The AP reports: Lou Williams scored 27 points and Thaddeus Young added 21 to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the NBA champion Boston Celtics 98-92 on Wednesday night in the exhibition opener for both teams. Williams was 7-of-12 from the field and 12-of-13 from the line. Leon Powe led the Celtics with 12 points and Tony Allen had 11. The Celtics’ Big Three—Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett—got off to a fast start, but played limited minutes.
Category: Games
Basketball games blog
Oct 7: Raptors 104, Cavs 84
The AP reports: LeBron James played just 8 minutes in the first quarter before he raised his hand for a substitute and coach Mike Brown pulled his superstar for the remainder of Cleveland’s preseason debut… Toronto’s Jermaine O’Neal, acquired from Indiana in a July trade, scored 11 points in his Raptors debut. O’Neal missed 40 games last season because of lingering knee problems and dropped weight over the summer to ease the pressure on his joints. Will Solomon scored 17 points, Andrea Bargnani 15 and Kris Humphries 14 for the Raptors, who didn’t attempt a 3-pointer in the first half but dropped six from long range after halftime… Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 16 points and Williams, acquired in an August trade from Milwaukee, added 12 points, four assists and three rebounds in 26 minutes.
Oct 7: Rockets 96, Grizzlies 93
The AP reports: Ron Artest gave Houston fans an early glimpse of what he brings to the team. Artest scored 12 of his 15 points in the first quarter of his Rockets debut, and Houston beat the Memphis Grizzlies 96-93 on Tuesday night in its preseason opener… Tracy McGrady sat out to rest his sore left knee… Carl Landry, Yao’s backup, had 18 points and nine rebounds… Rudy Gay scored 14 for the Grizzlies and had a pair of highlight-reel dunks in the fourth quarter. Hakim Warrick led Memphis with 15, including a dunk that tied it at 92.
Oct 7: Mavs 108, Wizards 82
The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki and Brandon Bass each scored 17 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 108-82 victory over the injury-depleted Washington Wizards on Tuesday night in the preseason opener for both teams. Wizards forward Antawn Jamison left in the first quarter with a right knee injury and did not return… Andray Blatche’s 18 points paced the Wizards. Dallas’ Josh Howard, who finished with 15 points, was greeted by a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd when he was introduced with the starting lineup following a controversy-filled offseason.
Oct 7: Jazz 99, Lakers 90
The AP reports: Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap each scored 13 points, Deron Williams had 11 points and eight assists, and the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers 99-90 on Tuesday night in the preseason opener for both teams. Kobe Bryant played 24 minutes for the Lakers, finishing with eight points, five rebounds and five assists after sitting out the entire second and fourth quarters. Bryant, who won the league’s MVP last season for the first time in his career, was on the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team at the Beijing Olympics along with Williams and Utah teammate Carlos Boozer.
Oct 7: Blazers 110, Kings 81
The AP reports: Greg Oden debuted to a standing ovation, as did the rest of the young Portland Trail Blazers, in a 110-81 exhibition victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night. Oden finished with 13 points in just under 20 minutes… Brandon Roy, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in August, played a little more than 23 minutes and had 14 points and seven assists for the Blazers. Martell Webster led Portland with 15 points. Donte Greene, acquired from Houston in the Artest deal, had 18 points and Francisco Garcia added 12 for the Kings, who led by as many as 11 points in the first half before the Blazers seized control.
Oct 6: Wolves 117, Bucks 79
The AP reports: Rookie Kevin Love scored 13 points and Mike Miller added 12, lifting the Timberwolves to a 117-79 preseason victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night that made Minnesota’s draft day trade look promising. Al Jefferson chipped in 18 points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes, and the new-look Timberwolves may have acquired enough offensive threats to improve on last season’s 22-60 mark. Love originally was credited with 16 points, but 1 hour, 15 minutes after the game, the official scoring crew took three points away from Love and added them to Corey Brewer’s total, giving him 12… Rashad McCants scored 22 points and Randy Foye 11 for Minnesota. Charlie Villanueva scored 14 points and Matt Freije and Ramon Sessions had 11 each for Milwaukee.
Oct 6: Hawks 118, Magic 101
The AP reports: The Magic are looking for a starting shooting guard. On Monday night they watched the player they let go after last season help beat them. Maurice Evans, who left as a free agent last summer, scored 17 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 118-101 in the preseason opener for both teams… Rashard Lewis led Orlando with 22 points. Olympian Dwight Howard had 17 points, five rebounds and eight blocks. The block total matches Howard’s regular-season best… J.J. Redick, the former Duke star who has yet to crack the rotation, scored six of his 12 points in the first quarter.
Oct 5: Hornets 106, Warriors 103
The AP reports: David West scored 19 points, Hilton Armstrong added 14, and the New Orleans Hornets won their preseason opener, 106-103 over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night. Chris Paul had 13 points, six assists and a steal for New Orleans. Paul and West, the Hornets’ two All-Stars last season, each played 22 minutes. Marco Belinelli led Golden State with 14 points, hitting both 3-pointers he attempted in the fourth quarter to keep the game close… Corey Maggette scored 13 points for Golden State, while Kelenna Azubuike added 12 and Al Harrington 11.
Oct 5: Pistons 95, Heat 91 OT
The AP reports: Michael Beasley scored 16 points in his preseason debut, 13 in the third quarter, but Rodney Stuckey scored a game-high 23 for Detroit and the Pistons scored the first six points of overtime on the way to beating the Heat 95-91 in the exhibition opener for both clubs. Jason Maxiell finished with 13 points for Detroit, including the first two baskets of overtime. Richard Hamilton added 12, even though he—like virtually most of the projected regulars for both teams—played sparingly… Mark Blount scored 12 points, while Daequan Cook, David Padgett and Olympic gold medalist Dwyane Wade each added 11 for Miami… The Heat placed Udonis Haslem (foot), Shaun Livingston (knee), Dorell Wright (knee) and James Jones (wrist) on the game’s inactive list. Detroit didn’t have any inactives.