Wednesday National Basketball Association Capsules.
October 31st, 2008 Posted in NBA basketball newsWednesday National Basketball Association Capsules.
TORONTO 95, PHILADELPHIA 84
PHILADELPHIA Chris Bosh and Jermaine ONeal combined for 44 points and 19 rebounds and opened things up for a hot shooting night from the perimeter as the Toronto Raptors rolled over the Philadelphia 76ers, 95-84.
Bosh led the way with 27 points and 11 boards as the Raptors defeated their Atlantic Division rivals for the eighth time in their last 10 meetings. ONeal added 17 and eight in his Toronto debut.
Philadelphias highly anticipated Elton Brand-Andre Iguodala combination, however, got off to a much shakier start.
Brand, who signed a five-year, $80 million deal this offseason, registered a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards but shot just 5-of-14 from the field. Iguodala was just 5-of-17 and finished with 15 points.
After falling behind big in the second half, the Sixers staged a 7-0 rally – punctuated by Louis Williams three-point play – late in the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to 88-82. But Bosh answered on the other end with a long jumper and Jason Kapono drained a 3-pointer from the left corner to effectively put the game on ice.
NEW YORK 120, MIAMI 115
NEW YORK Jamal Crawford scored 29 points and Zach Randolph added 20 and nine rebounds as the New York Knicks were triumphant in coach Mike DAntonis debut, holding off the Miami Heat, 120-115, in the season opener for both teams.
Wilson Chandler scored 17 points off the bench for the Knicks, who fired coach and team president Isiah Thomas after last seasons 23-59 finish.
Quentin Richardson scored 16 points and David Lee collected 16 and 11 rebounds for New York, which led by as many as 22 points in the second half and did so without the services of former starters Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury. The maligned duo were the only dressed members of the roster to not play.
Dwyane Wade had 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Miami, which won just 15 games last season and did not fare well in the debut of new coach Erik Spoelstra.
PHOENIX 103, SAN ANTONIO 98
SAN ANTONIO Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 103-98 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the regular-season opener for both teams.
Steve Nash had 13 points and 13 assists and Shaquille ONeal added 15 and 13 rebounds to help make Terry Porter a winner in his coaching debut for the Suns.
Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each scored 32 points for the Spurs, who won a five-game series over the Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last season.
ATLANTA 99, ORLANDO 85
ORLANDO, Florida Joe Johnson scored 25 points and Josh Smith did a little bit of everything to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 99-85 victory over the Orlando Magic in the season opener for both teams.
Johnson was 11-of-20 from the field and added seven rebounds. Smith had 17 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and four steals.
The Hawks jumped out quickly, taking a 24-13 lead. They opened up the second half in similar fashion, outscoring the Magic, 27-15, to take a 74-55 lead.
Dwight Howard had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who were 4-of-25 from the arc.
NEW JERSEY 95, WASHINGTON 85
WASHINGTON Vince Carter had 21 points and Yi Jianlian added 17 to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 95-85 victory over the Washington Wizards in the teams season opener.
Yi, a 7-footer who played alongside Yao Ming for the Chinese National Team in the Beijing Olympics, shot 7-of-11 from the field on an assortment of 3-pointers, mid-range jumpers and dunks. The Nets acquired Yi and Bobby Simmons from Milwaukee in an offseason trade for Richard Jefferson.
Carters jumper from the right wing gave the Nets a 90-82 lead with 1:02 left. Devin Harris scored six points in the final 1:45 to help secure the victory.
Former Wizards forward Jarvis Hayes turnaround jumper gave the Nets an 86-80 lead with 3:42 remaining. Hayes, who appeared in 82 games last season with Detroit, signed with New Jersey as a free agent in July.
MINNESOTA 98, SACRAMENTO 96
MINNEAPOLIS Al Jefferson had 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves held on for a 98-96 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Rashad McCants scored 15 points and Randy Foye and Ryan Gomes added 12 each for Minnesota, which nearly saw a nine-point lead disappear in the closing moments.
Jefferson hit an 18-foot jumper and Kevin Ollie split two free throws to give the Timberwolves a 95-86 advantage with 3:40 to play. However, Sacramento came on late thanks to John Salmons, who finished with 24 points.
Salmons had six points on a 10-2 run, including an 18-foot jumper that cut the Kings deficit to 97-96 with 1:02 remaining. Yet, Mike Miller split two free throws with 25 seconds left and Salmons missed a putback at the buzzer, ending a late flurry by Sacramento, which had two looks in the closing moments.
MILWAUKEE 98, OKLAHOMA CITY 87
OKLAHOMA CITY Charlie Villanueva scored 20 points and collected 12 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks spoiled the first regular season game for the Oklahoma City Thunder by posting a 98-87 victory.
Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson added 20 points apiece for Milwaukee, which bounced back from a 108-95 loss in Chicago on the NBAs Opening Night Tuesday.
The Bucks never trailed in the game and were paced early by Andrew Bogut, who scored eight of his 14 points in the first quarter.
Chris Wilcox collected 15 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder, who lost in their regular season debut after moving from Seattle this offseason.
Kevin Durant scored 12 points and Russell Westbrook added 13 off the bench for Oklahoma City.
DETROIT 100, INDIANA 94
AUBURN HILLS, Michigan Tayshaun Prince scored 19 points to lead a balanced attack as the Detroit Pistons won Michael Currys coaching debut, 100-94, over the Indiana Pacers.
Richard Hamilton added 15 points and Chauncey Billups had 13 and seven assists for the Pistons, who have reached the Eastern Conference finals in six straight seasons.
Curry replaces Flip Saunders, who was fired after the club lost in the conference finals to the Boston Celtics last season.
Detroit led, 60-50, at the break and never trailed during the second half, despite not being able to put Indiana away.
Danny Granger scored 33 points to lead the Pacers, who cut a 16-point, fourth-quarter deficit down to four with 24 seconds remaining but were unable to get any closer.
HOUSTON 82, MEMPHIS 71
HOUSTON Yao Ming scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Tracy McGrady added 16 points as the Houston Rockets defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 82-71, in the season opener for both teams.
Ron Artest scored 16 points in his debut for Houston, which shot 37 percent (28-of-76) from the field.
Memphis had a 65-64 lead with 9:06 remaining in the contest but the Grizzlies went without a field goal for more than five minutes as Houston took a 71-66 edge with 4:23 left.
Houston maintained a slim lead until Rafer Alston drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing with the shot clock winding down to give the Rockets a 78-71 advantage with 37 seconds left.
Rudy Gay scored 20 points and rookie Darrell Arthur had 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench for Memphis. Fellow rookie O.J. Mayo had 10 points on 5-of-20 shooting.
UTAH 98, DENVER 94
SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Jazz survived their first night without star point guard Deron Williams, escaping with a 98-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets in the teams season opener.
Williams is likely out until next week with a sprained left ankle and was replaced in the starting lineup by Ronnie Price. With 20 seconds remaining, the fourth-year backup found Carlos Boozer under the basket for a soft floater from the baseline to give the Jazz a 93-90 lead.
The teams traded points over the next few possessions, but the Nuggets could not get over the top. Kenyon Martin missed a potential game-tying 3-point attempt on Denvers final possession.
Boozer led the way for Utah with 25 points and 14 boards, while Andrei Kirilenko added 16, six boards and two blocks.
Denver was without All-Star Carmelo Anthony, who was serving the first game of a two-game suspension stemming from his drunk-driving arrest in April. Allen Iverson and Martin paced the Nuggets with 18 points each.
LA LAKERS 117, LA CLIPPERS 79
LOS ANGELES Kobe Bryant scored 16 points to lead seven players in double figures as the Los Angeles Lakers claimed a 117-79 romp of the Los Angeles Clippers.
It was the second game in as many nights for the Lakers, who defeated the Portland Trail Blazers by 20 points on Tuesday. The reigning Western Conference champions didnt look tired at all, building a 15-point lead by halftime and cruising to their second victory in as many games.
Bryant led the team in scoring for the second consecutive contest, making 5-of-12 shots from the field while grabbing eight rebounds. Guard Derek Fisher poured in 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
The Lakers began the game with a 12-4 run, but the Clippers came back with a 13-6 surge to cut the deficit to one, punctuated with a three-point play by Al Thornton after Davis stole the ball from Bryant.
NEW ORLEANS 108, GOLDEN STATE 103
OAKLAND, California Chris Paul had 21 points and 11 assists to the lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 108-103 victory over the Golden State Warriors in a see-saw season opener for both teams.
Corey Maggette, who scored 27 points, hit two free throws with 28 seconds left after being fouled by Paul on a scramble for a rebound to give Golden State a 103-102 lead.
Paul came back and drove to the hoop and hit a layup to put New Orleans back on top 104-103 with 17 seconds left. Prior to the hoop, Paul had been 1-of-7 from the floor and 1-of-2 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors committed a turnover with 14 seconds left as an inbounds pass from Stephen Jackson to Maggette went awry and out of bounds.
