Ricky Rubio had a career-high 28 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 112-111 on Wednesday night in their first game since Flip Saunders’ death.
Rubio also had 14 assists and Kevin Martin scored 23 points. The Timberwolves played with heavy hearts three days after they lost Saunders, the longtime coach and team president who battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Minnesota led 111-102 with 2 minutes, 11 seconds left, but the Lakers finished on a 9-1 run. Lou Williams hit a three-pointer with 31 seconds left to trim Minnesota’s lead to one point. Martin missed a jumper before Williams missed at the buzzer.
Photo: AP
Kobe Bryant scored 24 points in the first game of his 20th season with the Lakers, breaking John Stockton’s NBA record for the most seasons with one team.
CAVALIERS 106, GRIZZLIES 76
Kevin Love had 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Richard Jefferson had 14 points as the Cavaliers ruined the Grizzlies’ season opener.
Cleveland capitalized on Memphis’ shooting woes, building a double-digit lead in the first quarter and extending the margin to 32 in the fourth. The Cavaliers lost their season opener to the Bulls 97-95 on Tuesday night.
LeBron James, Jared Cunningham and Matthew Dellavedova had 12 points each, with James four of 13 from the field. Jefferson was five of six, including all three three-point tries, part of Cleveland shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc.
Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 12 points apiece.
THUNDER 112, SPURS 106
Russell Westbrook had 33 points and 10 assists to help Billy Donovan win his NBA coaching debut.
Kevin Durant scored 22 points in his first regular-season game since February. He made just six of 19 field goals, but hit two critical free throws with 11.5 seconds remaining to put the Thunder in control, while Enes Kanter had 15 points and 16 rebounds off the bench.
Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Spurs.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 11 points and five rebounds in his debut with San Antonio after nine years with Portland.
HEAT 104, HORNETS 94
Chris Bosh scored 21 points in his first game since getting sick in February, while Dwyane Wade added 20 as Miami beat Charlotte in the season opener for both teams.
Gerald Green scored 19 off the bench and Luol Deng finished with 13 for Miami, who used a 26-6 run in the second quarter to take control and beat the Hornets for the 14th consecutive time at home.
The Heat made 12 of 20 shots from three-point range, including one from Deng with 38.8 seconds left to help seal the win.
Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 19 points, Jeremy Lin scored 17 and Marvin Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
CLIPPERS 111, KINGS 104
Blake Griffin scored 33 points, while Paul Pierce put the Clippers ahead for good with a late jumper.
Chris Paul had 18 points and 11 assists, while J.J. Redick scored 15 as the Clippers blew a 15-point lead before surviving for the win.
It was the Kings’ final season opener at Sleep Train Arena before moving to their new downtown home next season.
In other games, it was:
‧ Bulls 115, Nets 100
‧ Trail Blazers 112, Pelicans 94
‧ Raptors 106, Pacers 99
‧ Mavericks 111, Suns 95
‧ Nuggets 105, Rockets 85
‧ Pistons 92, Jazz 87
‧ Knicks 122, Bucks 97
‧ Celtics 112, 76ers 95
‧ Wizards 88, Magic 87
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical nation’s first Asian Winter Games medal yesterday with a victory in the men’s final against South Korea. The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold. “This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible
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