throughout.
 

Rockets guard James Harden scored 22 points but missed 15 of 21 shots, including 10 of 12 3-pointers, while former Nuggets guard Ty Lawson shot 3-for-10 for 12 points and added six assists in his Rockets debut.

Knicks 122, Bucks 97

MILWAUKEE -- Kristaps Porzingis had 16 in his NBA debut as New York opened the 2015-16 season with a rout of Milwaukee at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Porzingis, a 7-foot-3 native of Latvia, was booed on draft night when the Knicks selected him with the fourth overall pick but he sank three of his 11 attempts from the field -- including a 3-pointer -- and knocked down nine of 12 free-throw attempts while grabbing five rebounds and also added an assist, block and steal in 20 minutes.



The Knicks also got 24 off the bench from Derrick Williams, who went 8-for-17 from the floor and added seven rebounds in 21 minutes.

Thunder 112, Spurs 106

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook scored 33 points to lead Oklahoma City to a victory over San Antonio at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Westbrook made 12 of 23 shots from the field and collected 10 assists. Kevin Durant added 22 points and six rebounds in the Thunder's season opener.

Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 32 points and eight rebounds. In his first game with San Antonio, LaMarcus Aldridge was held to 11 points.

Trail Blazers 112, Pelicans 94

PORTLAND, Ore. -- CJ McCollum scored 28 of his career-high 37 points in the first half to lead Portland to a season-opening victory over New Orleans at Moda Center.

Damian Lillard contributed 21 points and 11 assists for the Blazers, who led by as many as 30 points in the second half.

Anthony Davis had 25 points and 10 rebounds while Ryan Anderson came off the bench for 21 points and nine boards for the Pelicans. Portland also got 12 points and 11 rebounds from reserve Ed Davis, playing in his first game as a Blazer.

Clippers 111, Kings 104

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Blake Griffin scored 33 points, and Chris Paul hit a crucial shot from inside the key with under a minute left to help Los Angeles hold off Sacramento at Sleep Train Arena in the season opener for both teams.

The Clippers scored six consecutive points after the Kings overcame a 15-point deficit to forge a 102-102 tie late in the fourth quarter.



Sacramento briefly took a pair of one-point leads in the final period after spending much of the contest playing catch-up. J.J. Reddick's outside jumper broke the tie, and Paul's short shot made it a two-possession margin that the Kings could not overcome. Paul finished with 18 points and 11 assists.

Mavericks 111, Suns 95

PHOENIX -- Raymond Felton scored 18 points and Dallas broke open a close game with a 41-11 run over the second and third quarters to pound Phoenix in the season opener for both teams.

Deron Williams and Dwight Powell added 12 points for Dallas, who had eight players in double figures -- all of whom contributed to blowing the game open. The Mavericks closed the second quarter on a 14-4 run and opened the third quarter with a 29-11 spurt to lead by 27 points at 83-56 with 5:12 left.

Brandon Knight had 15 points and reserves Jon Leuer and Devin Booker had 14 each for the Suns, who shot 39 percent from the field and missed 18 of 24 3-pointers including 13 of their first 16 in the first half. Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said before the game he expects this team, with seven new players, to shoot better and play better defense. Neither happened Wednesday.

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