NBA

Active Heat show they won't roll over

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The dunks, aggression, force and fury were front and center.

The team that has been doubted from the moment Dwyane Wade walked out the door and Chris Bosh couldn't walk back in had quite the chip on its shoulder Wednesday night at the Amway Center.

The Miami Heat routed the Orlando Magic 108-96 in the season opener for both teams.

With Hassan Whiteside setting up a wall of deterrence at the rim and Dion Waiters active with both his scoring and passing, the Heat moved to a 66-58 lead with 6:30 to play in the third quarter on a Luke Babbitt three-pointer, just the Heat's second three-pointer of the night.

Whiteside finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Goran Dragic added 16 points for the Heat.

The Heat kept going from there, first pushing to the game's first double-digit lead, moving to a 13-point edge, then taking an 80-69 advantage into the fourth quarter, despite standing at just 3 of 13 on three-pointers.

The Heat limited the Magic to 16 third-quarter points, with the Magic shooting 34.8 percent from the field entering the fourth quarter.

The Heat went into halftime down 53-50. The Heat missed their first six three-point attempts before a conversion from James Johnson with 64 seconds left in the first half.

It was an uneven start for Dragic, who missed his first four shots before making his next three. There were 13 lead changes in the first half.

The Heat opened with Babbitt at power forward, after showcasing Derrick Williams at the position for much of the preseason.

While the goal was to stretch the floor, the Magic merely countered by playing power forward Serge Ibaka against Justise Winslow, with the Magic's Aaron Gordon chasing Babbitt on the perimeter.

The Heat went with Waiters as their starting shooting guard, with limited options otherwise. Josh Richardson will miss additional time from an offseason knee injury and Wayne Ellington is out with a bruised quad. Neither dressed.

The Magic were led by Nikola Vucevic's 17 points and 14 rebounds. Evan Fournier chipped in 20 points, and Ibaka finished with 14 on 6-of-17 shooting in his Magic debut.

PACERS 130, MAVERICKS 121, OT

INDIANAPOLIS -- Myles Turner scored 30 points, tied his career high with 16 rebounds and made a three-pointer with 1:18 left in overtime to start an 8-0 run that allowed Indiana to close out a victory over Dallas.

Three-time All-Star Paul George added 25 points, including another three-pointer with 55 seconds left to seal Indiana's fifth season-opening victory in six years.

Deron Williams scored 25 points, while J.J. Barea and Dirk Nowitzki each added 22 as the Mavs lost their fifth in a row in the series. They still haven't won in Indianapolis since February 2014.

Dallas didn't tie the score or take a lead until the fourth quarter, yet still forced overtime when Harrison Barnes' open three-pointer made it 115-115 with 2.3 seconds left.

HORNETS 107, BUCKS 96

MILWAUKEE -- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 23 points and 14 rebounds in his return from a shoulder injury, Roy Hibbert added 15 points, and Charlotte opened its season with a victory over Milwaukee.

The Hornets led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter before fending off a late charge from Milwaukee.

The Bucks drew energy from Greg Monroe's hustle in the paint and Jason Terry's floater that cut the lead to 93-85 with 5:08 left.

But the Hornets held on down the stretch, getting a straightaway three-pointer from Marvin Williams for a 12-point lead with 3:21 left.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 31 points.

CELTICS 122, NETS 117

BOSTON -- Isaiah Thomas had 25 points and nine assists, Jae Crowder added 21 points, and Al Horford pitched in 11 in his Boston debut as the Celtics survived a late scare to beat Brooklyn.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 for Brooklyn, including a three-pointer to make it 120-117 with 47 seconds left after the Nets erased most of a 23-point deficit against the Boston bench. But he missed one with a chance to tie it after Joe Harris intercepted Thomas' cross-court pass, and the Celtics were able to hold on.

Justin Hamilton came off the bench to score 19 points and grab 10 rebounds for the Nets in Coach Kenny Atkinson's debut.

RAPTORS 109, PISTONS 91

TORONTO -- DeMar DeRozan scored 40 points and Jonas Valanciunas added a career-high 32 as Toronto opened its season with a victory over Detroit.

DeRozan made a career-high 17 field goals on 27 shots and was a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line, while Valanciunas was 10 for 15 from the floor to go along with 11 rebounds. Valanciunas' previous career high was 31, also against the Pistons, on Jan. 12, 2015.

Tobias Harris had 22 points and Marcus Morris had 17 points and 9 rebounds for the Pistons, who lost for the eighth time in their last 11 games against Toronto.

DeRozan broke Vince Carter's opening-night record of 39 points, set against the-then New Jersey Nets in 2003. Alvin Robertson is the only other Toronto player to record a 30-point opening-night game, in the franchise's first-ever game, also against New Jersey, in 1995.

Sports on 10/27/2016

Upcoming Events