DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Klay Thompson added 22 points in his Dallas debut and the Mavericks beat the San Antonio Spurs 120-109 in the opener for both teams Thursday night.
Kyrie Irving had 15 points for the defending Western Conference champions, who got eight assists from Doncic and seven rebounds from Thompson.
Victor Wembanyama shot just 5 of 18 from the field for 17 points to open the young French phenom’s second year with the Spurs. Jeremy Sochan and Julian Champagnie scored 18 apiece.
CELTICS 122, WIZARDS 102
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes, and Boston cruised to a victory over Washington.
Jaylen Brown scored 27 points in the Celtics’ first road game of the season. Derrick White had 19 and Payton Pritchard added 15 as the defending NBA champions extended their winning streak against Washington to five games.
Jordan Poole scored 20 of his 26 points before halftime in the rebuilding Wizards’ season opener, and Jonas Valanciunas added 18 in his Washington debut.
After taking their first double-digit lead just before halftime, the Celtics outscored the Wizards 34-19 in the third quarter put the game out of reach.
THUNDER 102, NUGGETS 87
DENVER (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points, Chet Holmgren added 25 as part of a stellar all-around performance and Oklahoma City beat Denver in the season opener for both teams.
Holmgren proved to be a handful on both ends of the floor. He tied a career high with 14 rebounds, and had five assists and blocked four shots. Reserve Aaron Wiggins added 15 points.
It was an important divisional game right out of the gate. The Thunder and Nuggets both finished 57-25 last season, with the Thunder earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference by virtue of a tiebreaker.
Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for Denver.
Jokic’s point guard partner, Jamal Murray, had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Christian Braun added 16 points. while Aaron Gordon, fresh off signing a new contract extension, added 12 points. Denver was 7 of 39 on 3-pointers.
TIMBERWOLVES 117, KINGS 115
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Anthony Edwards hit a pair of free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining and Minnesota spoiled Sacramento’s opener by beating the Kings.
Edwards got fouled by Domantas Sabonis on a drive with the game tied and calmly hit the free throws to give him 32 points.
Keegan Murray’s 3-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer for the Kings.
Julius Randle led the Timberwolves with 33 points in his second game after being acquired in a trade from New York this month.
Demar DeRozan scored 26 points to lead the Kings in his debut for Sacramento after being acquired this summer in a sign-and-trade from Chicago. Sabonis added 24 points and Murray had 23.
The Associated Press