Kevin Garnett scored 10 points with seven rebounds during 26 easy minutes in his return to the Boston court as the Celtics held the Charlotte Bobcats to a team-low score in a 92-59 victory in their NBA home opener on Wednesday.
Ray Allen scored 18 points and was the only Boston starter to play in the fourth quarter as the Celtics followed their opening-day victory over Cleveland with a blowout of the Bobcats. Paul Pierce scored 15, Rajon Rondo scored 10 with 11 assists and Rasheed Wallace came off the bench with three 3-pointers.
Shelden Williams had 12 points and nine rebounds as a reserve.
Gerald Wallace had 10 points and 12 rebounds — the only Bobcat to reach double digits in scoring.
MAGIC 120, 76ERS 106
At Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Vince Carter scored 15 points and new-look Orlando rolled to a victory over Philadelphia.
Ryan Anderson added 16 points, and Jason Williams had 15 points to highlight a deep Magic bench. Orlando went ahead by 23 points at halftime.
HAWKS 120, PACERS 109
At Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 25 points, Al Horford had 24 and Atlanta finally played some defense in an offensive shootout, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a season-opening victory over Indiana.
Danny Granger led Indiana with 31 points but only one other starter was in double figures.
RAPTORS 101, CAVALIERS 91
At Toronto, Andrea Bargnani scored 28 points, Chris Bosh had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Toronto overcame LeBron James’ 25th career triple-double to beat Cleveland.
James had 23 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, but Cleveland opened its season with consecutive losses for the first time since 2004.
Mo Williams scored 16 points and Shaquille O’Neal had 12 for Cleveland.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 12 points in his Raptors debut, and Jose Calderon had 11 assists.
HEAT 115, KNICKS 93
At Miami, Dwyane Wade began the defense of his NBA scoring title with 26 points, Jermaine O’Neal finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Heat opened their season with an easy win over New York.
Also on Wednesday, it was:
• Thunder 102, Kings 89
• Spurs 113, Hornets 96
• Timberwolves 95, Nets 93
• Pistons 96, Grizzlies 74
• Rockets 108, Warriors 107
• Suns 109, Clippers 107
• Nuggets 114, Jazz 105
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