T’Wolves rally, slip past Lakers
LOS ANGELES—Ricky Rubio had a careerhigh 28 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 112-111, Wednesday night in their first game since Flip Saunders’ death.
Rubio also had 14 assists and Kevin Martin scored 23 points. The Timberwolves played with heavy hearts three days after they lost Saunders, the longtime coach and team president who battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Minnesota led 111-102 with 2:11 left, but the Lakers finished on a 9-1 run. Lou Williams hit a three-pointer with 31 seconds left to trim Minnesota’s lead to one point. Martin missed a jumper before Williams missed a leaning four-footer at the buzzer.
Kobe Bryant scored 24 points in the first game of his 20th season with the Lakers, breaking John Stockton’s NBA record for the most seasons with one team.
In Memphis, Kevin Love had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Richard Jefferson had 14 points and the Cavaliers ruined the Grizzlies’ season opener, 106-76.
Cleveland capitalized on Memphis’ shooting woes, building a double-digit lead in the first quarter and extending the margin to 32 in the fourth. The Cavaliers lost their season opener to the Bulls, 97-95, on Tuesday night.
LeBron James, Jared Cunningham and Matthew Dellavedova had 12 points each, with James 4 of 13 from the field. Jefferson was five of six, including all three 3-point tries, part of Cleveland shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc.
Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 12 points apiece.
In Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook had 33 points and 10 assists to help Billy Donovan win his NBA coaching debut with a 112-106 decision over San Antonio.
Kevin Durant scored 22 points in his first regular-season game since February. He made just 6 of 19 field goals, but hit two critical free throws with 11.5 seconds remaining to put the Thunder in control.
Enes Kanter had 15 points and 16 rebounds off the bench for the Thunder.
Kawhi Leonard scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Spurs. LaMarcus Aldridge had 11 points and five rebounds in his debut with San Antonio after nine years with Portland.
In Miami, Chris Bosh scored 21 points in his first game since getting sick last February, Dwyane Wade added 20 and Miami beat Charlotte, 104-94, in the season opener for both teams.