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 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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