DENVER (AP) — James Harden had 23 points and 16 assists, Norman Powell scored 26 of his 37 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame Nikola Jokic’s 41 points to beat the Denver Nuggets 109-104 on Saturday.
Jokic made a career-high seven 3-pointers but missed a free throw with 20 seconds left that would have tied the game. Harden made four from the line in the final 30.5 seconds.
The Clippers trailed 103-100 when Powell hit a 3-pointer. Jamal Murray, who had 22 points, missed a layup and Harden then made two free throws.
After Jokic split a pair from the line, Harden made two more foul shots to make it 107-104 and Jokic missed an off-balance 3-pointer.
CELTICS 124, PISTONS 118
DETROIT (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored six of his 37 points in the final 65 seconds and Boston held on for a victory over Detroit.
The Celtics led by as many as 23 points in the first half, but trailed for much of the third quarter. Jrue Holiday tied the game with back-to-back 3-pointers, and Tatum put the Celtics up 116-114 by hitting a pair of free throws with 1:05 left.
The Pistons missed two shots on the ensuing possession and Tatum’s jumper made it 118-114 with 29 seconds left.
Malik Beasley’s 3-pointer pulled Detroit within one, but Derrick White hit two free throws and Boston clinched the game from the line.
Jaylen Brown had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Boston. Jaden Ivey had 26 points for Detroit while Cade Cunningham finished with 21 points and 10 assists.
CAVALIERS 135, WIZARDS 116
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Jarrett Allen added 23 while going 10 for 10 from the floor and Cleveland eased to a victory over Washington.
Darius Garland also had 23 points, and Evan Mobley scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Cleveland remained perfect three games into their new season.
The Cavaliers shot 54% (47 of 87) from the floor to complete their ninth consecutive victory over Washington. A night earlier, they defeated Detroit for a 10th straight time.
Bilal Coulibaly scored a career-high 23 points for Washington, which has lost its first two games by a combined 39 points at home after posting a franchise-worst 15-67 record last season.
HEAT 114, HORNETS 106
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Tyler Herro added five 3-pointers and 22 points and Miami spoiled Charlottes’ home opener with a victory.
Terry Rozier had 19 points and Bam Adebayo finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Miami (1-1). Butler added eight assists and eight rebounds.
LaMelo Ball had 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Hornets on an emotional night when they honored their late longtime public address announcer Pat Doughty, and showed livestream feeds on the arena scoreboard of a star-studded benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Helene taking place less than a mile away at Bank of America Stadium. One of the performers at the concert was musician Eric Church, a Hornets minority owner.
The Hornets (1-2) looked out of sync with 20 turnovers, and twice were whistled for 5-second calls after failing to get the ball in on side inbound plays.
THUNDER 114, BULLS 95
CHICAGO (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points, Chet Holmgren added 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and Oklahoma City pounded Chicago in the Bulls’ home opener.
Jalen Williams added 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Zach LaVine had 22 points and nine rebounds for Chicago. Nikola Vucevic added 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Josh Giddey finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in his first game against the Thunder since an offseason trade to Chicago for Alex Caruso. Oklahoma City granted his request to be dealt after his role in the playoffs was reduced.
Caruso, a popular player during his three seasons with the Bulls, got a standing ovation and waved to the crowd during an early timeout. He checked into the game late in the first quarter and finished with three points in 22 minutes.
GRIZZLIES 124, MAGIC 111
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Santi Aldama scored 22 points, reserve center Jay Huff added a career-high 18 and Memphis built a 26-point halftime team in a victory over Orlando in their home opener.
Ja Morant added 16 points and 10 assists in his first regular-season home appearance since Jan. 3. Aldama was 9 of 12 from the field, while Huff made seven of his nine shots.
Franz Wagner scored 23 points for the Magic and Jalen Suggs added 21, both players grabbing seven rebounds apiece. Paolo Banchero finished with 16 points, but was 4 of 12 from the field, part of the Magic shooting 43% for the game.
Memphis held a comfortable lead through much of the game despite withstanding 21 straight points by Orlando in the third quarter.
TIMBERWOLVES 112, RAPTORS 101
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Julius Randle had 24 points nine rebounds and five assists and Minnesota beat Toronto.
Anthony Edwards also scored 24 for Minnesota, while Rudy Gobert added 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.
Toronto’s Gradey Dick led all scorers with 25 points, while Scottie Barnes had 20 points and Ochai Agbaji added 19 for the Raptors.
SPURS 109, ROCKETS 106
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points, Jeremy Sochan added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and San Antonio held on to beat Houston in their home opener.
Wembanyama added seven rebounds and three blocks while shooting 10 for 17 from the field.
Chris Paul added three points and nine assists, including a drive and feed to Sochan for an open layup that put San Antonio up 104-99 with 1:35 remaining.
After trailing by 22 points in the first half, Houston was within one possession for much of the final minutes. The Rockets went on a 21-8 run in the opening six minutes of the final quarter, turning an 18-point deficit into a 95-90 lead for San Antonio.
Jalen Green had 27 points for Houston. Fred VanVleet added 18 and Dillon Brooks had 16.
SUNS 114, MAVERICKS 102
PHOENIX (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Jusuf Nurkic added 18 points and 14 rebounds and Phoenix beat Dallas.
The Suns never trailed after the first quarter, though the Mavericks kept the deficit in the single digits for much of the night. Luka Doncic scored 40 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Kyrie Irving added 22 points.
The Suns led 91-80 heading into the fourth quarter and extended the lead to 105-90 six minutes later. Devin Booker added 21 points while rookie Ryan Dunn scored 13 in his first career start. Tyus Jones added seven assists.
The Suns led by as many as 13 in the first half but settled for a 63-55 lead at the break.
LAKERS 131, KINGS 127
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had a triple-double with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and Anthony Davis added 31 points and nine rebounds to lead Los Angeles to a victory over Sacramento.
The Lakers are undefeated at 3-0 under new coach JJ Redick, and Davis has scored at least 31 points in each game this season.
Los Angeles was up by as many as 15 points in the first half but the Kings cut the lead to 64-60 by halftime and had built a 7-point lead in the third quarter. James helped the Lakers come roaring back with 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Davis had a big 3-pointer with 37 seconds left in the game to give the Lakers a 128-123 lead after the Kings had cut it to two.
Domantas Sabonis also had a triple-double in the loss. He scored 29 points on 10 of 14 shots and added 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Associated Press