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| Clippers |
Prize acquisition Chris Paul had 20 points and nine assists in his much-anticipated Clippers debut, Blake Griffin added 22 points and seven rebounds and Los Angeles beat the Golden State Warriors, 105-86, tonight to spoil Mark Jackson’s opener as a first-time coach.
Monta Ellis had 15 points and eight assists after his grandmother’s death earlier in the day in Mississippi and David Lee added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors, who cut the Clippers’ lead to 78-77 with 9:35 left on Brandon Rush’s three-pointer before Los Angeles pulled away.
It was hardly a spectacular opener for CP3 and Co., though coach Vinny Del Negro certainly will take methodical any day. These new-look Clippers hope to shine as Los Angeles’ other NBA team, perhaps no longer the Lakers’ stepchild.
Paul — who nearly wound up with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers before the NBA nixed the trade — teamed with Chauncey Billups and Griffin for the first time since coming to the Clippers in a Dec. 14 trade from New Orleans.
Billups scored 21 points with a key three-pointer late for Los Angeles, which plays at San Antonio on Wednesday before returning for four in a row and seven of eight at Staples Center.
Paul had an unspectacular first half: seven points on 1-for-6 shooting in 19 minutes. But he came on with several clutch baskets in the waning minutes to finish 7 for 12.
Each time the Warriors got close, Los Angeles found an answer.
Andris Biedrins scored on a running hook with 6:51 left to cut the Clippers’ lead to 82-81, then Mo Williams came through moments later. Caron Butler’s 3-pointer with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter gave the Clippers the first double-digit lead of the game at 63-53.
Many fans among the sellout crowd of 19,596 at revamped Oracle Arena wore Warriors Santa hats, while the Clippers got into the holiday spirit with bright green socks to go with their bright red uniforms. Billups added matching green shoes to his game ensemble.
Jackson, who hadn’t coached at any level after a successful playing career, appreciated longtime friends Chris Mullin, Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen handling the broadcast for the final opener on Christmas.
Van Gundy and Breen pulled off a remarkable double dip after beginning their day in Dallas calling the Heat’s 105-94 win over the Mavericks before hopping a charter flight to the Bay Area for the nightcap.
Jackson, with his defense-focused approach, guaranteed the Warriors will be a playoff team after making the postseason just once since 1994. Golden State has been building around the theme “Big Things are Coming,” and turned that to “Big Things are Here” for the long-awaited, lockout-delayed opener.
“This team is going to be the hardest working team in the business,” Jackson said.
His Warriors face a quick turnaround with Chicago in town Monday night.
Point guard Stephen Curry started for Golden State despite being questionable after he sprained his surgically repaired right ankle in an exhibition game at Sacramento last Tuesday night. Curry — who warmed up extensively on the ankle and wore a special padded sleeve and brace — was 2 for 12 for four points.
Biedrins, bulked up by 15 pounds to 256 and determined for a comeback season, had 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as the Warriors held a 48-43 advantage on the boards.
Klay Thompson, the Warriors’ rookie first-round pick, scored seven points in 19 minutes off the bench in his first game with Golden State. Owner Joe Lacob predicted Thompson will be in the running for Rookie of the Year.
Bulls 88, L.A. Lakers 87
LOS ANGELES — Derrick Rose scored 22 points and hit a short go-ahead jumper with 4.8 seconds to play, and the Chicago Bulls rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final four minutes for an 88-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers today.
Luol Deng scored 21 points and blocked Kobe Bryant’s short shot right before the buzzer as the Bulls hung on for a thrilling finish to both clubs’ first Christmas meeting.
Bryant scored 28 points and committed eight turnovers while playing with a torn wrist ligament for the Lakers, who nearly shook off their tumultuous preseason for a surprising win. Instead, Los Angeles was outscored 17-5 in the final 3:36.
Deng scored nine points in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, including a three-point play and two free throws in the final 45 seconds as Chicago snapped a five-game road losing streak against the Lakers.
Carlos Boozer had 15 points for the Bulls, who have designs on a championship run after leading the NBA with 62 regular-season victories last season. Chicago struggled mightily against Brown’s new defensive schemes for the Lakers in the second half, managing just 25 percent shooting (12 for 48) — but Rose and Deng bailed out the Bulls.
Bryant couldn’t finish strong in his NBA-record 14th Christmas Day appearance for the Lakers, who had an 11-point lead with 3:45 to play before Chicago pulled within 87-86 on Deng’s free throws with 20.4 seconds left.
Bryant wore a compression sleeve on his right arm while playing without a brace on his right wrist after getting hurt last week. He appeared to have trouble handling the ball, but displayed a fairly smooth jump shot and his usual superb footwork.
Pau Gasol added 14 points for the Lakers, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter while committing four fouls. Los Angeles also played without suspended center Andrew Bynum and departed sixth man Lamar Odom in the debut of coach Mike Brown, who replaced 11-time champion Phil Jackson.
Chicago finally awoke after Los Angeles pushed its fourth-quarter lead to 82-71 with 3:45 to play. The Bulls’ 10-3 run was abetted by four straight missed free throws by the Lakers before Bryant hit a short fadeaway with 54 seconds left.
