SALT LAKE CITY — Gordon Hayward made a step-back jumper at the buzzer, one-upping LeBron James and boosting the Utah Jazz to a 102-100 victory over the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
SALT LAKE CITY — Gordon Hayward made a step-back jumper at the buzzer, one-upping LeBron James and boosting the Utah Jazz to a 102-100 victory over the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
Hayward, who had 21 points, broke free of James to catch an inbounds pass, faked a move to the basket and then stepped back on the right wing and swished a 21-foot jump shot as the horn sounded.
The forward was mobbed by his Jazz teammates in a scene reminiscent of a college tournament game.
Derrick Favors had 21 points and 10 rebounds but the Jazz had to overcome a last-minute effort by James, who scored 31 points as Cleveland fell to 1-3.
SPURS 94, HAWKS 92
SAN ANTONIO — Tim Duncan had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and San Antonio held on for its 17th straight win at home over Atlanta.
The Spurs had a season-high 25 assists for a balanced scoring effort that they needed to fend off the Hawks’ furious rally in the final quarter. Tony Parker scored 17 points and Manu Ginobili added 12, including a pair of free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining.
After a closing double-team forced Jeff Teague to pass up an attempted 3-pointer, Pero Antic’s shot from near halfcourt was blocked by Boris Diaw as time expired.
DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap each had 17 points for Atlanta (1-2). Al Horford added 10.
The Spurs have never lost at home to the Hawks since drafting Duncan and have won 16 of 17 overall.
BULLS 95, BUCKS 86
MILWAUKEE — Derrick Rose returned from his latest injury and helped Chicago to another victory at Milwaukee.
Taj Gibson scored 23 points, Pau Gasol added 22 and Rose had 13 points and seven assists in 32 minutes for the Bulls, who have beaten the Bucks nine straight times in Milwaukee.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks.
With Chicago leading by one, Gasol hit a jumper and Butler made an acrobatic layup. That started a clinching 9-2 run that was capped by Kirk Hinrich’s 3-pointer with 2:16 remaining.
Rose, who missed most of the past two seasons because of serious knee injuries, sat out the Bulls’ previous two games with sprains in both ankles.
GRIZZLIES 102, SUNS 91
PHOENIX — Mike Conley had 24 points and 11 assists, and Memphis used a strong defensive effort in the third quarter to beat Phoenix and remain unbeaten.
The Grizzlies, who won all four meetings last season, forced 10 turnovers in the third and turned an 11-point deficit in the second period into a five-point lead going into the fourth. Conley and fellow guard Courtney Lee, both coming off injuries, combined to score 17 of Memphis’ 30 third-quarter points.
Lee, who missed the past two games with a concussion, scored 22 points with 4-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers. Memphis (5-0) is off to the best start in franchise history.
Eric Bledsoe made his first eight shots for Phoenix and finished with a season-high 23 points.
PISTONS 98, KNICKS 95
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Greg Monroe had 23 points and 18 rebounds, and Detroit held off New York for its first win of the season.
The Pistons (1-3) went 1 for 17 on 3-pointers in Sunday’s loss to Brooklyn, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit their first three attempts against New York, and they ended up with a season-high 11.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points for the Knicks, who lost at home to Washington on Tuesday night. They were facing a rested Detroit team that had two days off before the game.
Carmelo Anthony had only 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting for New York. He missed his first nine shots and didn’t score until the final minutes of the second quarter.
RAPTORS 110, CELTICS 107
BOSTON — Kyle Lowry scored 35 points and had a key steal in the closing minute to lead Toronto over Boston.
DeMar DeRozan had 23 points and Patrick Patterson added 14 for the Raptors.
Rajon Rondo led Boston with a triple-double of 13 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds. Jeff Green had 20 points for the Celtics, who have lost three straight after a season-opening win over Brooklyn.
With the score tied at 105, Lowry stripped rookie Marcus Smart and fed DeRozan for a fast-break layup with 33 seconds left. He was fouled on the play and hit the free throw.
