Ben Simmons stars as Philadelphia 76ers defeat Boston Celtics in season opener
Written by News on 24/10/2019
Ben Simmons had 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds to lead the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Boston Celtics 107-93 in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday night.
Boston Celtics 93-107 Philadelphia 76ers
Ben Simmons had 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds to lead the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Boston Celtics 107-93 in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday night.
Josh Richardson scored 17 points while Joel Embiid added 15 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots despite playing in foul trouble for much of the second half. Tobias Harris also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds and former Celtic Al Horford had 16 points.
Gordon Hayward paced the Celtics with 25 points while Jayson Tatum added 21 points and 10 rebounds. Enes Kanter and Kemba Walker each contributed 12.
The Sixers closed the second quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 49-48 lead into the locker room at half-time. Less than four minutes into the third, the Sixers extended their advantage to 62-50 after a short jumper by Harris.
The Celtics closed within five late in the third yet still trailed 77-68 at the end of the quarter.
In the final period, Richardson connected on a three-point play to give Philadelphia a decisive 95-81 advantage with 4:36 remaining.
Minnesota Timberwolves 127-126 Brooklyn Nets (OT)
Karl-Anthony Towns collected 36 points and 14 rebounds as the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves overcame a 50-point performance from Kyrie Irving in a 127-126 overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets in the season opener for both teams.
Irving had the ball in his hands on the final possession, but the six-time All-Star lost his footing off the dribble and forced a shot that caromed off the rim as time expired.
Towns sank a career-high seven three-pointers and Andrew Wiggins added 21 points for the Timberwolves, who overcame squandering an 18-point lead in the second quarter to hand Brooklyn their seventh straight season-opening loss.
Irving shot 17-of-33 from the field in his first game since he and the injured Kevin Durant elected to sign with Brooklyn in the summer.
Brooklyn had a chance to take the lead late in regulation, but Jarrett Allen missed a pair of free throws with 5.7 seconds remaining.
The Nets saw a 98-90 lead evaporate in the fourth quarter, with Towns drilling a step-back three-pointer to cap an 11-0 run and another to give the Timberwolves a 104-100 advantage with 5:42 remaining.
Irving countered with a pair of 3-pointers of his own to give the Nets a 115-112 lead before Towns answered from behind the arc to forge a tie.
Washington Wizards 100-108 Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic scored 34 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 23 in his Dallas debut as the Mavericks defeated the visiting Washington Wizards 108-100 in the season opener for both teams.
Doncic, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, made 12-of-19 field-goal attempts, including 4-of-9 from three-point range. Dallas reserves Dorian Finney-Smith and Justin Jackson added 10 points each.
Bradley Beal scored 19 points on 7-of-25 shooting for Washington, who have lost on nine of their past 10 visits to Dallas.
The Mavericks led by 17 points after Doncic banked in a three-pointer early in the third quarter, and two Porzingis free throws soon made it 69-50.
Washington twice cut the deficit to 14, but the Mavericks closed the quarter on a 10-2 run to open up an unassailable 23-point lead to open the fourth.
Oklahoma City Thunder 95-100 Utah Jazz
Donovan Mitchell opened his third NBA season with a bang, scoring six of his game-high 32 points in the final minute as the Utah Jazz held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-95 in Salt Lake City.
Mitchell tipped in his own miss with 54.4 seconds left for a 94-90 lead, then canned a 20-foot pullup from the right wing with 21.8 seconds remaining to make it 96-91. He added two foul shots with 8.1 ticks on the clock for a 98-94 advantage.
Mitchell also grabbed 12 rebounds for Utah, who got 16 points from Bojan Bogdanovic. Royce O’Neale hit all six of his field-goal tries and scored 14, and Emmanuel Mudiay came off the bench to chip in 12 points.
The Jazz won despite getting only five points on 1-of-16 shooting from new point guard Mike Conley.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pumped in 26 points to pace Oklahoma City while Chris Paul netted 22 in his first game for the Thunder after being traded from Houston for Russell Westbrook in the offseason. Danilo Gallinari hit for 21 points, and Hamidou Diallo scored 12 in a reserve role.
Denver Nuggets 108-100 Portland Trail Blazers
The Denver Nuggets snapped the Portland Trail Blazers’ NBA record of 18 consecutive home-opening victories, winning 108-100 on Wednesday night.
Denver got 20 points and 13 rebounds from foul-plagued center Nikola Jokic, who had 16 points in the fourth quarter. Will Barton scored 19 points for the Nuggets, six in the closing quarter. Guard Jamal Murray scored seven of his 14 points in the final period.
Damian Lillard of Portland led all scorers with 32 points, including 13 in the fourth. Blazers center Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and a game-high 19 rebounds. Rodney Hood scored 13 points and CJ McCollum had 12.
Denver – who lost to Portland 4-3 in last season’s Western Conference semi-finals – outscored the Blazers 35-21 over the final 10:48.
Detroit Pistons 119-110 Indiana Pacers
Andre Drummond scored 32 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to power the Detroit Pistons to a 119-110 win over the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
The Pistons closed the season opener for both teams on a 22-10 run, holding the Pacers without a point over a 3:03 stretch late in the fourth quarter.
