Ja Morant scored 49 points and hit five 3-pointers to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 129-122 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
Morant carried the team on a night Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones struggled. Bane made just 3 of 16 shots for 14 points and Jones was 4 for 13 with 11 points.
Morant had another great game after scoring 34 points in the opener to lead Memphis to a 115-112 overtime victory over the Knicks.
Ja Morant scored 49 points and hit five 3-pointers to lead Memphis Grizzlies to a 129-122 win
Morant had another great game on Friday night after scoring 34 points in the opener
The Rockets led by 16 in the first half before the Grizzlies used a big run to start the third quarter and take the lead.
Jalen Green, the second pick in the 2021 draft, led the Rockets with 33 points. But he struggled after halftime and scored just 13 points in the second half. Alperen Sengun added 23 points for the Rockets, who fell to 0-2.
Boston Celtics beat Miami Heat 111-104 in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals with Jayson Tatum scoring 29 points and Jaylen Brown adding 28.
Jayson Tatum scored 29 points as the Boston Celtics beat Miami Heat 111-104 on Friday night
The Celtics – whose most recent trip to Miami was a Game 7 win in that playoff series – outscored Miami 42-24 from 3-point range, and improved to 2-0 under interim coach Joe Mazzulla.
Tyler Herro scored 25 points for Miami, which got 19 from Bam Adebayo, 18 from Jimmy Butler and 17 from Kyle Lowry.
Miami cut a 14-point deficit to five late, before back-to-back paint baskets by Tatum and the Celtics would hold on.
It’s Miami’s first 0-2 start since 2007-08 – meaning it´s the first in Erik Spoelstra’s 15-year run as Heat coach. Miami had been one of only two teams without an 0-2 start in the last 15 seasons; now, Portland is the only team on that list.
While Kevin Durant broke a tie with a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left and had 27 points to help Brooklyn beat Toronto 109-105.
Durant’s 3 gave Brooklyn a 105-102 lead. Kyrie Irving led the Nets with 30 points.
Kevin Durant broke a tie with a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left as he helped Brooklyn Nets win
Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 37 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Fred VanVleet added 18 points and Scottie Barnes had 17.
VanVleet’s jumper with 38 seconds left brought the Raptors within one. But Royce O’Neale’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds left wrapped up the victory.
Jalen Brunson scored 17 points in his first home game at Madison Square Garden, Immanuel Quickley bounced back from a rough opener with 20 points as New York beat Detroit 130-106 for its first victory of the season.
RJ Barrett, who also struggled with his shot in an overtime loss in Memphis in the season opener, rebounded with 18 points. Obi Toppin scored 16 points, and Julius Randle had 15.
Saddiq Bey scored 26 points for the Pistons, who beat Orlando in their opener.
Jordan Clarkson scored 29 points on 7-for-12 shooting from 3-point range to lead Utah’s rally as the Jazz outlasted former teammate Rudy Gobert and Minnesota 132-126 in overtime.
Durant’s 3 gave Brooklyn a 105-102 lead. Kyrie Irving (center) led the Nets with 30 points
Lauri Markkanen had 24 points and 13 rebounds and got a leaner in the lane to fall with 12 seconds left in the extra period to put the Jazz up by four.
Mike Conley gave the Jazz the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 1:01 left. Gobert had a dunk foiled by a foul on Conley with 34 seconds to go, and he missed both free throws to finish with nine points and 23 rebounds.
Anthony Edwards scored 30 points for Minnesota. Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and D’Angelo Russell added 23 points including the tying jumper with 4.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Jonas Valanciunas had 30 points and 17 rebounds and New Orleans spoiled Charlotte’s home opener with a wire-to-wire 124-112 victory.
Brandon Ingram added 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Pelicans and C.J. McCollum had 21 points. Zion Williamson had a quiet night in his first game at the Spectrum Center since leading Duke to the 2019 ACC Championship, finishing with 16 points on 7-of-19 shooting.
Bradley Beal’s leaning bank shot with 7.4 seconds remaining lifted Washington past Chicago
The Pelicans opened Wednesday night with a 130-108 victory at Brooklyn.
Terry Rozier flirted with a triple-double for the Hornets with 23 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Gordon Hayward had 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting and added seven assists.
Bradley Beal’s leaning bank shot with 7.4 seconds remaining lifted Washington past Chicago 102-100 in its first home game since the star guard signed his massive new contract.
Washington blew a 17-point third-quarter lead in its home opener, but with the game tied at 100 and the shot clock running down, Beal´s shot off the glass dropped through to give the Wizards the lead. Following a timeout, DeMar DeRozan´s 3-pointer was just off the mark for Chicago.
DeRozan had 32 points to lead all scorers, and the Bulls nearly won their second straight game to start the season without Zach LaVine. Instead, it was Washington that improved to 2-0. Kyle Kuzma scored 26 points and Beal added 19.
Josh Richardson scored 27 points as San Antonio survived a frantic final minute flurry to win
Josh Richardson scored 27 points as San Antonio survived a frantic final minute flurry to beat Indiana 137-134.
Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana with 27 points and 12 assists. Rookie Bennedict Mathurin scored 26 points, and his attempt to force overtime with a 3-point shot at the buzzer was an airball.
The Pacers have not led in either of their games this season after finishing last season with 10 consecutive losses. Their last win came March 20.
Trae Young overcame a scoreless first half to finish with 25 points and 13 assists, John Collins added 23 points and 13 rebounds as Atlanta beat Orlando 108-98.
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Dejounte Murray added 20 points and nine assists to help Atlanta improve to 2-0.
Steph Curry put up a game-high 34 points for Warriors but Denver Nuggets came out on top
Cole Anthony, who missed Orlando’s season-opening loss at Detroit with an illness two nights ago, scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half.
Later in the day, Nikola Jokic scored 26 points as part of a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets rebounded from an opening-game embarrassment with a 128-123 triumph over the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
Jokic also had game highs with 12 rebounds and 10 assists, helping the Nuggets exact a measure of revenge over a Warriors team that eliminated Denver from the Western Conference playoffs in the first round last April.
Steph Curry put up a game-high 34 points for the Warriors, who had beaten the Los Angeles Lakers on Opening Night before getting stunned by a 70-point Nuggets first half three nights later.
Finally, Anfernee Simons broke a tie with a running hook with 7.2 seconds left in overtime and Damian Lillard recorded 41 points and seven rebounds to help the Portland Trail Blazers stun the visiting Phoenix Suns 113-111.
