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 Tony Parker swished a three-pointer to give the Spurs a one-point
lead with about a minute to go and the reigning champions celebrated
last season's success with a triumph in front of their home crowd.
Dallas had a chance to crash the San Antonio party but Chandler
Parsons missed a three-pointer in the last seconds and their final
full-court heave misfired.
Parker led the way with 23 points, Manu Ginobili added 20 off the
bench and Tim Duncan tallied 14 points and 13 rebounds as the team's
familiar faces helped erase an eight-point halftime deficit.
"We moved the ball much better in the second half," Ginobili told
reporters. "It was a close game, anything could've happened."
Monta Ellis had a game-high 26 points for the Mavericks, who pushed
San Antonio to seven games during the first round of last season's
playoffs. Dirk Nowitzki scored 18.
The Spurs outscored the Mavs 31-20 in the third quarter and pushed
their advantage to 10 in the fourth before being tested down the
stretch. San Antonio won despite playing without NBA Finals MVP
Kawhi Leonard, who is out with an eye infection.
Big free agent signing Parsons debuted for the Mavs but made just
two of 10 shots. Tyson Chandler (eight points, 10 rebounds) and
Jameer Nelson (nine points) also got their start as new key
additions.
In Los Angeles, the Houston Rockets gave the Lakers a nightmare
start to the season in a 108-90 rout that saw Los Angeles lose their
top draft pick Julius Randle to what is reportedly a broken right
leg.
James Harden scored 32 points, Dwight Howard put up 13 and 11 in his
return to Los Angeles, and the Rockets took a 17-point lead into
halftime and piled on.
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Kobe Bryant, playing for the first time since last December, scored
19 points in 29 minutes but the only fight the Lakers showed was in
Bryant's late confrontation with Howard.
The two players shared one contentious 2012-2013 season together in
Los Angeles and bad blood boiled over in the fourth when Howard
elbowed Bryant and the two exchanged words and drew technical fouls.
But things completely went sour for Los Angeles a few minutes later
when Randle, their number seven overall draft pick, went down and
stayed there for several minutes before being carted off the court.
In New Orleans, Anthony Davis displayed his emerging star status as
the Pelicans began their new campaign with a 101-84 blowout of the
Orlando Magic.
Davis, who became an All Star in his second season and continues to
improve, recorded 26 points, 17 rebounds, nine blocks and three
steals. Fellow big man Omer Asik, acquired by the Pelicans in the
off-season, backed up Davis with 14 points, 17 rebounds and five
blocks.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles, editing by Nick
Mulvenney/Sudipto Ganguly)
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