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
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
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