Davis, Payton send Pelicans flying past Rockets
LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis had 32 points and 16 rebounds, and Elfrid Payton had a tripledouble as the retooled New Orleans Pelicans routed the host Houston Rockets 131-112 in the season opener for both teams Wednesday night.
Payton, one of two key offseason acquisitions, had 10 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, and the other key pick-up, forward Julius Randle, had 25 points off the bench.
Payton was brought in to replace point guard Rajon Rondo, who signed as a free agent with the Lakers, and Randle replaced All-Star forward DeMarcus Cousins, who signed with the Warriors, as New Orleans tried to assemble a group to surpass last season’s team, which finished sixth in the West and lost to Golden State in the conference semifinals.
Nikola Mirotic added 30 points, including 6 of 8 3-pointers, and 10 rebounds, E’Twaun Moore scored 21 points and Jrue Holiday had 10.
The Rockets didn’t look like a team ready to match or surpass last season, when they had the NBA’s best record and took the Warriors to seven games before losing in the West finals.
Eric Gordon came off the bench to lead the Houston with 21 points, PJ Tucker and Chris Paul had 19 points each, James Harden had 18 — 12 fewer than he averaged while earning the MVP award last season — and 10 assists, and Michael Carter-Williams had 10 points.
Carmelo Anthony came off the bench in his Houston debut and finished with nine points.
New Orleans had a 17-point halftime lead after shooting 61.7 percent in the first half, and the Pelicans didn’t cool off to start the third quarter.
Mirotic made three 3-pointers and Moore added one as five Pelicans contributed points during a spurt that produced a 97-68 lead.
Gordon made a basket, and Carter-Williams hit a 3-pointer to start a 16-4 run that pulled the Rockets within 101-84 at the end of the third quarter.
Another basket by Gordon started the fourth-quarter scoring, but New Orleans scored the next six points to take a 107-86 lead.
The Pelicans led by as many as 11 points during the first quarter and finished the period with a 3529 lead as Davis and Mirotic each had 10 points.
Houston matched New Orleans’ scoring for most of the second quarter before the Pelicans finished with a 16-5 run that saw five players score.
New Orleans held a 71-54 halftime lead as Davis had 18 points, Randle had 17, and Mirotic 15.
DEROZAN LEADS SPURS PAST BUTLER, WOLVES
DeMar DeRozan scored a gamehigh 28 points in his San Antonio debut, and four of his teammates scored in double figures as the host Spurs held off the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-108 Wednesday in one of 11 of the night’s season openers.
DeRozan, acquired in the offseason trade that sent Kawhi Leonard to Toronto, scored the final four points of the game after Minnesota rallied for a 108-108 tie on Jimmy Butler’s 3-pointer in the final minute.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and a game-high 19 rebounds for the Spurs, who also received 18 points from Rudy Gay.
Butler, who was away from the team for much of the preseason after requesting a trade, was in the starting lineup and scored 23 points in 31 minutes. Jeff Teague led the Timberwolves with 27 points, and Andrew Wiggins added 20.
RAPTORS 116, CAVALIERS 104
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in his Toronto debut in defeating visiting Cleveland.
Kyle Lowry had 27 points and eight assists for the Raptors. Fred VanVleet added 14 points, Pascal Siakam had 13 points and Danny Green chipped in with 11. Jonas Valanciunas grabbed 12 rebounds. Leonard and Green were acquired by Toronto from the Spurs in a July trade.
Kevin Love scored 21 points and added seven rebounds for the Cavaliers, and Cedi Osman had 17 points and 10 rebounds. George Hill and Jordan Clarkson each added 15 points, and Rodney Hood scored 12.
BUCKS 113, HORNETS 112
Giannis Antetokounmpo came within two assists of a triple-double as Milwaukee, in Mike Budenholzer’s first game as coach, held on to defeat host Charlotte, with James Borrego debuting as its coach.
Antetokounmpo, who finished with 25 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists, hit two free throws with 23.7 seconds remaining to give the Bucks the lead for good at 113-112. The Bucks then held on as Charlotte’s Kemba Walker missed a short jumper and Nicolas Batum missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
The Bucks led by as many as 20 on several occasions in the first half but had to come from behind in the final minute after Walker, who scored 41 points, rallied the Hornets. He hit two free throws with 36.3 seconds left for a 112-111 Charlotte lead.
KNICKS 126, HAWKS 107
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 16 of his game-high 31 points during host New York’s 49-point second quarter in an easy win over Atlanta.
Hardaway led a whopping seven players in double figures for the Knicks. Enes Kanter (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Noah Vonleh (12 points, 10 rebounds) had doubledoubles while Trey Burke, Mario Hezonja and Allonzo Trier had 15 points each. Rookie first-round pick Kevin Knox added 10 points on 4-for-16 shooting in his NBA debut. —