LOS ANGELES — Russell Westbrook hit a jumper with 18.7 seconds left and finished with 35 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder remained unbeaten with an 85-83 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
LOS ANGELES — Russell Westbrook hit a jumper with 18.7 seconds left and finished with 35 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder remained unbeaten with an 85-83 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
Westbrook added six rebounds and five assists for the Thunder, who surged in the final minutes of a tight meeting between Western Conference contenders.
Westbrook had triple-doubles in the Thunder’s last two games, and was one assist shy of another in their opener. He mostly concentrated on scoring in his hometown, delivering a spectacular dunk in the third quarter while going 14 for 30 in 31 minutes.
Chris Paul had 15 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Clippers, who hit just one shot in a 5 1/2-minute span late in the fourth quarter.
SUNS 118, TRAIL BLAZERS 115, OT
PHOENIX — Eric Bledsoe dropped in a rainbow 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer, giving the Suns a victory over the Trail Blazers.
Bledsoe finished with 20 points, his only 3 being the game-winner. The shot gave the Suns their first win of the season.
The Suns, who made 6 of 10 shots and both free throws in overtime, got 27 points from T.J. Warren and 18 from Alex Len while center Tyson Chandler had 18 rebounds.
HORNETS 109, 76ERS 93
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kemba Walker had 22 points, Nicolas Batum scored 17 of 20 points in a pivotal third quarter and the Hornets handed the 76ers their fourth straight loss to open the season.
Led by Batum, the Hornets opened the second half on a 16-2 run to erase a seven-point halftime deficit and gain control.
Batum, who came into game shooting just 27 percent from the field and was limited to three points in the first half, was 6 of 8 in the third quarter with three 3-pointers as the Hornets outscored the 76ers 39-20. The 76ers didn’t help themselves with eight turnovers in the third quarter that led to 12 Charlotte points.
CELTICS 107, BULLS 100
BOSTON — Isaiah Thomas had 23 points and 10 assists, and the Celtics handed the Bulls their first loss of the season.
Amir Johnson also finished 23 points, including four 3-pointers, to help the Celtics avenge their lone loss of the season.
Boston played without center Al Horford, who was placed in the concussion protocol Tuesday after exhibiting concussive symptoms during practice.
Johnson helped pick up the slack without him, scoring 16 points in the third quarter. The Bulls managed just 18 points in the period, their lowest scoring quarter of the season.
NETS 109, PISTONS 101
NEW YORK — Brook Lopez had 34 points and 11 rebounds, Sean Kilpatrick added 24 points, and the Nets beat the Pistons.
Brooklyn hit 16 of its 20 shots in the first quarter to take a 38-30 advantage. The Nets had more turnovers (5) than misses. Brooklyn’s first miss came at the 6:03 mark in the first when Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was off on a 3-pointer. Lopez had 14 in the first quarter and 24 by the end of the first half to lead the Nets as Brooklyn took a 71-55 lead to the locker room.
Detroit cut the lead to 11 heading into the fourth quarter and then as close as five with 1:34 remaining.
Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris each scored 23 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 15 points and Jon Leuer added 11 for the Pistons.
LAKERS 123, HAWKS 116
ATLANTA — Lou Williams scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers rallied after trailing most of the game to beat the Hawks.
D’Angelo Russell led the Lakers with 23 points.
Williams, the Atlanta native who played for the Hawks from 2012-14, had a quiet game before his big final quarter.
Dwight Howard had 31 points and 11 rebounds and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 26 points for Atlanta.
ROCKETS 118, KNICKS 99
NEW YORK — James Harden had 30 points and 15 assists, and the Rockets routed the Knicks.
The NBA’s leader coming into the day with 11.8 assists per game toyed with the Knicks defense, setting up teammates for lobs or open 3-pointers as the Rockets easily bounced back from a loss in Cleveland a night earlier.
Eric Gordon added 21 points for Houston, which has won seven straight at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks haven’t defeated the Rockets at home since Jan. 26, 2009, so long ago that their coach was current Houston coach Mike D’Antoni.
RAPTORS 113, WIZARDS 103
WASHINGTON — DeMar DeRozan continued his hot start by scoring 40 points and outdueling John Wall in a showcase of All-Star guards as the Raptors beat the winless Wizards.
DeRozan was 14 of 23 from the floor despite leaving the game briefly to get his ankles taped. Raptors backcourt made Kyle Lowry needed three stitches to close a cut below his right eye but still scored 18 points.
Those problems didn’t slow down the Raptors (3-1) as they spoiled the home opener for the Wizards (0-3). Terrence Ross added 15 points for Toronto.
GRIZZLIES 89, PELICANS 83, OT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — JaMychal Green scored 21 points, Mike Conley added 20 and the Grizzlies beat the still-winless Pelicans.
James Ennis had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis, while Zach Randolph finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, part of the Grizzlies outrebounding the Pelicans 52-43.
Lance Stephenson led New Orleans with 21 points and six assists, while Langston Galloway and rookie Buddy Hield had 18 points each. Anthony Davis, the league’s second-leading scorer, was limited to 10 points, connecting on only 3 of 13 shots as New Orleans lost its fifth straight.
JAZZ 97, MAVERICKS 81
SALT LAKE CITY — George Hill scored 25 points and the Jazz defeated the Mavericks.
Hill continued to power the Jazz offensively after coming to the team in a three-way trade with the Pacers and Hawks last summer. He has scored 18-plus points in all five games, the only Jazz player to do so.
The Mavericks trailed the entire game except for a 16-15 lead at the beginning of the second quarter. After shooting just 37.0 percent in the first quarter, the Jazz hit 49.2 percent the rest of the way. They were 12 for 25 from 3-point range.