PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh have their first win with Miami, and the Big Three got help from some big 3s in the Heat's 97-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Playing with purpose a night after an 88-80 loss in a hyped showdown with Boston, the three looked as if they still need some games to get used to playing with each other. Only Wade, with 30 points, looked particularly sharp against the Sixers. The Heat hit three straight 3-pointers in the third quarter to bust open an eight-point halftime lead.
James scored 16 points and Bosh had 15.
James and the Heat just couldn't squash the Sixers, who went on a 15-3 run late in the fourth to make it surprisingly competitive. Cavaliers 95, Celtics 87
CLEVELAND (AP) - Playing its first game in seven years without LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers stunned the Celtics in their season opener, a win that at least for one night gave local fans reason to believe that life will be OK minus the two-time MVP.
J.J. Hickson scored 21 points, Daniel Gibson added 16 - all in the second half - and the Cavaliers made several big, clutch plays to hold off the Celtics, who defeated James and the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.
Rajon Rondo scored 18, Ray Allen 12 and Kevin Garnett had 15 rebounds for Boston, which led by 11 points in the third quarter.
Nets 101, Pistons 98
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Anthony Morrow hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 26 seconds to play and New Jersey gave Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov a win in his first game as their owner with a victory over Detroit.
The Nets outscored the Pistons 13-3 in the final 1:40 to give Avery Johnson a win in his first game as coach - coming much quicker than last season, when they set an NBA record losing their first 18 games.
Brook Lopez led the Nets with 25 points and nine rebounds, and Devin Harris added 22 points and nine assists. Morrow, who was signed a free agent in the offseason, added 13 points and Jordan Farmar and Terrence Williams each had 10. Knicks 98, Raptors 93
TORONTO (AP) - Wilson Chandler scored 22 points, Amare Stoudemire had 19 points and 10 rebounds and the Knicks beat the Raptors.
Chandler scored eight points in the final quarter and Stoudemire added seven for New York, which led 74-72 through three.
Andrea Bargnani scored 18 points in the first half but had just four in the second for Toronto, which had won eight of its previous nine home openers. The Raptors were playing their first game without star Chris Bosh, who signed with Miami in the offseason. He spent seven years in Toronto.
Jarrett Jack scored 16 points while Linas Kleiza and Leandro Barbosa each had 13 for the Raptors.
Mavericks 101, Bobcats 86
DALLAS (AP) - Dirk Nowitzki had 28 points and 13 rebounds, Jason Kidd added 12 points and 18 assists, and the Mavericks beat the Bobcats.
Jason Terry added 22 points and Caron Butler scored 13 for Dallas.
Tyrus Thomas' 22 points and Gerald Wallace's 16 paced the Bobcats, who've never beaten the Mavericks in 13 meetings.
Dallas expanded a four-point halftime lead to 72-55 with a 21-10 spurt to open the third quarter led by Nowitzki's 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting.
The Mavericks were ahead by 19 in the third quarter and carried an 80-67 advantage into the final quarter. Thunder 106, Bulls 95
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kevin Durant scored 30 points, Russell Westbrook added 28 points and 10 rebounds and the Thunder beat the new-look Bulls.
Durant and Westbrook each powered down two-handed dunks during a late 11-0 surge that put the game away. Neither team had led by more than eight before Oklahoma City started pulling away in the final 3 minutes.
Westbrook raced down the court for his slam after Serge Ibaka swatted away Derrick Rose's shot, then turned it into a three-point play. The next trip down the court, Durant blew by Luol Deng for his own jam. Jeff Green's 3-pointer from the right corner made it 104-91 with 89 seconds left.
Rose scored 28 points to lead the Bulls in Tom Thibodeau's debut as head coach. Hornets 95, Bucks 91
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Chris Paul had 17 points and 16 assists, and the New Orleans Hornets gave Monty Williams a victory in his NBA head coaching debut, over the Bucks.
David West led all scorers with 22 points, while new starting shooting guard Marco Belinelli added 18 for New Orleans.
