CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) — Avery Bradley had 31 points on a career-high eight 3-pointers, and Boston defeated Charlotte 104-98 on Saturday night.
Bradley was 8 of 11 from beyond the arc and had 11 rebounds as the Celtics shot 75 percent from the field in the fourth quarter.
Isaiah Thomas had 24 points and seven assists and Al Horford added 14 points for the Celtics, who trailed by one entering the fourth quarter.
KNICKS 111, GRIZZLIES 104
Kristaps Porzingis scored 21 points, Carmelo Anthony had 20, and New York used a fast start and strong finish to beat Memphis in its home opener.
Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Courtney Lee all had impressive moments in their first home games at Madison Square Garden, and Anthony converted the three-point play that sparked the decisive spurt.
Rose had a couple of crossovers and quick bursts into the lane that showed his legs looked healthy and scored 13 points.
CAVALIERS 105, MAGIC 99
LeBron James scored 23 points, Kyrie Irving added 20, and Cleveland beat Orlando for the 15th straight time.
Kevin Love scored 19 points to help the NBA champion Cavaliers improve to 3-0. They haven’t lost to the Magic since Nov. 23, 2012, in Orlando.
BUCKS 110, NETS 108
John Henson’s tip-in at the buzzer gave Milwaukee its first victory of the season.
BULLS 118, PACERS 101
Doug McDermott had 23 points, Jimmy Butler added 16 on 6-of-9 shooting, and Rajon Rondo had 13 assists to lead the Bulls to their second straight victory to open the season.
SPURS 98, PELICANS 79
Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and San Antonio won in its home opener.
The Spurs won their first season opener in 20 years without Tim Duncan, who retired in the offseason. San Antonio played without any of its Big Three as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili both sat out to rest in the first night of back-to-back games.
HAWKS 104, 76ERS 72
Paul Millsap scored 17 points to lead five Hawks in double figures.
Kyle Korver chipped in 15 points and Mike Muscala added 14 for Atlanta.
TRAIL BLAZERS 115, NUGGETS 113, OT
Damian Lillard scored 37 points, including the go-ahead floater with less than a second remaining in overtime, and Portland won in a game that featured a 28-minute delay in the fourth quarter due to a power surge.
KINGS 106, TIMBERWOLVES 103
DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points and Rudy Gay added 28 for Sacramento.
Ben McLemore had 13 points for the Kings, who won for the first time at new Golden 1. Matt Barnes had 12 points and nine assists. Cousins picked up two fouls in the game’s final minute and fouled out.