Thursday, October 19, 2017
Wizards 120, 76ers 115
WASHINGTON
John Wall scored 28 points, Bradley Beal rebounded from a rough start to add 25 and Washington spoiled the NBA debuts of top picks Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz by beating Philadelphia. Simmons, the 2016 No. 1 pick who missed all last season with a foot injury, had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Fultz, the 2017 No. 1 pick, came off the bench to score 10 points. Sixers forward Robert Covington had 29 points. He was 7 of 11 from 3-point range.
Pistons 102, Hornets 90
DETROIT
Tobias Harris scored 17 of his 27 points in the first quarter, helping Detroit celebrate its return downtown with a victory over Charlotte. Dwight Howard had 10 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks in his debut with the Hornets. Charlotte’s Kemba Walker scored 24 points, and Jeremy Lamb had 15. Reserve Langston Galloway scored 16 points, Avery Bradley had 15, and Henry Ellenson added 13 points for Detroit. Reggie Jackson had 13 points and eight assists.
Pacers 140, Nets 131
INDIANAPOLIS
Victor Oladipo scored 22 points in his Indiana debut, Darren Collison added 21 points and 11 assists in his return to Indianapolis, and the Pacers held off the Nets in their season opener. Myles Turner had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Thaddeus Young added 17 points and 11 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell scored 30 points in his Nets debut but backcourt mate Jeremy Lin limped to the locker room with an injury midway through the fourth quarter. Trevor Booker finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Nets from losing a franchise-record fifth consecutive season opener.
Magic 116, Heat 109
ORLANDO, FLA.
Evan Fournier scored 23 points, Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Orlando held off Miami in their season opener. Hassan Whiteside keyed the Heat’s comeback and finished with 26 points and 22 rebounds. Goran Dragic had 17 points and six assists. Terrence Ross scored 15 points and Elfrid Payton had 13 points and nine assists. Aaron Gordon had 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the first half. He finished with 14 points.
Bucks 108, Celtics 100
BOSTON
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 16 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, and Milwaukee opened its season with a victory over Boston to spoil the homecoming of a Celtics team coming off a late and emotional season opener. Antetokounmpo added 13 rebounds, Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 points and Khris Middleton had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks. Kyrie Irving scored 17 points on 7-for-25 shooting in his Boston debut, and Jaylen Brown had 18 for the Celtics.
Hawks 117, Mavericks 111
DALLAS
Dennis Schroder scored 28 points in his first game as the front man for Atlanta and the rebuilding Hawks spoiled rookie Dennis Smith Jr.’s solid Dallas debut, beating the Mavericks in the opener. Smith scored his first NBA points on an alley-oop dunk to open the Dallas scoring and finished with 16 points and a game-high 10 assists. Schroder, Atlanta’s John Collins, the 19th pick, scored 14 points. Nerlens Noel matched Smith with 16 points, his most since coming to Dallas at the trading deadline last season, and had 11 rebounds.
Grizzlies 103, Pelicans 91
MEMPHIS, TENN.
Mike Conley scored 27 points, rookie Dillon Brooks added 19 and Memphis beat New Orleans in their season opener. Marc Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 3:05 left. Anthony Davis had 33 points and 18 rebounds and DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points and 10 boards for New Orleans, but the frontcourt pair got little help. Memphis made it 77-65 in the latter stages of the third and cruised from there.
Jazz 106, Nuggets 96.
SALT LAKE CITY
Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Utah beat Denver in the season opener for both teams. The new-look Jazz — without Gordon Hayward and George Hill — trailed most of the night before Alec Burks took over with a spectacular fourth quarter. He finished with 16. Derrick Favors added 14 and Ricky Rubio had 10 assists in his first game with the Jazz. Will Barton led the Nuggets with 23 points and Paul Millsap added 19.
Associated Press