INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George scored 17 of his 23 points in the third quarter and the Indiana Pacers beat the Toronto Raptors 91-84 Friday night to improve to 6-0 and match the best start in franchise history.
INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George scored 17 of his 23 points in the third quarter and the Indiana Pacers beat the Toronto Raptors 91-84 Friday night to improve to 6-0 and match the best start in franchise history.
Roy Hibbert added a season-high 20 points and seven rebounds as the Pacers remained the NBA’s lone undefeated team.
Rudy Gay scored a season-high 30 points on 12-of-26 shooting for the Raptors, who lost their third straight to fall to 2-4. Amir Johnson added 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Raptors shot 39.5 percent from the field, becoming the sixth consecutive opponent Indiana has held to 40 percent shooting or worse.
The Pacers improved to 6-0 for the first time since the 1970-71, when the club played in the ABA. They rallied from a halftime deficit for the fifth time this season. Indiana overcame 16 turnovers to shoot 46.2 percent.
KNICKS 101, BOBCATS 91
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carmelo Anthony had 28 points and eight rebounds, Andrea Bargnani added 25 points and New York spoiled Patrick Ewing’s NBA head coaching debut with a victory over Charlotte.
Ewing, who spent 15 seasons with the Knicks as a star center, filled in as Charlotte’s coach after Steve Clifford had a procedure earlier in the day to have two stents placed in his heart. Clifford checked himself into the hospital late Thursday night with chest pain.
The Knicks shot 75 percent from the field in the third quarter — including six of seven 3-point attempts — to blow open a tight game and snap a three-game losing skid.
Raymond Felton had 15 points for the Knicks (2-3).
Kemba Walker scored 25 points for the Bobcats and Gerald Henderson added 18 points and nine rebounds.
PELICANS 96, LAKERS 85
NEW ORLEANS — Anthony Davis scored a career-high 32 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and tied a career best with six blocks to lead New Orleans over Los Angeles.
Jrue Holiday added 13 points and 13 assists and Eric Gordon scored 16 for the Pelicans, who led most of the way in their second straight win. New Orleans had lost 11 regular-season games in a row to the Lakers.
New Orleans broke open a tight contest with a 12-0 run in the final 3:16 that started with Davis’ 16-foot jumper and included his fast-break two-handed jam, his block of Pau Gasol and his fast-break layup as he was fouled, the last of which had the crowd on its feet chanting “M-V-P!”
Chris Kaman led Los Angeles with 16 points, while Nick Young and Steve Blake each scored 13.
CELTICS 91, MAGIC 89
ORLANDO, Fla. — Brandon Bass had 16 points, including a pair of free-throws in the closing seconds to help Boston hang on to beat Orlando for its second straight win.
Trailing by three, the Magic had a chance to tie the game in the final minute, but Arron Afflalo’s jumper came from just a step inside the 3-point line.
Avery Bradley added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics.
The win extends the Celtics’ win streak over Orlando to nine games.
Afflalo led the Magic with 23 points. Nik Vucevic added 14 points and 13 rebounds.
The loss ends the Magic’s three-game win streak.
THUNDER 119, PISTONS 110
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Kevin Durant had 37 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to propel Oklahoma City over Detroit.
Rookie Steven Adams played a key role for Oklahoma City, dominating inside when Detroit’s post players were in foul trouble. Adams finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook scored 20 points despite missing 14 of his 19 field-goal attempts.
Josh Smith finished with 25 points for Detroit before fouling out, while Greg Monroe (20 points, 15 rebounds) and Brandon Jennings (22 points, 11 assists) added double-doubles.
TIMBERWOLVES 116, MAVERICKS 108
MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Love had 32 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists to lead Minnesota past Dallas.
Kevin Martin added 32 points and five rebounds and Corey Brewer scored 17 points to help the Timberwolves snap a two-game skid.
Jose Calderon made 6 of 8 3-pointers and scored 21 points for the Mavericks. Monta Ellis scored 23 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 14 for Dallas. The Mavericks played without trusted reserve Vince Carter, who was suspended for the game for elbowing Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams on Wednesday.
SUNS 114, NUGGETS 103
PHOENIX — Twins Markieff and Marcus Morris made the big shots that helped Phoenix rally from an 11-point deficit late in the third quarter and earn the victory over Denver.
Markieff Morris scored 14 of his career-high 28 points in the fourth period. Marcus Morris sank a jumper with 5:13 left that gave the Suns a 100-95 lead after a back-and-forth first part of the quarter.
Marcus Morris finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Miles Plumlee added 18 points and 11 boards as the Suns improved to 4-2. Eric Bledsoe contributed 17 points and nine assists.
The Nuggets trailed by as many as 18 points shortly after halftime, but outscored the Suns 40-20 behind guard Ty Lawson’s 21 points in the third quarter.
Lawson led Denver with 29 points and Jordan Hamilton added 19. The Nuggets dropped to 1-4.
SPURS 76, WARRIORS 74
SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker scored 18 points, including the last seven for San Antonio, and the Spurs held on to beat Golden State.
Parker missed two free throws with 16.4 seconds remaining that gave Golden State a final chance. Andre Iguodala drove to the basket and tried a layup that rolled off the rim.
It was the first game between the teams since the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, which the Spurs won 4-2.
Kawhi Leonard added 13 points for the Spurs, who improved to a conference-best 5-1.
Toney Douglas came off the bench to lead Golden State with 20 points. David Lee added 13 and Clay Thompson had 11.
76ERS 94, CAVALIERS 79
PHILADELPHIA — Evan Turner scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Tony Wroten added 18 points and Philadelphia cruised past Cleveland to overshadow the return of Andrew Bynum.
Thaddeus Young added 16 points, while James Anderson and Michael Carter-Williams had 11 each for the Sixers, who snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 4-2. Spencer Hawes scored 10 points.
The buzz leading into the game was the return of Bynum, who signed a two-year, $24 million contract with the Cavaliers in July.
Bynum had been acquired by the Sixers in a four-team, 12-player trade in the summer of 2012. But the two-time All-Star center never played for the Sixers because of bilateral bone bruises in both knees.
He played 18 minutes off the bench and finished with four points and five rebounds as the fans cascaded boos toward him every time he touched the ball.
Dion Waiters led the Cavaliers with 18 points while Jarrett Jack and C.J. Miles added 13 each.
WIZARDS 112, NETS 108, OT
WASHINGTON — Nene scored 12 of his 20 points in the final 4½ minutes of the fourth quarter, including a putback with 1.2 seconds to play that sent the game to overtime, and Trevor Ariza hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the extra period to lift Washington over Brooklyn.
Bradley Beal scored 29 points, John Wall had 17 points and 14 assists, and Marcin Gortat had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who nearly held Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce scoreless for the first time since they were rookies in the 1990s.
Garnett didn’t score until his 18-footer with 3:40 to play in regulation, and Pierce waited until overtime before hitting a jumper that nearly spurred the Nets to victory. Pierce was a game-time decision to play after missing the morning shootaround with an illness.
BULLS 97, JAZZ 73
CHICAGO — Luol Deng scored 19 points, Carlos Boozer had 18 and Chicago snapped a two-game skid with a win over Utah.
Deng added 11 rebounds and Joakim Noah had 14 points and Derrick Rose 12 for the Bulls.
Gordon Hayward scored 15 points for the Jazz (0-6), who are off to their worst start since they were in New Orleans in 1974-75, when they lost their first 11 games.
The Bulls dominated in the paint, scoring 56 points to 22 for Utah. Overall, Chicago outshot Utah 52.8 percent to 29.8 percent in winning its sixth straight against the Jazz.