Vucevic, Magic roll past Cavs
CLEVELAND — Nikola Vucevic scored 23 points and the Orlando Magic snapped a 17-game losing streak against the Cleveland Cavaliers, routing the defending Eastern Conference champions for a 114-93 win Saturday.
Orlando’s first win over Cleveland since Nov. 23, 2012 came in convincing fashion.
The Magic never trailed and built a 21-point lead late in the first quarter. Orlando led 36-18 after the first, hitting 14 of 24 from the field. The Magic, which made 14 of 35 3-pointers, took its biggest lead, 106-69, midway through the fourth quarter when both teams cleared their benches.
LeBron James scored 14 points in the first quarter and finished with 22 as the Cavaliers lost for the first time in three games.
RAPTORS 128, 79ERS 94: DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Serge Ibaka had 21 and the Toronto Raptors won their 10th straight home game over Philadelphia, routing the 76ers.
Kyle Lowry scored 17 points, Jakob Poeltl had a career-high 14 and the Raptors won for the 16th time in 17 meetings with the 76ers.
HEAT 112, PACERS 108: Goran Dragic scored 23 points, Dion Waiters added 19 and the Miami Heat opened their home schedule with a victory over the Indiana Pacers. James Johnson scored 14 points and Kelly Olynyk added 13 for the Heat, who wasted nearly all of what was a 21-point lead before hanging on in the final moments. Josh Richardson added 12 for Miami. Victor Oladipo scored 28 points for Indiana, which got 18 from Domantas Sabonis and 14 from Thaddeus Young and Al Jefferson. The Pacers were outscored 37-19 in the second quarter to get into trouble, and nearly pulled off a comeback by outscoring Miami 32-21 in the fourth. Oladipo’s stepback 3 with 25 seconds left cut Miami’s lead to 109-106, before Richardson made one of two free throws for the Heat to make it a twopossession game again. Cory Joseph’s runner with 12.9 seconds left bounced off the glass and dropped to get the Pacers within two — the closest the game was since the midpoint of the second quarter.
PISTONS 111, KNICKS 107: Tobias Harris scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half, and the Detroit Pistons erased a 21-point deficit to beat the New York Knicks. Harris was one of the many Pistons who had little going to start the Pistons’ second game in two nights, but they turned it around after halftime to spoil the Knicks’ home opener. Kristaps Porzingis scored 33 points, but New York fell to 0-2 after losing to former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony and Oklahoma City in its opener. Andre Drummond had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Pistons, who lost 115-111 in Washington on Friday night and seemed to have little energy left early Saturday.
SPURS 87, BULLS 77: LaMarcus Aldridge had 28 points and 10 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs beat Chicago in the Bulls’ home opener. Aldridge scored 12 points in a 22-13 run that gave San Antonio a 63-51 third-quarter lead. He signed a three-year contract extension a day before the season began. Rudy Gay added 12 points for the Spurs, playing without All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard (right quadriceps tendinopathy). Robin Lopez had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Bills, also short-handed without power forwards Niko Mirotic (facial fractures, concussion) and Bobby Portis (suspension).
GRIZZLIES 111, WARRIORS 101: Marc Gasol had 34 points and 14 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies built a 19-point third-quarter lead over Golden State before holding on to beat the defending champion Warriors. James Ennis III added 13 points, and Tyreke Evans scored
12 as Memphis shot 47 percent compared to 39 percent for Golden State.