DeRozan leads Spurs past Wolves 112-108; Butler scores 23
By RAUL DOMINGUEZ
SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ DeMar DeRozan had 28 points in his San Antonio debut, LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and 19 rebounds and the Spurs overcame a 23-point performance by Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler in a 112-108 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night in a matchup of teams coming off a tumultuous offseason.
DeRozan was acquired from Toronto after the Spurs responded to Kawhi Leonard’s trade demands by dealing their star forward and Danny Green for the Raptors’ All-Star guard and Jakob Poeltl.
Minnesota is facing a similar trade demand from Butler, who has opted to play through it. Butler, who has told Minnesota that he will not resign with the team in the offseason, added seven rebounds and three assists in an active 31 minutes.
DeRozan banked in the eventual game-winning shot in the final minute against Butler, driving hard to the basket against the 6-foot-8 forward and then pulling up from 12 feet to give San Antonio a 110-108 lead with 32.4 seconds remaining. DeRozan sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 7.8 seconds remaining after Minnesota’s Derrick Rose missed a runner in lane.
Jeff Teague scored 27 points and Andrew Wiggins added 20 points for the Timberwolves.
Rudy Gay had 18 points and Bryn Forbes had 11 points in his first start at point guard for the Spurs.
San Antonio led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but Minnesota went on a 12-4 run late in the second quarter to pull within 48-46 and shift the early momentum. Butler, Teague and Wiggins were the only players to score during that run.
Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his third foul with 2 minutes left in the first half and fouled out with 4:18 remaining in the game and the Spurs up 99-92. Towns finished with eight points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Teague was down on the court for about 10 seconds in the fourth quarter after tweaking his right ankle on an offensive foul, but gave officials a thumbs up and remained in the game. . Minnesota is 3-10 all-time when opening the season on the road. . The Timberwolves are 9-50 against the Spurs in San Antonio. Their last win in San Antonio was April 17, 2013. . The Timberwolves have seven new players on its roster, but returned all five starters and its first three players off the bench. . Minnesota had nearly every player available on its roster, except for center Justin Patton, who is out indefinitely following right foot surgery.
Spurs: San Antonio had eight new players on its roster for the season opener for the first time since 1992. The Spurs finished 42-33 that season after firing Jerry Tarkanian 20 games into the campaign. . DeRozan has played 23,000 minutes in his career, joining Aldridge, LeBron James, James Harden and Russell Westbrook as the only players to do so since 2009. . Gay was wincing after stumbling when a defender backed away from him on a backdown, but did not go to the locker room. . Poeltl made just his fifth career start and first since Feb. 14 2017 with Toronto.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host Cleveland on Friday night.
Spurs: Host Portland on Saturday night.
Davis, Mirotic lead Pelicans past Rockets 131-112
By JORDAN GODWIN
HOUSTON (AP) _ Anthony Davis had 32 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists while Nikola Mirotic scored 30 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 131-112 win over the Houston Rockets in their season opener on Wednesday night.
Davis added three blocks and three steals, while Mirotic shot a sizzling 6 of 8 from 3-point range, and Julius Randle had 25 points off the bench.
Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 21 points off the bench, while P.J. Tucker and Chris Paul both added 19 points. James Harden had 18 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.
The Pelicans dominated the first half, taking an early lead and never relinquished it as they hammered the undersized Rockets in the paint. New Orleans led 71-54 at the break and led by 29 points in the second half.
New Orleans dominated Houston in paint scoring, 76-44, and also shot 40 percent on 10 of 25 shooting from 3, compared with a rusty 33.3 percent (16 of 48) from the Rockets.
The most points Houston allowed in regulation last season was 129 points in a 129-113 loss to Toronto, also allowing 142 in a double-overtime win over the Lakers.
Defense was a major question mark for the Rockets entering the season after losing Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute in the offseason as well as the September retirement of former associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik, effectively Houston’s defensive coordinator the past two seasons.
