DETROIT (AP) — Jalen Duren had 23 points and 15 rebounds as the Detroit Pistons overcame a career-high 51 points from Zach LaVine to beat the Chicago Bulls 118-102 on Saturday night.
LaVine’s effort was the first 50-point game of the NBA season and made him the first Bulls player with 50 points and no assists since Michael Jordan did it against the Miami Heat on Nov. 6, 1996.
Cade Cunningham added 25 points and 10 assists for the Pistons, while Alec Burks added 18 off the bench. Rookie Ausar Thompson had nine points, 12 rebounds and five assists in Detroit’s home opener.
DeMar DeRozan scored 20 for the Bulls, but Nikola Vucevic with 12 was the only other Bull to reach double figures.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
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76ERS 114 RAPTORS 107
TORONTO (AP) — Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each scored 34 points, and Philadelphia beat Toronto to give new coach Nick Nurse his first win against his former team.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 18 points and Tobias Harris had 15 as the 76ers won their fourth straight over the Raptors.
Toronto fired Nurse in April after five seasons as head coach. Nurse led Toronto to the NBA championship in 2019 and was voted NBA Coach of the Year in 2020. Fans rose for a brief standing ovation when Nurse was honoured with a video tribute during a first-quarter timeout.
Scottie Barnes scored 24 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 17 and rookie Gradey Dick scored 16 points for the Raptors.
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PELICANS 96 KNICKS 87
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 26 points, Zion Williamson added 24 and New Orleans remained unbeaten on this young NBA season with a victory over New York.
Ingram hit an array of mid-range pull-ups, turnaround and fades, while Williamson was a force going to the hoop to give him at least 22 points in each of New Orleans’ first two games.
RJ Barrett scored 18 for the Knicks, who appeared to run out of steam in the fourth quarter after winning in Atlanta one night earlier.
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TIMBERWOLVES 106 HEAT 90
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Naz Reid scored 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting in 28 minutes off the bench, sparking Minnesota over short-handed Miami in its home opener.
The fan favourite Reid swished back-to-back 3-pointers during an 11-0 run for the Timberwolves midway through the fourth quarter and went 4 for 7 from deep. Rudy Gobert (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Karl-Anthony Towns (12 points, 10 rebounds) also played their parts in a dominant performance by the Minnesota big men as the Heat faded hard down the stretch.
Anthony Edwards finished with 19 points after a late flurry for the Timberwolves (1-1), who outscored the Heat 24-4 over a seven-plus minute stretch that lasted deep into the fourth quarter.
Tyler Herro scored 22 points on 8-for-23 shooting and Bam Adebayo added 19 points for Miami, which played without starting forwards Jimmy Butler (rest) and Kevin Love (bruised left shoulder) on the second half of a back-to-back set of games.
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PACERS 125 CAVALIERS 113
CLEVELAND (AP) — Aaron Nesmith scored a career-high 26 points and Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, sending Indiana over short-handed Cleveland.
Cleveland played without three starters, including All-NBA shooting guard Donovan Mitchell (right hamstring soreness). Point guard Darius Garland (left hamstring strain) and centre Jarrett Allen (left ankle bone bruise) also remained out.
Myles Turner had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Indiana, which outscored the Cavaliers 29-12 in the second quarter and won its second straight game to open the season. Bennedict Mathurin and Jalen Smith added 13 points apiece.
Evan Mobley had 33 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks for Cleveland. Caris LeVert started at the point and had 31 points and eight assists, while Max Strus finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
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WIZARDS 113 GRIZZLIES 106
WASHINGTON (AP) — Corey Kispert scored all of his 22 points in the first half, and Washington held off winless Memphis in its home opener.
Memphis, which is without suspended star Ja Morant, has dropped its first three games this season after surpassing 50 wins in each of the past two. The Grizzlies were on the second night of a back-to-back after a four-point loss to defending champion Denver.
Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 27 points and Kyle Kuzma added 21. They attempted 23 field goals apiece, with Kuzma going 1 of 10 from 3-point range.
Desmond Bane scored 26 points for Memphis.
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SUNS 126 JAZZ 104
PHOENIX (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 26 points, Eric Gordon added 21 and Phoenix easily handled Utah.
Phoenix was playing without two-thirds of its star trio. Devin Booker (ankle) missed his second straight game while Bradley Beal (back) has missed all three games this season.
Grayson Allen added 17 points, while Jusuf Nurkic had 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Phoenix poured in 40 points in the third quarter to put away the game. Durant was a methodical 8 of 11 from the field and hit all nine of his free throws. The 13-time All-Star added seven assists.
The Jazz had 19 turnovers in a sloppy performance. Lauri Markkanen had 19 points, making five 3-pointers. Collin Sexton scored 14 points over the bench while rookie Keyonte George, the 16th overall pick out of Baylor, added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
The Associated Press
