Aches, pains and an early start time couldn't slow down Rashard Lewis. The Los Angeles Clippers offered little resistance as well.
Lewis scored a career-high 50 points Saturday in Japan to lead the Seattle SuperSonics to a 124-105 victory over the Clippers.
"I felt sore when I woke up this morning," Lewis said following the game, which started at noon. "I wasn't really thinking about the points, but more about by how much we were up."
PHOTO: AP
Seattle swept Los Angeles in the two-game, season-opening series at Saitama Super Arena. Lewis had a big hand in both victories.
"It just comes down to a lot of hard work over the summer," Lewis said. "I am one of the go-to guys on this team and it all comes down to making the right decisions and not making bad shots."
Lewis, who led the Sonics with 25 points in Thursday's 109-100 win, scored 26 points in the first half Saturday and nearly matched that total after the break. He made 18 of 25 shots from the field, 4-for-7 from 3-point range, and was 10-of-13 at the foul line. His previous career high was 37 points, set last season.
"Obviously, it was not a good game for us," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Rashard Lewis had an incredible game. We tried to double-team him late but he got hot and stayed hot all game."
Ronald Murray had 22 points, and Brent Barry added 14 for Seattle, which had five scorers in double figures. Seattle used pressure defense to force several turnovers and open up a 17-point lead with just over 10 minutes left in the game.
"Defense was a big key," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "We didn't play well defensively in the first half when we scored 66 points but gave up 58. We talked about that at the break and improved a lot in the second half."
Corey Maggette led the Clippers with 26 points, and Quentin Richardson was next with 19.
Pistons 93, Heat 81
At Miami, Chauncey Billups scored 27 points, and Detroit beat winless Miami.
The Heat fell to 0-3, losing their home opener under new coach Stan Van Gundy.
Richard Hamilton added 24 points, including Detroit's final 10 after the Heat closed to 83-76. Coach Larry Brown earned his 880th career victory and his first with the Pistons, his seventh NBA team.
Detroit 18-year-old forward Darko Milicic made his NBA debut with 1:23 left, finishing with two rebounds, two turnovers and a foul.
Bucks 93, Pacers 79
At Indianapolis, Milwaukee rookie T.J. Ford had 11 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in his NBA debut.
Michael Redd added 21 points and Tim Thomas scored 20 for the Bucks, who gave new coach Terry Porter his first win.
Pacers guard Reggie Miller left after the third quarter with a sore back and didn't return.
Nets 84, Timberwolves 61
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Jason Kidd picked up his game after Kenyon Martin went down with an ugly ankle injury.
Kidd recorded his 51st career triple-double with 21 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds. Richard Jefferson added 26 points for the Nets in their home opener.
New Jersey held Minnesota to a franchise low in points.
Kevin Garnett had 23 points to lead the Timberwolves, whose previous team low was 66.
Celtics 93, Grizzlies 91
At Memphis, Tennessee, Mike James hit a 16-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds left to lift Boston.
Vin Baker led Boston with 24 points and eight rebounds. James had 16 points and six assists.
Memphis was led by Stromile Swift with 18 points.
Raptors 82, Wizards 79
At Toronto, Vince Carter scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half as Toronto recovered from its lowest-scoring first half ever -- 27 points.
Jerome Williams added 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Antonio Davis had 15 rebounds as the Raptors improved to 2-0 under new coach Kevin O'Neill.
Bulls 100, Hawks 94
At Chicago, Eddy Curry scored 22 points, and Tyson Chandler had 13 with a career-high 22 rebounds for the Bulls. Atlanta's Jason Terry scored 24 points and Stephen Jackson added 17.
Kings 100, 76ers 89
At Sacramento, California, Peja Stojakovic scored 28 points, and Bobby Jackson had 18 as the Kings beat Philadelphia for the sixth straight time.
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