Coming off the bench for Houston with seven minutes remaining in the first quarter, Rockets offseason pickup Carmelo Anthony received a standing ovation when he entered the game wearing his trademark headband and the No. 7. Antony made his first two shot attempts, the first, from 3, and finished 3-of-10 shooting for nine points in 27 minutes off the bench.
The Pelicans opened their season with a win for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
All five Pelicans starters scored in double figures as E’Twaun Moore had 21 points, and Jrue Holiday and Elfrid Payton both adding 10 points.
Houston went 3-1 against New Orleans last season and had won 11 of the past 14 meetings entering Wednesday.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: New Orleans was 16-1 last season when scoring 123 points or more and only topped 130 points four times, twice in overtime. . C Jahlil Okafor (right ankle sprain) entered the game late in the fourth quarter, playing less than two minutes.
Rockets: PG Michael Carter-Williams (left knee soreness) played on a minutes restriction as a precaution, with coach Mike D’Antoni setting the cap around 15 minutes. Carter-Williams played 16 minutes and had 10 points. . Centers Nene (right calf tightness) and Zhou Qi (left knee sprain) did not play.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Host Kings on Friday.
Rockets: At Lakers on Saturday.
Booker’s late onslaught lifts Suns past Mavs 121-100
By BOB BAUM
PHOENIX (AP) _ Devin Booker scored 19 of his 35 points in the final 6:44 and lifted the Phoenix Suns to a 121-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the teams’ season opener on Wednesday night.
Booker, who missed the entire preseason after undergoing a surgical procedure on his right (shooting) hand, sank four 3s, converted a three-point play, made a driving layup and hit two free throws after Dallas had cut what had been a 16-point lead to four.
Two of the NBA’s top rookies squared off in their debuts with different results.
Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, made 8 of 11 shots for 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had six assists. Dallas’ Luka Doncic, the No. 3 overall pick, struggled from the field, making 5 of 16 shots _ 0 of 5 3-pointers _ for 10 points. He had four assists and eight rebounds.
Trevor Ariza added 21 points, Josh Jackson 18 and T.J. Warren 17 for the Suns, who gave Igor Kokoskov a victory in his NBA head coaching debut.
The Mavericks, already without Dirk Nowitzki and Harrison Barnes, lost Devin Harris to a strained left hamstring in the first quarter and never led after the game’s opening minute. Dwight Powell led six Dallas players in double figures with 16 points.
Ayton made his first shot, was fouled by Doncic, and the three-point play put Phoenix ahead 3-2. The Suns led the rest of the night.
They scored the final 10 points of the first quarter, including 3s by Ariza and Booker, to lead 37-24.
Dennis Smith Jr.’s two free throws cut the lead to 49-42, but consecutive Dallas turnovers led to a layup by Booker and Ariza’s fourth 3-pointer and Phoenix led 56-46 at the break.
Phoenix twice stretched the lead to 16 in the third quarter and was up 83-73 entering the fourth.
But consecutive 3s by Dallas’ Wesley Matthews and Jalen Brunson cut the Suns’ lead to 94-90 with seven minutes to play.
Booker followed with a driving layup, added a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired and converted a three-point play to put Phoenix up 102-94 with 4:34 to go.
The Suns made 19 of 34 3s, seven of nine in the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Nowitzki, entering his 21st NBA season, is out indefinitely recovering from left ankle surgery. … Barnes missed the opener with a right hamstring strain. … Doncic was part of the Slovenia national team coached by Kokoskov that won the EuroBasket gold medal in 2017. … Dallas was 10 of 33 on 3-pointers.
Suns: G Jamal Crawford, whose signing was announced earlier in the day, was not in uniform. … Phoenix has won six straight against Dallas, sweeping the three games last season, when the Suns won a league-worst 21. … Isaiah Canaan, coming back from a gruesome leg injury sustained on the same court last season, got the start at point guard. … Canaan was one of nine players to start at point guard for Phoenix last season.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Host Minnesota on Saturday.
Suns: At Denver on Saturday.