Rondo’s two free throws sliced it to one, but Lowry nailed a fadaway jumper from the left wing with 8 seconds to play. Green back-rimmed a long 3 and Boston’s Jared Sullinger grabbed the rebound, but time ran out.
HORNETS 96, HEAT 89
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Al Jefferson scored a season-high 28 points and added 10 rebounds, and Charlotte snapped a 16-game, regular-season losing streak against Miami.
Charlotte was winless against the Heat in the LeBron James era, including getting swept in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs by Miami last season.
Kemba Walker had 16 points and seven assists, and Cody Zeller turned in another solid game off the bench with 13 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets (2-3), who won for the first time since the season opener.
Chris Bosh had 23 points and 13 rebounds for Miami (3-2). It was Bosh’s fifth straight 20-point game to open the season.
TIMBERWOLVES 98, NETS 91
NEW YORK — Nikola Pekovic converted a tiebreaking three-point play with 48 seconds left, and Minnesota scored the final nine points of the game to beat Brooklyn.
Kevin Martin led the Timberwolves with 26 points and rookie Andrew Wiggins, playing in the arena where he was taken by Cleveland with the No. 1 pick in the draft, added 17.
Joe Johnson had 22 points for the Nets (2-2), who had won their last two games. Deron Williams added 19.
WIZARDS 96, PACERS 94, OT
WASHINGTON — John Wall had seven of his 31 points in overtime, and Washington won its fourth straight and gained a tiny measure of revenge from last season’s playoffs by beating resilient but even-more-depleted Indiana.
The Wizards blew a 12-point, second-half lead and survived Roy Hibbert’s 3-point attempt in the closing seconds to move three games above .500, a mark they didn’t reach until March 1 last season. A strong finish eventually led to a second-round postseason meeting with the Pacers, who won in six games to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
But that was a different Indiana team. This one is missing Paul George, George Hill, C.J. Watson, David West and now Rodney Stuckey due to injury and has lost four straight.
Donald Sloan led Wednesday’s effort with 31 points — nearly double his previous career high.
MAGIC 91, 76ERS 89
PHILADELPHIA — Tobias Harris made a jumper at the buzzer to give Orlando its first win of the season.
Nik Vucevic scored 17 points and Channing Frye had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando. Harris had 18 points and eight rebounds to help the Magic snap a season-opening, four-game losing streak.
It helped they played the Sixers. The Sixers are 0-5 for the first time since the 2001-02 season. Tony Wroten scored 27 points and Brandon Davies had 20 to give the Sixers two 20-point scorers in a game for the first time this season.
WARRIORS 121, CLIPPERS 104
OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry had 28 points and seven assists, Draymond Green scored a career-high 24 and Golden State remained unbeaten with its most impressive performance yet, routing the Los Angeles Clippers.
Green added eight rebounds and five assists as the Warriors (4-0) showed off the swagger of a confident and complete contender. They built a 25-point lead in the second quarter and held off the Clippers the rest of the way, getting a small slice of revenge after losing a heated first-round playoff series to Los Angeles last season.
Houston and Memphis are the only other undefeated teams left.
Jamal Crawford scored 24 points, and DeAndre Jordan had 17 points and 13 rebounds for a Clippers team that is off to a shaky start. Los Angeles (3-2) opened with a string of close games before getting whipped by the Warriors.
Golden State extended its best start in 20 years under new coach Steve Kerr. The last time the Warriors began 4-0 was the 1994-95 season, when they won their first five.
KINGS 131, NUGGETS 109
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMarcus Cousins had 30 points and 11 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 29 and Sacramento beat Denver to extend its best start in more than a decade.
Darren Collison added 10 points and eight assists, and Carl Landry had 18 points off the bench to help Sacramento to its second win over Denver in three days and fourth straight overall following a season-opening loss to Golden State.
The Kings improved to 4-1 for the first time since 2001-02, when they won the Pacific Division and grabbed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They haven’t been back to the postseason since 2007.
Ty Lawson had 13 points and nine assists for Denver (1-3).
Sacramento scored 40 points in the first quarter, led by as many as 36 and had six players in double figures.