Luka Doncic had 33 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists and the Dallas Mavericks spoiled the NBA debut of No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama, beating the San Antonio Spurs 126-119 on Wednesday night.
Dallas forced two turnovers in the final minute to preserve the victory. Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving added 22 points and Grant Williams added 17 points in the season opener for both teams.
Devin Vassell had 23 points to lead San Antonio. Keldon Johnson added 17 and Wembanyama had 15 points.
Wembanyama scored nine points in the final seven minutes after struggling with foul trouble in the fourth quarter. The rookie was 6 for 9 from the field and had five rebounds and two assists and a block in 23 minutes.
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PACERS 143, WIZARDS 120
Bruce Brown scored 24 points and made a career-high six 3-pointers in his Pacers debut, leading Indiana to a record-breaking victory over Washington.
It was the highest scoring total for a season opener in team history, surpassing the 140 they had against Brooklyn in 2017. Indiana fell two points short of setting the franchise scoring mark for points in a home game.
All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton had 20 points and 11 assists as eight Pacers had double-digit scoring totals.
For Washington, it was an ugly start to the post-Bradley Beal era. While The Wizards led 39-34 after one quarter, they fell apart offensively over the final three and got overstretched defensively.
Kyle Kuzma scored 25 points and Jordan Poole added 18 as Washington was 9 of 24 on 3s.
MAGIC 116, ROCKETS 86
Dennis Schroder #17 of the Toronto Raptors dribbles the ball in front of Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves. | Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP
Cole Anthony had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Orlando beat Houston in the season opener for both teams.
Anthony went 8 for 12 from the field and played 24 minutes in a reserve role. Franz Wagner scored 17 points for Orlando, and Paolo Banchero finished with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks each scored 14 points in their first game with Houston. Center Alperen Senguin added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
HORNETS 116, HAWKS 110
P.J. Washington scored 25 points, rookie Brandon Miller provided a huge spark with eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Charlotte held on to defeat Atlanta.
Terry Rozier added 24 points for the Hornets and LaMelo Ball shook off a rough first half and finished with 15 points and 10 assists. Mark Williams chipped in with 13 points and 15 rebounds for Charlotte.
Trae Young had 23 points to lead the Hawks, but shot 1 for 9 from 3-point range. Jalen Johnson had a career-high 21 points.
CELTICS 108, KNICKS 104
Kristaps Porzingis made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:29 left and scored 30 points in a strong Celtics debut, Jayson Tatum had 34 points and 11 rebounds and Boston defeated New York.
Porzingis finished with eight rebounds and four blocked shots against his original NBA team, showing why his new one is considered one of the NBA Finals favorites after acquiring the 7-foot-3 center and Jrue Holiday during the offseason.
Holiday scored nine points. Derrick White had 12 for the Celtics, and Jaylen Brown had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley each scored 24 points for the Knicks, who started slowly but opened the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run to take their first lead of the game. They couldn’t hold on against one of the NBA’s best teams.
RAPTORS 97, TIMBERWOLVES 94
Dennis Schroder scored 22 points in his Toronto debut, O.G. Anunoby had 20 and the Raptors gave new coach Darko Rajakovic a victory in his first game by beating Minnesota.
Scottie Barnes had 17 points, Pascal Siakam added 15 and Jakob Poeltl grabbed 11 rebounds for the Raptors.
Anthony Edwards had 26 points and 14 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 13 rebounds, but Minnesota lost its 19th straight north of the border.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Mike Conley scored 11 for the Timberwolves. Towns shot 8 for 25, going 2 of 10 from 3-point range.
HEAT 103, PISTONS 102
Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Detroit Pistons handles the ball against Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat. | Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP
Bam Adebayo scored 22 points, Jimmy Butler finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds and Miami held off Detroit in the season opener for both clubs.
Tyler Herro scored 16 points, Duncan Robinson added 15 and Kevin Love had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat — who led by 19 with 9:07 left, wasted almost all of it and went scoreless in the final 2:57.
Cade Cunningham had 30 points and nine assists for the Pistons. Jalen Duren had 17 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks for Detroit, Isaiah Stewart had 14 points and 14 rebounds and Killian Hayes scored 10.
inbounded the ball to Cunningham with 2.5 seconds left, but his well-defended 30-footer missed as time expired.
Miami improved to 20-16 all-time in openers, 10-6 under coach Erik Spoelstra. Detroit fell to 38-40 in openers, and dropped the first game of the Monty Williams coaching era with the Pistons.
CAVALIERS 114, NETS 113
Donovan Mitchell scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland beat Brooklyn for its first road win in a season opener since 2000.
Cleveland had six players score in double figures. Max Strus, who started in place of injured center Jarrett Allen, had 27 points and 12 rebounds. Isaac Okoro scored 18 points, and Darius Garland finished with 15.
Cam Thomas scored 36 for Brooklyn, setting a league record for most points for a reserve in a season opener. Mikal Bridges scored 11 of his 20 in the fourth quarter. Cam Johnson had 12 points, and Ben Simmons finished with four points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
THUNDER 124, BULLS 104
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Oklahoma City beat Chicago in the season opener.
Fourth in the NBA in scoring last season, Gilgeous-Alexander keyed a 12-0 run late in the third quarter that broke open a one-point game. Josh Giddey and Rookie of the Year runner-up Jalen Williams each scored 16 for Oklahoma City.
Chet Holmgren had 11 points in his long-awaited NBA debut. Isaiah Joe led a strong effort by the bench with 14 points, and Oklahoma City’s reserves outscored Chicago’s 42-34.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 20 points. Zach LaVine scored all of his 16 points in the second half. Coby White scored 15, and Nikola Vucevic added 11 points and nine rebounds for Chicago.
PELICANS 111, GRIZZLIES 104
CJ McCollum scored 24 points, Zion Williamson added 23 points and seven rebounds as New Orleans defeated Memphis.
McCollum was 8 of 16 from the field including 6 of 11 from outside the arc. Williamson scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter to avoid any comeback by Memphis. Brandon Ingram finished with 19 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Desmond Bane led Memphis with 31 points, while Marcus Smart had 17 points. Xavier Tillman matched Smart’s 17 points and added 12 rebounds.
The game was the first of the 25-game suspension for Grizzles guard Ja Morant, the team’s leading scorer last season. He is scheduled to finish the suspension in December. His absence, along with several injuries across the Memphis frontline left the Grizzlies at a disadvantage.
KINGS 130, JAZZ 114
Harrison Barnes scored 33 points and Domantas Sabonis added 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Sacramento over Utah.
De’Aaron Fox chipped in 18 points for the Kings, and Malik Monk dished out a team-high seven assists off the bench.
Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz with 24 points and six assists. Lauri Markkanen tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds and John Collins finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds in his Utah debut.
The Jazz had won six straight season openers before falling at home Wednesday night. Utah has now dropped four of its last five regular season games against Sacramento.
CLIPPERS 123, TRAIL BLAZERS 111
Paul George scored 27 points and Kawhi Leonard added 23 to lead five players in double figures as Los Angeles beat Portland in their season opener.
The Clippers had Leonard and George together for just 38 games last season, when both were derailed by injuries and the team lost in the first round of the playoffs. But they’re healthy and in the lineup at the same time now, raising expectations for the Clippers as they pursue the franchise’s first NBA championship.
Ivica Zubac had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 11 points and 13 assists — making him the first Clippers player with at least 10 assists in a season opener since Chris Paul in October 2015.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 20 points off the bench to lead the Blazers. Anfernee Simons added 18 points and Deandre Ayton had 12 rebounds while in foul trouble most of the game. The Blazers had six players in double figures.
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