Carlos Delfino hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Milwaukee, which led 72-67 late in the third quarter, but fell behind for good when Peja Stojakovic's 3-pointer, his only basket, put New Orleans up 73-72 soon after.
Andrew Bogut had 15 points and 15 rebounds, but his night was ruined by 3-of-10 shooting on free throws, including six critical misses in the fourth quarter.
Corey Maggette scored 16 for the Bucks. Hawks 119, Grizzlies 104
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Joe Johnson scored 22 points and Zaza Pachulia provided a spark off the bench with 17 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Hawks to a victory over the Grizzlies.
Mike Bibby added 19 points as the Hawks shot 53 percent from the field and 87 percent from the free throw line. Atlanta has won its last four season openers.
Grizzlies center Marc Gasol missed the game with a sprained left ankle. During the game, Memphis also lost forward Zach Randolph, an All-Star last season, to a lower back injury.
Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 23 points and Rudy Gay added 21. Darrell Arthur scored a career-high 19 points starting in place of Gasol. Spurs 122, Pacers 109
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Tim Duncan had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and the Spurs beat the Pacers.
Manu Ginobili scored 22 points for the Spurs, who blew an early double-digit lead and nearly their goal of starting strong in what could be the last season for their Big Three.
Roy Hibbert led Indiana with 28 points and Danny Granger had 26. Darren Collison scored 19 points in his debut for the Pacers, who fell apart in the fourth quarter.
Tony Parker, starting the final year of his contract with the Spurs, had 20 points and nine assists. Kings 117, Timberwolves 116
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Carl Landry had 22 points and 11 rebounds and the Kings held off the Timberwolves.
Francisco Garcia scored 22 points and rookie DeMarcus Cousins had 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Kings.
Luke Ridnour had 20 points and six assists and Anthony Tolliver added 14 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for Minnesota in a back-and-forth, entertaining season opener for both teams.
Landry converted a three-point play and knocked down a baseline jumper to give the Kings a 111-107 lead going into the final minute of play.
Ridnour hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one with 56.6 seconds to go, but Beno Udrih fed Omri Casspi for a dunk and hit four free throws to seal the win. Nuggets 110, Jazz 88
DENVER (AP) - Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points, Arron Afflalo added 22 and the Nuggets opened the season with a win over the Jazz in coach George Karl's return to the bench.
Chauncey Billups chipped in 14 points and eight assists, while newcomer Shelden Williams grabbed 16 rebounds.
Deron Williams had 17 points for the Jazz, who finished 8-0 in the preseason for the first time in franchise history.
Anthony, the subject of trade rumors all summer, and Karl received the loudest ovations in pregame introductions.
Karl missed the final two months of last season after being diagnosed with throat and neck cancer. In his absence, the Nuggets stumbled and were eliminated by Utah in the first round of the playoffs. Warriors 131, Rockets 128
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Monta Ellis matched his career high with 46 points, Stephen Curry added 25 points and 11 assists, and the Warriors won Keith Smart's coaching debut by beating the Rockets.
David Lee had 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Dorell Wright scored 15 points to help the Warriors to their first season-opening win since 2005. They also snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Rockets dating to 2007.
Golden State won despite Houston's 52-26 advantage in free throw attempts.
Luis Scola had 36 points and 16 rebounds, while Kevin Martin added 28 points for the Rockets, who played without 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming. Trail Blazers 98, Clippers 88
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Brandon Roy scored 22 points and the Trail Blazers spoiled the NBA debut of Blake Griffin with a victory over the Clippers.
Griffin had 20 points and 14 rebounds, a year after his rookie season was supposed to begin. The No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft broke his left kneecap in the Clippers' final preseason game and missed all of last season.
Eric Gordon led Los Angeles with 22 points and Rasual Butler scored 16.
Roy added 10 rebounds. He went 0 for 8 from the floor in the second half.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who gave Nate McMillan his 200th victory as coach.
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