Damion Lee knocked down the game-winning shot with 9.7 seconds left and the Phoenix Suns rallied from a 22-point, third-quarter deficit to notch a 107-105 victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference semifinals.
Lee hit a 10-foot fallaway jumper over Spencer Dinwiddie to cap an electric Phoenix comeback in the season opener for both teams. Dallas star Luka Doncic missed a 3-point attempt just before time expired.
Devin Booker recorded 28 points and nine assists and Deandre Ayton contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns. Cameron Johnson added 15 points, Mikal Bridges had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Lee scored 11 points off the bench.
Doncic had 35 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Mavericks. Christian Wood added 25 points and eight rebounds in his Dallas debut while Dinwiddie added 15 points.
Timberwolves 115, Thunder 108
Rudy Gobert scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to help Minnesota earn a season-opening win over Oklahoma City in Minneapolis.
D’Angelo Russell added 20 points and Jaden McDaniels had 19 for Minnesota. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 12 points and seven assists.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting. Josh Giddey added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Trail Blazers 115, Kings 108
Jerami Grant capped a team-high 23-point performance in his Portland debut with a go-ahead, three-point play with 50.4 seconds remaining, lifting visiting Trail Blazers past Sacramento on Opening Night.
Anfernee Simons scored 22 points, Damian Lillard 20 and Josh Hart 19 in a balanced attack that allowed the Trail Blazers to avenge a three-point home defeat at the hands of the Kings in last year’s opener.
De’Aaron Fox poured in a game-high 33 points and Kevin Huerter had 23 for the Kings, who finished three games ahead of the Trail Blazers in the final Western Conference standings a year ago.
Jazz 123, Nuggets 102
Collin Sexton scored 20 points and Lauri Markkanen added 17 as Utah earned a season-opening win over Denver in Salt Lake City.
Seven different Utah players scored in double figures to help this new era of Jazz basketball begin with a surprising victory. The Jazz had a wild offseason, which included trading away All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, among others, and hiring Will Hardy as head coach after Quin Snyder’s resignation.
Rudy Gay put up 16 points while Mike Conley had 13 points and eight assists for Utah. Nikola Jokic led all scorers with 27 points and Aaron Gordon chipped in with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Grizzlies 115, Knicks 112 (OT)
Tyus Jones hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 47.8 seconds left in overtime for host Memphis, who squandered a 19-point second-half lead before edging New York in the season opener for both teams.
Ja Morant scored a game-high 34 points for the Grizzlies. Santi Aldama (18 points, 11 rebounds) and John Konchar (12 points, 11 rebounds) each posted double-doubles while Jones had 15 points off the bench.
Julius Randle recorded 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks. Cam Reddish scored 22 points off the bench while fellow reserve Isaiah Hartenstein had 16. Jalen Brunson had 15 points and nine assists in his debut for New York.
Bulls 116, Heat 108
DeMar DeRozan scored 28 of his game-high 37 points in the second half as visiting Chicago beat Miami in the season opener for both teams.
Ayo Dosunmu had 17 points while Nikola Vucevic tallied 15 points and 17 rebounds for the injury-depleted Bulls, who played without starting guards Lonzo Ball and Zach LaVine.
Jimmy Butler had 24 points and eight rebounds for Miami, while Tyler Herro scored 23 points and Max Strus made five 3-pointers off the bench and finished with 22 points.
Hornets 129, Spurs 102
Terry Rozier poured in 24 points and all five Charlotte starters scored in double figures as the visiting Hornets cruised past San Antonio in the season opener for both teams.
Gordon Hayward scored 20 points and Nick Richards added 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Hornets. P.J. Washington hit for 17, Kelly Oubre Jr. racked up 13 and Dennis Smith Jr. and Mason Plumlee contributed 12 points each.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Jakob Poeltl and Tre Jones scored 14 points apiece, Doug McDermott added 12 off the bench, Devin Vassell put up 11 and Joshua Primo had 10 points.
Hawks 117, Rockets 107
John Collins scored 24 points and Trae Young added 23 along with 13 assists to lift host Atlanta past Houston in the season opener for both teams.
De’Andre Hunter had 22 points and offseason acquisition Dejounte Murray collected 20 points, 11 assists and five steals for the Hawks, who held a 28-13 edge in points off turnovers.
Houston’s Kevin Porter Jr. collected 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, two days after agreeing to a four-year, $82.5 million contract extension. Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. had 17 points and seven rebounds.
Pistons 113, Magic 109
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 24 points in his debut as Detroit spoiled the debut of top draft pick Paolo Banchero by defeating Orlando in the season opener for both teams.
Bogdanovic, acquired in a trade with Utah, made six 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds. Jaden Ivey, the fifth pick in the June draft, scored 19 points; Cade Cunningham had 18 points and 10 assists; and another lottery selection, Jalen Duren, supplied 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Banchero piled up 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists in his first game for Orlando. Jalen Suggs tossed in 21 points before fouling out, and Franz Wagner had 20 points and five assists.
Wizards 114, Pacers 107
Stingy defense and an overwhelming scoring advantage on the interior powered visiting Washington in a wire-to-wire win over Indiana in Indianapolis.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 23 points, while Kristaps Porzingis added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Will Barton scored 17 points, and Daniel Gafford had 12. Kuzma grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
The Pacers made a late-game push, cutting an 18-point deficit down to three in the final minute behind Tyrese Haliburton’s game highs of 26 points and seven assists. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin finished with 19 points and shot 3-for-7 from 3-point range off the bench in his NBA debut.
Pelicans 130, Nets 108
Zion Williamson collected 25 points and nine rebounds in his first game in over 17 months and visiting New Orleans never trailed in a victory over Brooklyn in New York in the season opener for both teams.
Williamson made 11 of 22 shots in 30 minutes and helped New Orleans total 62 points in the paint. Williamson was particularly dominant in the third when he made 5 of 6 shots as the Pelicans outscored the Nets 40-28 to pull away.
Kevin Durant scored 32 points but had little help as the Nets began their 11th season in Brooklyn with a dud. Kyrie Irving was held to 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting as the Nets struggled virtually the entire game. Ben Simmons finished with just four points and fouled out in 23 minutes during his first game since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Atlanta with Philadelphia on June 20, 2021.
Raptors 108, Cavaliers 105
Pascal Siakam tallied 23 points and 11 rebounds and Toronto came back in the fourth quarter to defeat visiting Cleveland in the season opener for both teams.
Siakam fouled out with 16.3 seconds left and Donovan Mitchell made two free throws to cut the deficit to two. After the deficit was down to one, Precious Achiuwa’s dunk in the final second completed the scoring. Mitchell scored 31 points and added nine assists in his Cavaliers debut.
The Cavaliers lost Darius Garland with a left-eye injury late in the first half. He did not return, finishing with four points and three assists. Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points for Toronto, OG Anunoby added 18, Scottie Barnes and Fred VanVleet had 15 each and Achiuwa 10.
–Field Level Media