Deng’s three-point play trimmed the lead to 87-84, and Bryant fouled Deng after missing his own shot on the Lakers’ possession.
Rose opened his first season as the reigning MVP by taking just five shots in the first half before taking charge late. The youngest MVP in league history also got a five-year, $94 million contract extension four days ago.
The Lakers’ 13th straight Christmas appearance was the second straight for the Bulls, who returned to the holiday slate last season for the first time since the last of Michael Jordan’s six championship campaigns in 1997.
While the Bulls remained cohesive and consistent in the offseason, nobody knows what to expect from the 16-time champion Lakers after their tumultuous offseason.
Brown said he only installed about a third of his defense-based system during the truncated training camp, and he had to make further changes when the club abruptly traded Odom to Dallas no players in return after failing to acquire Chris Paul from New Orleans.
The Staples Center crowd murmured quizzically when Los Angeles announced a starting lineup including second-year pro Devin Ebanks and newcomer Josh McRoberts, who’s filling in while Bynum sits out four games for bad behavior in the Mavericks’ Game 4 sweep of the Lakers in the second round last spring.
Both teams gave away small leads in the first half, but Rose’s three-pointer kick-started a 9-2 run in the final 1:07, and he put the Bulls up 56-47 at halftime with assists on Deng’s three-pointer and three-point play in the final seconds.
Los Angeles began the second half with an 18-7 run, clicking on both ends while claiming a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Thunder 97, Magic 89
Kevin Durant scored 30 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder win their season opener with a 97-89 victory over the Orlando Magic on tonight.
Durant led the league in scoring the past two seasons, including averaging 27.7 last season. On Sunday, he was 11-of-19 from the field and added five rebounds and six assists.
James Harden added 19 points and the Thunder held Orlando star Dwight Howard to just 11 points.
The Thunder lost to Dallas last year in the Western Conference finals but are expected to one of the top teams this season. They led throughout, including by 18 at the end of the third quarter and really were never in danger of losing. Meanwhile, the Magic looked like a team that was still dealing with the distraction of Howard and his trade demands, which dominated headlines in Orlando since the lockout ended.
NBA commissioner David Stern weighed in on the Howard situation Sunday, saying before the game, “That’s the beauty of the soap opera. How it plays out, we’ll wait and see.”
Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins did a good job on Howard. The Magic’s star center averaged more than 22 points per game last year, shooting 59% for the season.
He did have 15 rebounds.
A 13-2 run in the second quarter, after Durant and Russell Westbrook checked back in, helped the Thunder get out to a 17-point lead. They led, 55-41, at the break. Durant had 14 points in the first half.
Ryan Anderson scored 25 points and Jameer Nelson added 18 for the Magic, who shot just 37% from the field and had 18 turnovers.
Knicks 106, Celtics 104
Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points, including a pair of free throws with the game tied and 16 seconds left, and the New York Knicks survived a seesaw season opener today to beat the Boston Celtics, 106-104.
Amare Stoudemire added 21 points and Toney Douglas had 19 for the Knicks, who led by 17 in the first half, trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter, then pulled out a thrilling Christmas victory in the delayed opener to the 2011-12 season.
Rajon Rondo had 31 points and 13 assists, nearly leading the Celtics back without an injured Paul Pierce. But Kevin Garnett missed a jumper just before the buzzer.
Brandon Bass had 20 points and 11 rebounds in his Celtics debut, and Ray Allen added 20 points.
Miami 105, Dallas 94
LeBron James and the Miami Heat couldn’t keep the Dallas Mavericks from winning the most recent NBA championship. They did a nice job, however, of getting the Mavs’ title defense off to an ugly start.
James had 37 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Heat beat the Mavericks in a game that was hardly ever as close as the final score might suggest.
Maybe the pregame banner-raising ceremony left the Mavs emotionally drained or — more likely — the overhaul of their roster is slow to take hold. The newly minted champs were down by 15 after one quarter, 21 at halftime, and 35 a few minutes into the second half.
Miami made it look easy, scoring at least 30 points in each of the first three quarters. James had the top highlight, tipping an alley-oop pass to Dwyane Wade so he could have the dunk.
Wade had 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Heat cemented their status as the preseason favorite to win it all. Udonis Haslem added nine points and 14 rebounds.
Dallas hardly showed any life until newcomer Lamar Odom was ejected for something he said while arguing a charging call late in the third quarter. Soon after, Jason Terry fueled a surged that got the Mavs within 17 midway through the fourth.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle recognized how unlikely it was that they would come all the way back, so he kept Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion on the bench the entire final period.
Terry ended up leading Dallas with 23 points. Nowitzki scored 21 in three quarters. Marion scored 12, and Delonte West added 10 in his Dallas debut. West also started the second half in place of another newcomer, Vince Carter. Carter had five points, two rebounds and three steals in 21 minutes.
NBA Commissioner David Stern attended the game and took part in the banner raising ceremony. Fans greeted him with boos, perhaps showing disgust over the lockout that delayed the start of the season from Nov. 1 and shrunk the season by 16 games.
