Ja Morant's 40 points and 11 assists in vain for the Grizzlies after missed free-throw at the death; Miles Bridges explodes for 32 points against Brooklyn as Charlotte start 3-0 for first time in franchise history; Warriors also move to perfect start after 27 point double-double from Curry
Monday 25 October 2021 07:36, UK
Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points off the bench to help lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 121-118 win against the visiting Memphis Grizzlies Sunday night at the Staples Center.
Anthony Davis had 22 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, LeBron James finished with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Russell Westbrook had 13 points and 13 assists for the Lakers, who avoided starting 0-3 for the second time in four years.
Ja Morant had 40 points and 10 assists, Desmond Bane scored 17 points and Steven Adams contributed 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who were trying to start 3-0.
Morant had a chance to tie the score with 1.9 seconds left after getting fouled on a desperation 3-point attempt. He made the first two free throws but missed the third.
Anthony grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He sank both free throws to seal the win. Anthony, who went 6-for-8 from three-point range, passed Moses Malone for ninth all-time in NBA scoring.
Anthony made a high-arcing three-pointer to give the Lakers a 97-94 lead with 9:03 left in the game and was left alone on the next possession to hit another, making it 100-94 with 8:22 to go. The Lakers didn't relinquish the lead the rest of the way.
Miles Bridges scored 32 points and the Charlotte Hornets remained unbeaten by pulling off another strong second half performance in a 111-95 victory on Sunday night to spoil the home opener of the Brooklyn Nets.
The Hornets improved to 3-0 by outscoring Brooklyn 61-37 after halftime when they trailed by eight. They won their third straight after outscoring the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers by a combined 33 points in the second half.
Bridges finished one point shy of his career-best set April 16 in Brooklyn.
The fourth-year forward shot 9 of 16 from the field, made 11 of 12 free throws and also grabbed nine rebounds.
LaMelo Ball added 18 and Ish Smith fueled Charlotte's ability to surge ahead in the fourth quarter by scoring 11 of his 15 points. Cody Martin chipped in 12 as the Hornets shot 51 per cent in the second half and 45.7 per cent overall.
Kevin Durant led all scorers with 38 points as Brooklyn dropped to 7-3 in home openers since moving from New Jersey in 2012. Durant made his first five shots and shot 17 of 24 from the floor.
James Harden added 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and was the only other player to reach double figures for the Nets, who shot 43.7 per cent from the floor and misfired on 26 of 35 3-point tries.
The Golden State Warriors overcame a late scoring drought by Stephen Curry to beat the host Sacramento Kings 119-107.
Curry finished with a game-high 27 points, but he didn't score in the fourth quarter, which began with the Warriors leading 90-88.
Andrew Wiggins had two three-pointers and Juan Toscano-Anderson made a third after Gary Payton II's key long-distance hoop during Golden State's pull-away, which began after Kings rookie Davion Mitchell had created the game's last tie at 94-all in the third minute of the fourth quarter.
Sacramento drew within 107-104 on a 3-pointer by Buddy Hield with 4:36 to play, but Jordan Poole buried a pair of free throws and Draymond Green dropped in a layup, giving Golden State breathing room heading into a relatively comfortable finish.
In the first regular-season matchup of Curry against Mitchell, regarded as a top-flight defender even as a rookie, the perennial Golden State All-Star was limited to 4-for-15 shooting on three-pointers and 9-for-23 overall.
Curry also found time for seven rebounds and a game-high 10 assists, his second double-double after opening the season with a triple-double against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mitchell, meanwhile, countered with 22 points on 9-for-16 shooting off the Sacramento bench.
Poole finished with 22 points, Wiggins 17, Green 14 to go with six rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors, who have opened 3-0 for the first time since they began the 2015-16 season with 24 straight wins.
Terrence Ross scored all 22 of his points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Orlando Magic earned their first win of the season by pulling away for a 110-104 victory over the New York Knicks.
Cole Anthony, playing in the arena his father called home for his first four NBA seasons, posted his first double-double with 29 points and a career-high 16 rebounds as the Magic outscored the Knicks 36-24 in the fourth to avenge Friday night's 121-96 loss to New York in Orlando.
Anthony, who also had eight assists, is the son of Greg Anthony, who opened his 11-year NBA career with the Knicks. The win was the first for the Magic's rookie head coach, Jamahl Mosley.
Mo Bamba finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, while Wendell Carter Jr. and Jalen Suggs had 11 points each. Franz Wagner added 10 points.
Julius Randle racked up 30 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who were trying to start 3-0 for the first time since 2012-13. Derrick Rose scored 23 points off the bench, while RJ Barrett had 12 points and Mitchell Robinson and Kemba Walker added 10 apiece.
Seth Curry hit seven 3-pointers and scored 28 points to lift the Philadelphia 76ers over the host Oklahoma City Thunder 115-103.
Joel Embiid added 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots for the Sixers. Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey contributed 14 points apiece, Georges Niang added 12 and Danny Green had 11.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with a season-high 29 points, while rookie Josh Giddey chipped in with 19 and Luguentz Dort added 13.
The Thunder managed to close within 98-86 when Giddey converted a difficult layup with 6:01 to go, but he missed the free throw trying to complete a three-point play.
Philadelphia then came back with some clutch shots, and Harris' jumper extended their advantage to 104-91 with 4:16 left. Embiid hit consecutive shots in the final three minutes to effectively seal the victory.
Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and Grant Williams chipped in a career-high-tying 18 off the bench as the Boston Celtics earned their first victory of the season by defeating the Houston Rockets 107-97 Sunday at Toyota Center.
Tatum shot 12-for-24 and grabbed nine rebounds as Boston overcame the absence of Jaylen Brown (knee) with a balanced attack. Williams started 4-for-4 from the floor, including 3-for-3 on 3-pointers while Dennis Schroder and Al Horford scored 18 and 17 points, respectively.
The Celtics assisted on 22 of their 38 field goals and scored 28 points on 20 Houston turnovers.
Rockets guard Jalen Green scored a career-high 30 points and made a franchise rookie record eight threes. He started 5-for-5 from deep and shot 11-for-18 from the floor. Christian Wood added 20 points and nine boards while Kevin Porter Jr. scored 15 points but committed eight turnovers.
