Philadelphia, October 26 (BUS): James Harden collected 29 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lift guest Philadelphia 76 to their first win of the season, a 120-106 decision over the Indiana Pacers.
Joel Embiid added 26 points and three stopping shots, and Tobias Harris scored 18 points for the Sixers, who had dropped their first three games, Reuters reported.
Therese Halliburton Pacers led 19 points and 10 assists, with Buddy Heald scoring 18 points. Galen Smith also contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Benedict Mathurin also has 17 points.
After Mathurin hit a hat-trick with 8:12 remaining, the Pacers trailed 99-90. Harden quickly made back-to-back trips to make it 109-95 with 5:21 left, and the pad was big enough for the Sixers to sail to victory from there.
Trail Blazers 135 Nuggets 110
Damian Lillard scored 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Anvernee Simmons scored 22 out of 29 points in the third quarter, to bring Portland to victory over its guest Denver.
Jerami Grant scored 21 points for the Trail Blazers, who opened the season with four consecutive wins for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
Aaron Gordon scored 26 points in 12 of 16 for the Nuggets, who split the first four games. Michael Porter Jr. scored 18 points and Bones Highland added 15.
Bulls 120, Celtics 102
Demar DeRozan scored 25 points, Ayo Dosunmo added 22 points, while Nikola Vucevich scored 18 points and 23 rebounds to strengthen Chicago against Boston.
The Bulls snapped a two-game slip while halting the Celtics’ winning streak that opened the season with three games. After trailing as much as 19 points in the opening quarter, the bulls advanced 23 points below the extension.
Jason Tatum scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Celtics, and Jaylen Brown added 21 points.
Raptors 98, heat 90
Thameen Achiwa came off the bench to snatch 22 rebounds from the highest level of his career against his former team as Toronto won in Miami.
Fred Van Vliet finished with 24 points and nine assists for the Raptors, while Pascal Siakam scored 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Toronto was without Scotty Barnes (ankle), but Chris Boucher made his season debut and scored 10 points in 12 minutes.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 26 points, but he didn’t shoot in the fourth quarter so there was less than a minute left. Tyler Hero added 22 points and 15 rebounds for Miami.
Missiles 114, Jazz 108
Kevin Porter Jr. scored a double as Galen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. each topped 20 points as host Houston took home a win for the first time this season, beating previously undefeated Utah.
Porter collected 26 points with 10 rebounds, while Green added 25 points on 9 of 16. Smith just missed a second straight double by adding 21 points and nine rebounds. This trio shot 18 to 18 from the free throw line.
The Jazz, who entered the night 3-0 thanks to consecutive victories in overtime, were led by Jordan Clarkson with 17 points and Laurie Markkanen with 14.
Grizzlies 134, NETs 124
Ja Morant scored 38 points and Desmond Payne scored a career high of 38 points and eight 3-pointers as Memphis edged out Brooklyn.
Brooklyn lost despite great performances by Kevin Durant and Keri Irving, who both had 37 points. Durant’s 14-for-20 shot from the field passed Alex English (25,613 points) to the 20th place on the NBA scorers list. Durant finished the night with 25.622 points.
The Nets led seven late in the second quarter and five in the first, but the Grizzlies pulled away with a 45-28 victory over Brooklyn in the third.
Tottenham 115, Timberwolves 106
Devin Fassel scored 23 points to lead six double-digit players as San Antonio beat Minnesota in the opening game of a two-game series between the two teams in Minneapolis.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points for Tottenham. Rookie striker Jeremy Suchan and Jacob Boltle scored 14 each, Zach Collins scored 11 from the bench while Joshua Primo scored 10 goals.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves team with 27 points and 11 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell added 25 points and seven assists, Jaylene Noel had 13 points and Rudy Gobert had 11 points and seven plates.
Knicks 115, Magic 102
Julius Randle scored a double and was one of three New Yorkers to score at least 20 points, helping the Knicks fend off Orlando’s second-half comeback bid.
Randle finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds to score his second double-double in the Knicks’ first three games, which he won by two points in a row. Galen Bronson scored 21 points, while RJ Barrett added 20 points.
Novice Paulo Banchero continued his fast start by scoring 21 points for the top of the Magic team, who were 0-4 for the first time since the 2014-15 season. Banchero is the third overall pick to open his career with at least four consecutive 20-point efforts, after Oscar Robertson in 1960 and Elvin Hayes in 1968.