Richard Hamilton scored 19 points and the Detroit Pistons concluded a wild day by beating the Charlotte Bobcats 101-83 on Monday, ensuring Allen Iverson will join an unbeaten team.
Playing short-handed hours after acquiring Iverson in a blockbuster deal with Denver, the balanced Pistons toyed with former coach Larry Brown’s new team, improving to 3-0 and perhaps showing Iverson that he’ll have plenty of scoring options when he takes over at point guard.
Rasheed Wallace added 15 points and four other players scored in double figures. Rodney Stuckey replaced the departed Chauncey Billups and had nine points and three assists filling in at the point for Detroit, which shot 50 percent.
PHOTO: AP
76ERS 125, KINGS 91
At Philadelphia, Thaddeus Young scored 18 points, Lou Williams had 17 and Philadelphia routed winless Sacramento.
Willie Green scored 16 points and Elton Brand had 15 for the Sixers, who were up 20 points at halftime and were able to stretch the lead in the second half instead of blowing it like they did Saturday at Atlanta.
Jason Thompson scored 17 points and Spencer Hawes had 15 for the Kings (0-4), who can’t wait to head home after a dreary season-opening road trip. The Kings start a four-game homestand on Wednesday against Memphis.
MAGIC 96, BULLS 93
At Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and Orlando held off Chicago after Andres Nocioni’s missed 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Rashard Lewis finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Magic wiped out an early nine-point Bulls lead and led by as many as 17.
Drew Gooden led Chicago with 21 points. Nocioni added 20 and Ben Gordon 17.
GRIZZLIES 90, WARRIORS 79
At Memphis, Tennessee, Marc Gasol had 27 points and 16 rebounds to help Memphis beat Golden State.
Gasol went 9-for-11 from the field and the free throw line for Memphis, which ended a seven-game skid in the series against Golden State. The rookie also blocked three shots.
Andris Biedrins had 16 points and 22 rebounds for Golden State.
Stephen Jackson finished with 17 points and Corey Maggette scored 13 despite sitting out the second quarter with an injury.
CAVALIERS 100, MAVERICKS 81
At Dallas, LeBron James snapped a third-quarter tie with a flying rebound-layup, then Mo Williams broke things open early in the fourth, sending Cleveland over Dallas.
James was only 8-of-20, but scored 29 points and took over when his team needed it. Cleveland let a 16-point lead fritter into a tie at 63, then Daniel Gibson missed a jumper from the corner, only to see James zoom in, grab the rebound and bank it in, all in one motion. He followed with a three-point play and a pair of free throws.
Dirk Nowitzki was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting as the Mavericks fell to 0-2 at home. Their only lead was 2-0, on a jumper by Nowitzki. He missed his next seven shots, failing to hit another until late in the third quarter.
Josh Howard led the Mavs with 18 points. Antoine Wright and Gerald Green were the only other players to hit double figures, each scoring 10.
JAZZ 89, CLIPPERS 73
At Los Angeles, Paul Millsap scored 15 of his 24 points during a decisive 17-3 run in the fourth quarter, and unbeaten Utah beat winless Los Angeles.
Mehmet Okur scored 16 points, Andrei Kirilenko had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Carlos Boozer added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Jazz (3-0). Millsap also had nine rebounds, leading the Jazz to a 44-38 advantage in that department.
The Jazz played without star point guard Deron Williams, sidelined with a sprained left ankle. He hopes to play for the first time this season Wednesday night against Portland or Friday night against Oklahoma City.
Chris Kaman led the Clippers (0-4) with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Baron Davis, returning to action after missing two games because of a sore left hip, had 14 points and nine assists. He shot just 5-of-15, including 1-of-8 in the first half.
Marcus Camby had five points and nine rebounds in his debut with the Clippers.
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GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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