Anthony sets milestone as Knicks nip Hornets 96-93
NEW YORK: On a night when he joined the NBA’s 20,000-point club, Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:23 remaining, and the New York Knicks narrowly defeated the Charlotte Hornets 96-93.
Al Jefferson had 21 points, and Gary Neal added 17 points in a reserve role for the Hornets (1-2), who lost their second straight.
Charlotte’s guard Michael Kidd-Gilchrist fell awkwardly late in the first quarter and didn’t return to the game.
Amar’e Stoudemire had 17 points for the Knicks (2-1), who won their second straight. Iman Shumpert added 15 points.
Heat 107 Raptors 102: In Miami, Chris Bosh scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Miami beat Toronto for the 16th straight time.
Dwyane Wade added 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Heat (3-0), who are the last unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference. Luol Deng scored 18, Shawne Williams added 16, and Mario Chalmers finished with 12 for Miami.
DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points for Toronto (2-1), which hasn’t beaten Miami since Jan. 27, 2010.
Kyle Lowry added 22 points, including a layup that got the Raptors within four with 21 seconds left. Jonas Valanciunas scored 14, and Greivis Vasquez finished with 12 for Toronto, which was outrebounded 43-28.
Miami led by as many as 16 late in the third quarter before the Raptors came roaring back.
Kings 98 Clippers 91: In Los Angeles, DeMarcus Cousins had 34 points and 17 rebounds, and Rudy Gay added 25 points as Sacramento handed the poor-shooting Los Angeles Clippers their first loss.
The Kings (2-1) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and outscored the Clippers 28-18 in the fourth. They took the lead for good on a layup by Gay with just under six minutes to play.
Blake Griffin and Spencer Hawes both scored 17 points to lead five Clippers in double figures. Chris Paul had 16 points and 11 assists, J.J. Redick had 12 points, and Jordan Farmar 10.
The Clippers (2-1) struggled for the third straight game, shooting 33 of 88. They were 9 of 31 from 3-point range, with Matt Barnes, Paul and Redick combining to miss a slew in the fourth.
Sacramento’s Darren Collison scored 14 points in his first game against his former team.
Warriors 92 Trail Blazers 90: In Portland, Klay Thompson scored 29 points, including a go-ahead jump shot with 8.7 seconds left, as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Trail Blazers.
The victory gives the Warriors three straight wins to open the season — their best start since 1994-95 when they opened 5-0.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Blazers, who dropped to 1-2 to start the season.
After wrestling for the lead throughout the fourth quarter, Aldridge’s layup and a fadeaway jumper with 2:01 left gave Portland a narrow 90-88 lead.
Andre Iguodala missed the second of a pair of free throws for Golden State with 26.3 seconds to go to keep the Blazers in front. But Thompson nailed the running jumper to give the Warriors a 91-90 lead.
Steph Curry made free throws the rest of the way for the final margin. Curry finished with 21 points for the Warriors.