The AP reports: Danny Granger scored 20 points, new point guard T.J. Ford added 19, and a sellout crowd watched the Pacers beat the defending champion Boston Celtics 95-79 on Saturday night in their home opener… Ford, the key acquisition in the trade that sent Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto, also had four assists. Backup point guard Jarrett Jack, picked up in a trade with Portland, added 11 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Garnett led Boston with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Pierce scored 15 points, but shot 3-for-15 from the field. Ray Allen finished with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting… The Celtics had 24 turnovers and shot 21-for-35 from the free-throw line on Saturday.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Nov 1: Hawks 95, Sixers 88
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 35 points, including a long 3-pointer that clinched it with 11 seconds remaining, and the Hawks rallied from a 23-point deficit to stun the Philadelphia 76ers 95-88 Saturday night. The Hawks improved to 2-0 in their home opener, the team’s best start in a decade… The 76ers outhustled the Hawks, building a 20-8 rebounding edge at one point, and Atlanta couldn’t make anything. Starting forwards Smith and Marvin Williams combined to go 0-for-11 over the first two quarters… Mike Bibby added 19 points for the Hawks, and Zaza Pachulia came off the bench to add some much-needed defensive toughness. The burly center picked off eight rebounds in 21 minutes… Young led the 76ers with 22 points, but only five came after halftime. All five Philadelphia starters scored in double figures, including Elton Brand with 17 points and Iguodala with 16. Brand also had 16 rebounds.
Nov 1: Bobcats 100, Heat 87
The AP reports: A more aggressive Gerald Wallace scored 34 points Saturday, leading the hot-shooting, free-flowing Charlotte Bobcats past the Miami Heat 100-87 to end a month of frustration. After a winless preseason and an ugly loss at Cleveland to open the regular season, Wallace, Jason Richardson and Emeka Okafor led an efficient, hustling performance that gave the well-traveled Brown his 1,011th career win… Jason Richardson added 23 points and Okafor had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte, which shot 54 percent, controlled the boards and took advantage of Dwyane Wade’s off night to spoil Heat rookie coach Erik Spoelstra’s 38th birthday. Rookie Michael Beasley capped his opening week with 25 points for the Heat, who couldn’t build off Friday’s blowout win over Sacramento. Wade, hampered by foul trouble, added 19 points on 5-of-15 shooting, while Udonis Haslem scored 16 points.
Nov 1: Magic 121, Kings 103
The AP reports: Dwight Howard led the way for Orlando with 29 points and 14 rebounds, but he had plenty of help. Rashard Lewis scored 26 points, Hedo Turkoglu had 21 and Mickael Pietrus added 20 as the Magic shot 55 percent from the field in their best offensive game of the season… Sacramento, which has lost three straight games to start the season for the second year in a row, did have one thing to celebrate. Kevin Martin, who was just 7-of-29 from the field in the first two games, broke out of the slump with 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting. Martin drilled three 3-pointers, almost single-handedly keeping his team close for the first three quarters. Hawes contributed 14 points, and John Salmons and Thompson added 12 apiece for Sacramento.
Oct 31: Nuggets 113, Clippers 103 OT
The AP reports: Allen Iverson scored nine of his 25 points in the final 3:35 of overtime and the Denver Nuggets overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-103 on Friday night. Nene added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets before fouling out for the second time in two games. Kenyon Martin missed nine of his first 10 shots and finished with 13 points. But he also grabbed 13 rebounds, made a key defensive stop to send the game into OT and made a 3-pointer in the final minute of the game to secure the victory. Al Thornton had 30 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers. Tim Thomas added 20 points and Chris Kaman had 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Oct 31: Blazers 100, Spurs 99
The AP reports: Michael Finley’s shot at the buzzer for San Antonio rimmed out and the Blazers edged the Spurs 100-99 Friday night… Brandon Roy had 26 points and seven assists for the Blazers, who were without 7-foot center Greg Oden, who sprained his right foot in the season opener against the Lakers. Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Parker had 24 points and 11 assists… Channing Frye hit a jumper to give the Blazers their biggest lead at 82-72, then followed with a dunk. But Ime Udoka and Mason each answered with a 3-pointer, and Duncan made a layup to narrow it to 84-80 for the Spurs.
Oct 31: Celtics 96, Bulls 80
The AP reports: Kevin Garnett played much better in the 1,000th game of his career than in his first of this season. Boston’s intense leader had 18 points and 10 rebounds three days after a mediocre season opener and became the youngest player in NBA history to play in 1,000 regular-season games when the Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 96-80 Friday night… Rookie point guard Derrick Rose, the top pick in the NBA draft, led the Bulls with 18 points and made six of their 25 field goals. He also learned a lesson from the champs… Tyrus Thomas, on 2-for-17 shooting, and Ben Gordon, who went 3-for-10, scored 11 each. Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo scored 14 each for Boston.
Oct 31: Grizzlies 86, Magic 84
The AP reports: Rudy Gay, the third-year pro, hit an 18-foot jumper right of the basket as time expired to give the Memphis Grizzlies an 86-84 win over the Orlando Magic… It gave Gay 29 points to lead the Grizzlies to their first win in a home opener since moving to Memphis in the 2001-02 season. Gay scored 14 of Memphis’ 25 points in the fourth-quarter rally. Rookie O.J. Mayo scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds for Memphis, while Gasol scored 10 points and guarded the Magic’s Dwight Howard… Rashard Lewis led the Magic with 23 points, while Hedo Turkoglu finished with 18, nine rebounds and seven assists. Howard had 14 points and 14 rebounds, but managed only nine shots. Jameer Nelson had 11 points.
Oct 31: Heat 103, Kings 77
The AP reports: Dwyane Wade had 20 points and eight assists, Michael Beasley finished with 17 and the Heat scored a whopping 41 points off turnovers to easily beat the Sacramento Kings 103-77 in their home opener Friday night… Udonis Haslem scored 14 points for the Heat. Marion finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and like Wade, they both sat out the entire fourth quarter. Daequan Cook scored 13 points and Mark Blount added 10. John Salmons and Quincy Douby each scored 14 for the Kings (0-2)… Heat PG Chris Quinn was inactive. Quinn, who was believed to be the preseason favorite to start, dressed but didn’t play in Wednesday’s loss at New York.
Oct 31: Sixers 116, Knicks 87
The AP reports: Elton Brand had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Andre Miller added 20 points and eight assists and Willie Green had 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting for Philadelphia (1-1), which shot 59.1 percent (52-for-88) from the field and led all the way. The Sixers held the Knicks to 32.7 percent shooting (32-for-98) and just 15 fourth-quarter points… Jamal Crawford led five Knicks in double figures with 14 points. David Lee added 13 points and 11 rebounds for New York (1-1), which trailed by 30 points in the fourth quarter and never got closer than seven in the second half when it was 64-57 with 8:41 left in the third quarter.