Oct. 20 – Damion Lee knocked down the game-winning shot with 9.7 seconds left and the Phoenix Suns rallied from a 22-point third-quarter deficit to claim a 107-105 win over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Semifinals.
Lee hit a 10-foot jumper over Spencer Dinwiddie to cap off an electric Phoenix comeback in the season opener for both teams. Dallas star Luka Doncic missed a 3-point attempt just before time expired.
Devin Booker recorded 28 points and nine assists and Deandre Ayton contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns. Cameron Johnson added 15 points, Mikal Bridges had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Lee scored 11 points off the bench.
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Doncic had 35 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Mavericks. Christian Wood added 25 points and eight rebounds in his Dallas debut while Dinwiddie added 15 points.
Timberwolves 115, Thunder 108
Rudy Gobert scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to help Minnesota earn an opener win over Oklahoma City in Minneapolis.
D’Angelo Russell added 20 points and Jaden McDaniels had 19 for Minnesota. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 12 points and seven assists.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points on 12 of 23 shooting. Josh Giddey added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Trail Blazers 115, Kings 108
Jerami Grant capped a record 23-point performance on his Portland debut with a go-ahead three-pointer with 50.4 seconds remaining, lifting the visiting Trail Blazers past Sacramento on opening night.
Anfernee Simons scored 22 points, Damian Lillard 20 and Josh Hart 19 in a balanced offense that helped the Trail Blazers avenge a three-point home loss to the Kings in Game 1 last year.
De’Aaron Fox had a game-high 33 points and Kevin Huerter had 23 for the Kings, who finished three games ahead of the Trail Blazers in the final Western Conference standings a year ago.
Jazz 123, nuggets 102
Collin Sexton scored 20 points and Lauri Markkanen added 17 as Utah earned a season-opening victory over Denver in Salt Lake City.
Seven different Utah players scored in double digits to help this new era of jazz basketball begin with a surprise win. The Jazz had a wild offseason, which included trading All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, among others, and hiring Will Hardy as head coach after Quin Snyder resigned.
Rudy Gay had 16 points while Mike Conley had 13 points and eight assists for Utah. Nikola Jokic led all scorers with 27 points and Aaron Gordon contributed with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Grizzlies 115, Knicks 112 (OT)
Tyus Jones hit the 3-point tiebreaker with 47.8 seconds left in overtime for host Memphis, who squandered a 19-point second-half lead before edging out New York in the opener. season for both teams.
Ja Morant scored a game-high 34 points for the Grizzlies. Santi Aldama (18 points, 11 rebounds) and John Konchar (12 points, 11 rebounds) each had double-doubles while Jones had 15 points off the bench.
Julius Randle recorded 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks. Cam Reddish scored 22 points off the bench while fellow reserve Isaiah Hartenstein had 16. Jalen Brunson had 15 points and nine assists in his debut for New York.
Bulls 116, Heat 108
DeMar DeRozan scored 28 of his game-high 37 points in the second half as Chicago beat Miami in the season opener for both teams.
Ayo Dosunmu had 17 points while Nikola Vucevic had 15 points and 17 rebounds for the injury-depleted Bulls, who played without starting guards Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine.
Jimmy Butler had 24 points and eight rebounds for Miami, while Tyler Herro scored 23 points and Max Strus made five 3-pointers off the bench and finished with 22 points.
Hornets 129, Spurs 102
Terry Rozier had 24 points and all five Charlotte starters scored in double figures as the visiting Hornets passed San Antonio in the season opener for both teams.
Gordon Hayward scored 20 points and Nick Richards added 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Hornets. PJ Washington batted for 17 runs, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 13, and Dennis Smith Jr. and Mason Plumlee contributed 12 runs apiece.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Jakob Poeltl and Tre Jones scored 14 points each, Doug McDermott added 12 off the bench, Devin Vassell had 11 and Joshua Primo had 10 points.
Falcons 117, Rockets 107
John Collins scored 24 points and Trae Young added 23 and 13 assists to lift host Atlanta past Houston in the season opener for both teams.
De’Andre Hunter had 22 points and offseason acquisition Dejounte Murray had 20 points, 11 assists and five steals for the Hawks, who held a 28-13 point lead on turnovers.
Houston’s Kevin Porter Jr. had 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, two days after agreeing to a four-year, $82.5 million contract extension. Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. had 17 points and seven rebounds.
Pistons 113, Magic 109
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 24 points on his debut as Detroit ruined first draft pick Paolo Banchero’s debut by beating Orlando in the season opener for both teams.
Bogdanovic, acquired in a trade with Utah, made six 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds. Jaden Ivey, the fifth pick in the June draft, scored 19 points; Cade Cunningham had 18 points and 10 assists; and another lottery pick, Jalen Duren, provided 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Banchero had 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists in his first game for Orlando. Jalen Suggs had 21 points before committing a foul, and Franz Wagner had 20 points and five assists.
Wizards 114, Pacers 107
A stingy defense and crushing inside scoring advantage propelled Washington to a wire-to-wire win over Indiana in Indianapolis.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 23 points, while Kristaps Porzingis added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Will Barton scored 17 points and Daniel Gafford had 12. Kuzma grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Pacers surged late in the game, cutting an 18-point deficit to three in the final minute behind Tyrese Haliburton’s game-highs of 26 points and seven assists. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin finished with 19 points and shot 3 for 7 3-pointers from the bench in his NBA debut.
Pelicans 130, Nets 108
Zion Williamson had 25 points and nine rebounds in his first game in more than 17 months and his visit to New Orleans never trailed in a win over Brooklyn in New York in the season opener. season for both teams.
Williamson made 11 of 22 shots in 30 minutes and helped New Orleans total 62 points in the paint. Williamson was especially dominant in the third when he hit 5 of 6 shots as the Pelicans outscored the Nets 40-28 to pull away.
Kevin Durant scored 32 points but had little help as the Nets entered their 11th season in Brooklyn with a miss. Kyrie Irving was held to 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting as the Nets struggled virtually the entire game. Ben Simmons finished with just four points and fouled in 23 minutes in his first game since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Atlanta with Philadelphia on June 20, 2021.
Raptors 108, Cavaliers 105
Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Toronto came back in the fourth quarter to defeat Cleveland in the season opener for both teams.
Siakam fouled with 16.3 seconds left and Donovan Mitchell made two free throws to cut the deficit to two. After the deficit fell to one, Precious Achiuwa’s dunk in the last second completed the score. Mitchell scored 31 points and added nine assists in his Cavaliers debut.
The Cavaliers lost Darius Garland with a left eye injury late in the first half. He didn’t return, finishing with four points and three assists. Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points for Toronto, OG Anunoby added 18, Scottie Barnes and Fred VanVleet had 15 each and Achiuwa 10.
–Field-Level Media
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