Luka Doncic had a triple-double, and the Dallas Mavericks held off host the New Orleans Pelicans 123-116 on Friday night to improve to 2-0 on the season. Doncic, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year who had 34 points to lead the Mavericks to a season-opening win against Washington two nights earlier, finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Kristaps Porzingis added 24 points, Delon Wright scored 20 off the bench and Jalen Brunson had 14. Brandon Ingram scored 25 as the Pelicans fell to 0-2 in a season that began with the news that top draft choice Zion Williamson will miss six to eight weeks because of arthroscopic knee surgery. Derrick Favors and Josh Hart scored 16 each, Lonzo Ball added 15 and Frank Jackson 10. Nuggets 108, Suns 107 (OT) Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, Jamal Murray added 27 points and seven rebounds, and host Denver hung on to beat Phoenix in overtime. Murray scored the game-winning points from the free-throw line with fewer than 20 seconds to play. Malik Beasley tallied 17 points, and Gary Harris and Jerami Grant had 13 points each for the Nuggets, who had the league's best record (34-7) at home a season ago. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 23 points and eight rebounds before fouling out, Frank Kaminsky had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Devin Booker scored 18 for the Suns, but his game-tying attempt was blocked in the final seconds. Aron Baynes had 15 points and seven rebounds before fouling out. Lakers 95, Jazz 86 LeBron James had 32 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as host Los Angeles rolled over Utah in its home opener. Anthony Davis added 21 points, five blocks and seven rebounds, while guard Troy Daniels came off the bench to score 15 points for the Lakers, who bounced back following their season-opening loss to the LA Clippers on Tuesday. Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 24 points. Mike Conley chipped in 13 points but missed eight of his 11 attempts from the floor and four of his five 3-pointers. It was the second consecutive game Conley struggled offensively. He shot just 1 of 16 in the Jazz's victory over the Oklahoma City on Wednesday. Timberwolves 121, Hornets 99 Karl-Anthony Towns poured in 37 points as Minnesota posted its second road victory to begin the season by defeating Charlotte. Towns, who had a game-high 15 rebounds and eight assists, made 13 of 18 shots from the field, but he left some points out there with his 7-for-13 shooting on free throws. Andrew Wiggins' 16 points and Josh Okogie's 14 points gave a boost to the Timberwolves, who won their first game in overtime at Brooklyn. Devonte Graham had his second big game off the bench for Charlotte, scoring 24 points. Celtics 112, Raptors 106 Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each scored 25 points, and Kemba Walker had 11 of his 22 in the fourth quarter as Boston rallied past visiting Toronto in its home opener. Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 33 points, and Kyle Lowry had 29 for the Raptors, who lost their first after a win in their opener Tuesday. A Hayward 3-pointer put Boston up for good with 3:27 to go. A pair of Siakam free throws got Toronto within one, but the Raptors would not score again. Boston took 31 more shots than Toronto in the contest, though the Celtics shot 38.5 percent (42 of 109). Nets 113, Knicks 109 Kyrie Irving scored 26 points against the team he spurned in the offseason as host Brooklyn defeated New York. Spencer Dinwiddle added 20 points to highlight five players with double-digit scoring for the Nets, who won three of four meetings against the Knicks in the Battle of the Boroughs in 2018-19. Allonzo Trier scored 22 and third overall pick RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox each chipped in 16 for the Knicks, who lost their second straight game despite shooting 68.0 percent (17 of 25) from 3-point range. Trail Blazers 122, Kings 112 Damian Lillard scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter to lead Portland over host Sacramento. Hassan Whiteside scored 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting and collected nine rebounds as the Trail Blazers evened their record at 1-1. CJ McCollum added 19 points, and Anfernee Simons scored 15 off the bench for the Blazers. De'Aaron Fox recorded 28 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Kings (0-2). Buddy Hield scored 21 points, Bogdan Bogdanovic added 16 off the bench, Harrison Barnes tallied 13 and reserve Richaun Holmes had 10. Bulls 110, Grizzlies 102 Zach LaVine scored 37 points, Coby White added 25 and Chicago stormed back for a win at Memphis. The Bulls trailed by as many as 14 points and did not get their first lead of the night until White hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 95-94 with 3:54 to go. Chicago outscored Memphis 63-42 during the second half. Jaren Jackson Jr. totaled 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead Memphis in its home opener. Teammate Jonas Valanciunas also notched a double-double, with 10 points and 13 boards. Wizards 97, Thunder 85 Thomas Bryant led the way with 21 points as Washington used a late push to escape with a win at Oklahoma City. Bryant finished 9 of 16 from the floor and added 11 rebounds. Rui Hachimura added 19 points, while Bradley Beal scored 17. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 28 points, his second consecutive career-high scoring mark in his first two games with Oklahoma City after being traded from the Clippers in the offseason. — Reuters
