Bulls beat Pistons in opener
Bulls 94, Pistons 88: Zach Lavine scored 15 of his 34 points in the third quarter, leading visiting Chicago to a victory over Detroit on Wednesday night in the opener for both teams.
The Pistons were without rookie guard Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick, whose NBA debut was delayed by a sprained right ankle.
Demar Derozan had 17 points, and Lonzo Ball had 12 points in their Bulls debut. Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and 11 rebounds at halftime and finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds
Hornets 123, Pacers 122: Lamelo Ball scored 31 points, hitting seven 3pointers, and host Charlotte used a 24-0 third period run to battle back and beat Indiana.
Indiana led 122-121 on Torrey Craig’s foul shots with 12.7 left. P.J. Washington made two free throws with 4.6 seconds left before Domantas Sabonis missed from 11 feet to seal the Hornets’ win.
Wizards 98, Raptors 83: Bradley Beal scored 23 points, Montrezl Harrell had 22 in his Wizards debut and Washington spoiled Toronto’s homecoming, beating the Raptors.
Kyle Kuzma – acquired with Harrell in the trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Lakers – had 11 points and 14 rebounds for Washington. Spencer Dinwiddie, acquired from the Nets in the same four-team deal, scored 13 for the Wizards.
Timberwolves 124, Rockets 106: Anthony Edwards energized the first full-size home crowd of his nascent career with 29 points in 31 minutes for host Minnesota, which cruised to a victory over Houston.
Karl-anthony Towns led the way with 30 points and 10 rebounds, D’angelo Russell added 22 points and seven assists, and the Timberwolves were in control from start to finish.
76ers 117, Pelicans 97: Joel Embiid had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Furkan Korkmaz hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to also score 22 points, and visiting Philadelphia pulled away for a victory over New Orleans.
A subplot of the season opener for both teams involved who wasn’t playing.
Grizzlies 132, Cavaliers 121: Ja Morant had 37 points and six assists, De’anthony Melton added 20 points and host Memphis pulled away in the fourth for a victory over Cleveland.
Morant and Melton combined for 14 points down the stretch as the Cavaliers pulled within a point on a couple of occasions but could never overtake Memphis.
Knicks 138, Celtics 134 (2 OT): Julius Randle scored 35 points, Evan Fournier made the go-ahead 3-pointer in the second overtime and added 32 against his former team, and host New York outlasted Jaylen Brown and Boston.
Brown scored a career-high 46 points after overcoming a bout of COVID-19 and Jayson Tatum had the biggest basket of his awful opener with a three-point play that gave Boston a 134-133 lead with 1:05 remaining.
Spurs 123, Magic 97: Devin Vassell scored 19 points, Lonnie Walker added 17 and host San Antonio continued their success on opening night by dominating Orlando.
Every Spurs starter scored in double figures with Derrick White adding 16 points and Jakob Poeltl adding 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Jazz 107, Thunder 86: Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 21 rebounds to lead host Utah to a victory over Oklahoma City.
Six different players scored in double figures for the Jazz in their seasonopening win. Bojan Bogdanovic led the way with 22 points. Jordan Clarkson added 18.
Nuggets 110, Suns 98: Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 13 rebounds, leading visiting Denver past Phoenix in the opener for both teams.
The 26-year-old Jokic earned his first MVP award last season after averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game.
Kings 124, Trail Blazers 121: Harrison Barnes scored 36 points and De’aaron Fox added 27, and visiting Sacramento spoiled Portland’s season opener under new coach Chauncey Billups.
Richaun Holmes had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter.