Carmelo Anthony fit right in and James Harden and Chris Paul picked up right where they left off.
The Houston Rockets’ offense looks like it will keep on rolling.
Anthony scored 13 points in his Rockets debut, Harden and Paul both had at least 20, and Houston beat Memphis 131-115 on Tuesday night.
Elsewhere, LeBron James remained winless with the Lakers and Cleveland won its first game since he left in a five-game night in the NBA.
Anthony started and played 23 minutes in the game in Birmingham, Alabama. He made three 3-pointers and offered a “my bad” to the Houston bench on his other basket, a long 2-pointer. The Rockets’ offense is based on 3s and layups, with the belief that long 2s are bad shots.
Paul picked up the Rockets way quickly last year and started his second season with them with 22 points, nine assists and five steals. Harden had 20 points and six assists, though the league MVP did commit eight turnovers.
Michael Carter-Williams came off the bench for 19 points in 21 minutes of his Rockets debut. Houston made 21 3-pointers and shot 50 percent from the field.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the No. 4 pick in the draft, made all six shots off the bench for 15 points.
NUGGETS 113, LAKERS 111
LeBron James scored 13 points in 15 minutes of his Staples Center home debut, but the Nuggets rallied after he departed to beat the Lakers for the second time in three nights.
Mason Plumlee went 11 for 11 and had 23 points for the Nuggets, who outscored the Lakers 65-52 after halftime.
Denver came from 18 down after beating Los Angeles 124-107 in San Diego.
NUGGETS: Nikola Jokic had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. … Will Barton was 1 for 12 from the field, 0 for 6 from inside the arc. … Malik Beasley scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter. … Trey Lyles was 4 for 5 and had 12 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.
CAVS 102, CELTICS 95
Kevin Love scored all 17 of his points in the first half for Cleveland and Collin Sexton started the second half, scoring 11 of his 15 points after the break.
Marcus Smart had 15 points and Marcus Morris scored 14 for Boston.
The Celtics made a push in the fourth quarter and closed within five in the final minute of Cleveland’s exhibition opener.
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