nba roundup | Tuesday’s preseason games

Bulls 108, Cavaliers 94

CLEVELAND

The King has returned. LeBron James made his preseason debut after missing Cleveland’s first three games with a sprained left ankle. He scored 17 points, but also had eight turnovers in the loss to the Chicago Bulls. It was the first chance for James to play with close friend and former Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade as the Cavaliers showed off their new starting lineup. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue brought out his new starting group for the first time now that James is back. He was joined by Wade, Kevin Love and newcomers Derrick Rose and Jae Crowder. Lue announced the lineup, which includes three former MVPs on Monday. James and Rose have won regular-season MVPs and Wade was the 2006 Finals MVP. Rose finished with 13 points and Iman Shumpert added 12. The starting five was expectedly rusty with the group having spent little time together. Wade was just bought out by the Bulls on Sept. 24. Crowder and Isaiah Thomas went to Cleveland as part of the Kyrie Irving trade on Aug. 30. And Love was just recently informed that he’d be moving to center with the unit from power forward. Love and Wade were a combined 2 for 19 Tuesday. Rose will move to the bench once Thomas returns from a hip injury expected to keep him out for months. That second unit will then be a formidable group with a mixture of Rose, J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, Kyle Korver and Jeff Green. As the Cavs maneuver a veteran-laden roster, the young Bulls move on from the Jimmy Butler era. Justin Holiday scored a game-high 28 points and 2017 No. 7 overall pick Lauri Markkanen poured in 18. Denzel Valentine finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Raptors 116, Pistons 94

TORONTO

The Raptors never trailed as newcomer CJ Miles scored 19 points off the bench, including a 5-for-8 effort from 3-point range. Ish Smith led the Pistons with a game-high 22 points off the bench as the starting five struggled. Langston Galloway scored 16 off the bench and Andre Drummond finished with 14 points and 11 points. Detroit’s starters shot just 13 for 39 (33.3 percent) from the floor.

Pacers 108, Maccabi Haifa 89

Indianapolis

Newly acquired Victor Oladipo did a little bit of everything for the Pacers as he scored 18, grabbed five rebounds, handed out four assists and had five steals. Former Atlanta Hawk Josh Smith scored 16 and pulled down seven rebounds in the loss. Darren Collison scored 15 as Indiana navigates a world without Paul George. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 13 and Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis each scored 12 in the win.

Associated Press