By Field Level Media
Oct 22 (Field Level Media) – Anthony Edwards scored 45 points as he and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled Giannis Antetokounmpo’s debut with the Miami Heat in an emphatic 131-106 season-opening win Wednesday night.
Edwards became just the third player in NBA history to record multiple 40-point games in season openers, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. He shot 16-for-29 from the floor, including 9-for-17 from 3-point range, and added 10 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo scored 35 points and grabbed six rebounds after joining Miami in an offseason trade with the Milwaukee Bucks.
LaMelo Ball, making his Timberwolves debut, hit five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points and six assists. Klay Thompson scored 10 points in his Heat debut.
Hawks 132, Magic 125
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 31 points and hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the final two minutes to help visiting Atlanta defeat Orlando in the season opener for both teams.
Alexander-Walker’s two treys enabled the Hawks to stretch their lead from 122-121 to 128-123. Atlanta also got 20 points and five steals from Dyson Daniels, 20 points and 14 rebounds from Jalen Johnson and 19 points from CJ McCollum.
Orlando’s Paolo Banchero scored 35 points, making 10 of 12 shots from the floor, and added seven rebounds and 10 assists. The Magic got 22 points apiece from Wendell Carter Jr. and Franz Wagner and 18 from Desmond Bane in coach Sean Sweeney’s debut.
Rockets 128, Mavericks 110
Kevin Durant scored 30 points, Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. combined for 53, and Houston rolled past visiting Dallas in the teams’ season opener.
The Rockets shot 53.4% from the floor, led by Durant (10-for-16), Sengun (9-for-15) and Smith (11-for-17). Sengun posted 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Smith scored 30 points and hit four 3-pointers. Houston, which outscored Dallas 38-12 in the second quarter, led by as many as 37 points in the third quarter before the visitors rallied.
Cooper Flagg paced Dallas with a game-high 32 points on 10-for-17 shooting. Kyrie Irving scored 15 points in his first game since March 3, 2025, when he tore his left ACL. Marcus Sasser added 17 points off the bench for the Mavericks, who shot 51.9% from the floor.
Lakers 127, Warriors 105
Luka Doncic scored 28 points and Walker Kessler added 26 on 12-of-12 shooting in his Los Angeles debut as the Lakers routed visiting Golden State.
Austin Reaves scored 23 points for the Lakers, who led by 14 at halftime before taking control by outscoring Golden State 36-16 in the third quarter. Kessler finished with nine rebounds and 10 dunks, while Doncic added eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Warriors were led by Stephen Curry, who scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 12 points.
Wizards 128, Bucks 116
Anthony Davis scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Washington to a victory over the visiting Milwaukee in the teams’ season opener.
Trae Young added 20 points and a game-high 13 assists for the Wizards, while Kyshawn George scored 18 points.
In their first game with Milwaukee after being included in the offseason trade that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami, Tyler Herro led the Bucks with 24 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 22. Fellow former Heat player Kasparas Jakucionis added 15 points off the bench.
Hornets 110, Nets 103
Grayson Allen scored 21 points off the bench, while Naz Reid totaled 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as the newcomers made strong first impressions in Charlotte’s victory over Brooklyn in New York.
Acquired from Phoenix in an offseason deal for Miles Bridges, Allen made 6 of 9 shots and sank five of Charlotte’s 15 3-pointers. Acquired from Minnesota in the offseason trade that sent LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves, Reid recorded his 17th career 20-point, 10-rebound game and helped Charlotte score 20 second-chance points.
Julius Randle led all scorers with 33 points in his debut for the Nets. Michael Porter Jr. opened his second season in Brooklyn with 26 points and seven rebounds, but the veteran duo were the only Nets to score in double figures.
Clippers 121, Kings 96
Darius Garland scored 30 points, Brook Lopez added 17 points and 11 rebounds and Los Angeles moved on from a tumultuous offseason to earn a victory over Sacramento in the season opener for both teams in Inglewood, Calif.
Rookie Keaton Wagler had 15 points and five assists for the Clippers, who won after receiving sanctions in the offseason, including the loss of draft picks, for circumventing the salary cap with now-departed forward Kawhi Leonard.
Zach LaVine scored 28 points and Domantas Sabonis added 14 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists for the Kings after both players missed a majority of last season with injuries.
Grizzlies 123, Jazz 103
Ty Jerome scored a career-high 45 points to lead Memphis to a victory over visiting Utah in the season opener for both teams.
Jerome stepped into the starting point guard role following the departure of two-time All-Star Ja Morant, who was traded to Portland during the offseason. Jerome broke the franchise record for most points by a Memphis player in a season opener, surpassing Morant’s mark of 44.
Grizzlies first-round draft pick Cameron Boozer started but struggled from the field, making 2 of 15 shots, including all six of his 3-point attempts. Boozer finished with seven points, a game-high 11 rebounds and five assists. Keyonte George led Utah with 22 points, and Lauri Markkanen added 18 points and nine rebounds.
Raptors 135, Bulls 92
Kawhi Leonard, Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes scored 23 points apiece as Toronto rolled to a victory over visiting Chicago in the season opener for both teams.
RJ Barrett added 20 points, and Quickley dished out seven assists. Leonard rejoined the Raptors in a Sept. 14 trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, returning to the team he led to its first NBA championship in 2019.
Matas Buzelis led Chicago with 17 points, making 13 of 16 free-throw attempts. Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 overall pick in June’s NBA draft, scored 16 points in his debut. Jalen Smith and Norman Powell each added 15 points.
Pacers 123, Pelicans 120
Pascal Siakam scored 30 points and Tyrese Haliburton paired 23 points with 12 assists in his return as Indiana defeated host New Orleans in both teams’ season opener.
Obi Toppin added 20 off the bench, Andrew Nembhard posted 18 points and nine assists, and Ivica Zubac had 16 points and 15 rebounds. For Haliburton, it was his first official game since Game 7 of the 2025 Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder when he tore his right Achilles, sidelining him all of last season.
Dejounte Murray contributed 23 points and seven assists for New Orleans, while Zion Williamson had 22 points and Yves Missi compiled 13 points, 14 boards and three blocks.
Trail Blazers 124, Suns 83
Damian Lillard made six 3-pointers and scored 25 points in his first game in nearly 18 months, and Portland opened the game with 21 consecutive points en route to a dismantling of visiting Phoenix in the season opener for both teams.
Lillard, who tore his left Achilles tendon during the 2025 postseason with the Milwaukee Bucks, excelled in 24 minutes in his first appearance in a Portland uniform in more than 3 1/2 years. Deni Avdija recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds and Ja Morant had 14 points and eight assists in his Trail Blazers debut after being acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in the offseason.
Devin Booker led Phoenix with 23 points. Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green added 10 points apiece for the Suns, who shot 35.7% from the field and 6 of 31 (19.4%) from 3-point range.
(–Field Level Media)
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