Drummond, the center of an offseason-long contract discussion, delivered in all phases. He shot 12-for-18 from the floor, 8-for-10 from the free-throw line, blocked four shots and added three steals. He produced the first 30-point, 20-rebound performance in a season opener since Charles Barkley accomplished the feat in 1992.
With Drummond dominant in the middle, guard Luke Kennard stretched the Indiana defense with his 3-point shooting. He knocked down 6-of-9 from behind the arc and finished with 30 points.
The frontcourt duo of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner led Indiana with 27 and 25 points, respectively. Sabonis recorded a double-double thanks to 13 rebounds. Offseason signee Malcolm Brogdon added 22 points but shot just 5-for-13 from the field.
Chicago Bulls 125-126 Charlotte Hornets
Dwayne Bacon drained several late-game shots and PJ Washington scored 27 points in his NBA debut as the Charlotte Hornets earned a 126-125 victory against the visiting Chicago Bulls in the season opener for both teams.
Charlotte set an NBA record by making 23 baskets from three-point range in a season-opening game. The previous mark was 19. Washington made seven triples, an NBA record for a player in his debut. Overall, the Hornets were 23-for-44 from long distance, with the 23 treys also representing a franchise record.
Devonte’ Graham poured in 23 points and Bacon finished with 22 for the Hornets. Marvin Williams added 17 points (sinking five three-pointers) and Cody Zeller contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds.
For Chicago, Lauri Markkanen pumped in 35 points, and Thaddeus Young and Coby White both notched 17 points. Zach LaVine had 16.
New York Knicks 111-120 San Antonio Spurs
LaMarcus Aldridge poured in 22 points and Bryn Forbes added 20 to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a come-from-behind 120-111 win over the visiting New York Knicks in the season-opening game for both teams.
The Spurs used a 17-0 run over a four-and-a-half-minute span of the fourth quarter to turn a five-point deficit into a 109-97 lead, with five different players scoring points in the decisive surge.
New York missed six straight shots and committed an offensive foul during that stretch and showed a lack of experience in the most crucial part of the game, with many of their shots rushed and taken early in the shot clock.
The Spurs had five players in double-figure scoring, as Dejounte Murray added 18 (along with eight rebounds, six assists and three steals), and DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay hit for 13 points each.
Marcus Morris led New York with 26 points while Julius Randle added 25 points with 11 rebounds and six assists for the Knicks. Rookie RJ Barrett had 21 points in his first regular-season game.
Sacramento Kings 95-124 Phoenix Suns
Devin Booker scored 22 points and Kelly Oubre Jr added 21 to lead a balanced attack as the host Phoenix Suns pulled away to defeat the Sacramento Kings 124-95.
Deandre Ayton had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and new point guard Ricky Rubio contributed 11 points and 11 assists in his Suns debut after signing a three-year free-agent deal this summer.
Six Suns scored in double figures in coach Monty Williams’ debut, and Booker handed out 10 assists.
Buddy Hield had 28 points and sank six three-pointers, Marvin Bagley III scored 14 points, Harrison Barnes had 12 and Cory Joseph 10 for the Kings in coach Luke Walton’s debut. Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, limited by foul trouble, had eight points, five assists and five turnovers. He picked up three fouls in the first half and played only 27 minutes.
The Suns outscored the Kings 70-36 in the second half and shot 59.7 per cent from the field in the half, climbing to 50 per cent for the game. The Kings shot 39.1 per cent and were 11-of-40 (27.5 per cent) from the field in the second half.
Cleveland Cavaliers 85-94 Orlando Magic
Nikola Vucevic led four players in double figures with 21 points on Wednesday night as the Orlando Magic opened their 2019-20 campaign with a 94-85 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers, spoiling John Beilein’s NBA coaching debut.
Markelle Fultz scored points to go with a game-high six assists off the bench. Terrence Ross had 10 points as the Magic, a playoff team last season, used a 36-21 advantage in points from reserves to pull away from the Cavaliers.
Four starters scored in double figures for Cleveland, led by 16 points apiece by Collin Sexton and Tristan Thompson.
Evan Fournier was a fourth Orlando player in double figures with 16 points, hitting seven of his 13 shots. Cedi Osman added 13 points and Kevin Love 11 for the Cavaliers. Love also who pulled in a game-high 18 rebounds to record a double-double.
Memphis Grizzlies 101-120 Miami Heat
Justise Winslow scored a game-high 27 points as the Miami Heat used a 23-1 fourth-quarter run to defeat the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 120-101 in the season opener for both teams.
Winslow added seven rebounds and seven assists. Goran Dragic scored 19 points off the Miami bench, Kendrick Nunn had 24 points, and Bam Adebayo posted 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Tyler Herro, a 19-year-old rookie, scored 14 points to become the youngest player to ever start a game for Miami. The mark had been held by Winslow.
Jaren Jackson Jr led Memphis with 17 points. Rookie point guard Ja Morant – the NBA’s second overall draft pick – added 14 points and four assists but committed six turnovers.
The Heat were without forward Jimmy Butler – their biggest offseason acquisition – due to personal reasons.
(c) Sky Sports 2019: Ben Simmons stars as Philadelphia 76ers defeat Boston Celtics in season opener
