DeRozan scores 26 as Bulls win 4th straight
DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points against his former team, Zach LaVine had 22 points and the Chicago Bulls opened a season with four straight wins for the first time since 1996-97, holding off the Toronto Raptors 111-108 on Monday night.
Nikola Vucevic scored 17 points and Lonzo Ball had 15 as the Bulls won their fourth straight meeting with Toronto. Ball shot 5 for 9 from 3-point range.
Toronto’s Fred VanVleet scored 15 points and set a career high with 17 assists.
CELTICS 140, HORNETS 129, OT >> Jayson Tatum scored a season-high 41 points, Jaylen Brown added 30, including an emphatic dunk in overtime, and Boston beat Charlotte, handing the Hornets their first loss of the season.
Dennis Schroder had nine of his 23 points in overtime, and Robert Williams added 12 points and 16 rebounds in a game that featured 28 lead changes.
Miles Bridges had 25 points and 10 rebounds and LaMelo Ball added 25 points on seven 3-pointers for the Hornets before fouling out in overtime.
BUCKS 119, PACERS 109 >> Giannis Antetokounmpo finshed with 30 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Khris Middleton added 27 points as defending NBA champion Milwaukee beat Indiana.
Coach Mike Budenholzer held out two injured starters — center Brook Lopez and guard Jrue Holiday — as well as key backup Bobby Portis. Yet they still had enough scoring punch to pull away from the Pacers, who have lost three of their first four games under new coach Rick Carlisle.
The Pacers were led by Malcolm Borgdon with 25 points and seven assists. HEAT 107, MAGIC 90 >> Jimmy Butler scored 36 points on 15-for-21 shooting, Bam Adebayo added 16 points and 13 rebounds and Miami pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Orlando.
Markieff Morris had 16 points off the Miami bench, and Tyler Herro finished with 13 points, five rebounds and nine assists for the Heat.
Miami was 19 for 19 from the foul line, tying the second-most makes without a miss in team history. The Heat were 30 for 30 against Boston on March 24, 1993.
Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs led Orlando
with 15 points.
HAWKS 122, PISTONS 104 >> Trae Young had 32 points and nine assists and John Collins scored 22 in Atlanta’s win over Detroit.
The Hawks have won 24 of their last 30 home games, including playoff games, dating to Feb. 21.
NETS 104, WIZARDS 90 >> Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Brooklyn bounced back from a poor finish a day earlier with a blistering start that gave them a victory over Washington.
Patty Mills made five 3-pointers and added 21 points off the bench, while James Harden finished with 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
The Nets were dominated in the second half of a 111-95 loss to Charlotte on Sunday in their home opener. They overcame poor 3-point shooting nights from Harden (1 for 8) and Joe Harris (3 for 11) by holding Washington below 35% shooting.
Washington’s Bradley Beal scored 19 points.
LAKERS’ ANTHONY NOW NO.9 ON ALL-TIME SCORING LIST >> Carmelo Anthony got the game ball after the Los Angeles Lakers’ first victory of the season, a 121-118 win over the Grizzlies on Sunday night.
Anthony had just scored a team-high 28 points, moving into ninth place on the NBA’s career scoring list, and was asked to make a speech. The 37-year-old Anthony said he was too tired.
Anthony now has 27,423 career points, moving past Moses Malone (27,409). Shaquille O’Neal ranks eighth in scoring with 28,596 points.