Celtics clobber Charlotte

By The Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) - Kevin Garnett scored 10 points with seven rebounds over 26 easy minutes in his return to the Boston parquet on Wednesday night and the Celtics held Charlotte to a franchise-low in scoring and coasted to a 92-59 victory in their home opener.

Ray Allen scored 18 points and was the only Boston starter to play in the fourth quarter as the Celtics followed their opening-night victory over Cleveland with a blowout of the Bobcats. Paul Pierce scored 15, Rajon Rondo scored 10 with 11 assists and Rasheed Wallace came off the bench with three 3-pointers.

Shelden Williams had 12 points and nine rebounds as a reserve.

Gerald Wallace had 10 points and 12 rebounds - the only Bobcat to reach double digits in scoring.

Magic 120, 76ers 106

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Dwight Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Vince Carter scored 15 points and the new-look Magic rolled to a victory over the 76ers in the season opener for both teams.

Ryan Anderson added 16 points, and Jason Williams had 15 points to highlight a deep Magic bench. Orlando went ahead by 23 points at the half, scored 100 through three quarters and showed no signs of a finals hangover after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on the same floor in June.

Marreese Speights had 26 points, and Elton Brand added eight points in his first regular-season game since missing most of 2008-09 with a right shoulder injury for Philadelphia.

Hawks 120, Pacers 109

ATLANTA (AP) - Joe Johnson scored 25 points, Al Horford had 24 and the Hawks finally played some defense in an offensive shootout, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a season-opening victory over the Pacers.

The Pacers shot 53 percent from the field but only 5 of 15 in the final period, including an uncontested layup at the end. They also turned it over six times to finish with a staggering 25 giveaways, leading to 32 points for the home team.

Danny Granger led Indiana with 31 points, but only one other starter was in double figures. Earl Watson added 20 points for the Pacers. Raptors 101, Cavaliers 91

TORONTO (AP) - Andrea Bargnani scored 28 points, Chris Bosh had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and the Raptors overcame LeBron James' 25th career triple-double to beat the Cavaliers.

James had 23 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, but Cleveland opened its season with consecutive losses for the first time since an 0-3 start in 2004-05. James scored 38 points in Tuesday's 95-89 home loss to Boston.

Mo Williams scored 16 points and Shaquille O'Neal had 12 for Cleveland, which had won five straight over Toronto and nine of 10.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 12 points in his Raptors debut and Marco Belinelli had 10. Jose Calderon had 11 assists for Toronto.

Heat 115, Knicks 93

MIAMI (AP) - Dwyane Wade began defense of his NBA scoring title with 26 points, Jermaine O'Neal finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Heat opened their season with a win over the Knicks.

New starting power forward Michael Beasley scored 21 for Miami, which shot 9 of 25 in the first quarter - then a staggering 26 of their next 31 over the next 20 minutes, on the way to building an 85-59 lead.

Put that into perspective: The Heat missed fewer shots (five) in more than 1 1/2 quarters than New York's Al Harrington did (six) in the second quarter alone.

David Lee scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds for New York, which was 32-50 last season, its eighth straight losing campaign.

Thunder 102, Kings 89

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kevin Durant had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Jeff Green added 24 points and the Thunder led from start to finish in a victory over the Kings.

Oklahoma City hit 10 of its first 13 shots and built a double-digit lead in the first 6 minutes of the game, then never let Sacramento mount a serious comeback in Paul Westphal's debut as coach.

Nenad Krstic added 20 points and Russell Westbrook had 14 points and a career-high 13 assists for the Thunder.

Kevin Martin made all 14 of his free throw attempts in the first half to keep Sacramento within striking distance, but had just three points after halftime to finish with 27.

Spurs 113, Hornets 96

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Tony Parker scored 17 points before leaving the game after a hard fall and the Spurs beat the Hornets.

Parker landed with a thud on his right side after slicing between fellow All-Star Chris Paul and Hilton Armstrong for a layup late in the third quarter. He lay scrunched up and wincing for more than a minute before walking back to the bench on his own.

The contact set off heated words between Paul and Spurs newcomer Richard Jefferson, who were both hit with technical fouls at midcourt upon being separated.

Paul led all scorers with 26 points and Emeka Okafor had 18 points and 10 rebounds in his Hornets debut after sitting out the preseason with an injured toe. Timberwolves 95, Nets 93

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Jonny Flynn scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to help Minnesota erase a 19-point deficit and Damien Wilkins' putback at the buzzer lifted the Timberwolves to a victory over the Nets.

Minnesota trailed by 16 points with less than 7 minutes to play. But the rookie Flynn scored 11 points the rest of the way and the Timberwolves closed the game on a 24-6 run to steal the victory.

Brook Lopez had 27 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for the Nets. But he didn't score in the final period and Al Jefferson blocked a shot with 25 seconds to go that would have given New Jersey the lead.

The defensive gem made up for a quiet night on the other end for Jefferson. He had nine points. Pistons 96, Grizzlies 74

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Richard Hamilton scored 25 points, Ben Gordon added 22, and the Pistons ran away from the Grizzlies.

The two guards were a combined 17 of 31 from the floor, and that was after Hamilton started the game missing five of his first six shots.

Hamilton left the game after spraining his right ankle on a shot with just under 5 minutes to play. He hit one of the two ensuing free throws, then went straight to the dressing room on the next dead ball.

Marc Gasol led Memphis with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Rudy Gay scored 16 points, and Zach Randolph recorded 14 points and nine rebounds in his Memphis debut.

Suns 109, Clippers 107

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Steve Nash scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, when he rallied the Suns to a season-opening victory over the Clippers.

Grant Hill had 19 points and 13 rebounds, Leandro Barbosa added 17 points, Amare Stoudemire 16 and Channing Frye 12 for the Suns, who won their fifth in a row over the Clippers.

Marcus Camby had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles, which dropped to 0-2 after losing its opener 99-92 to the NBA champion Lakers a night earlier. Chris Kaman added 22 points, including six straight over the final 4:02, to keep the Clippers in it until the end.

Eric Gordon added 16 points, but he missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds. Nuggets 114, Jazz 105

DENVER (AP) - Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 30 points and rookie Ty Lawson scored seven of his 17 points in a pivotal fourth-quarter run, lifting the Nuggets over the Jazz.

Chauncey Billups finished with 25 while Kenyon Martin added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Deron Williams led Utah with 28 points and 13 assists. Andrei Kirilenko and Ronnie Brewer each contributed 16 on a night when two-time All-Star Carlos Boozer struggled, finishing 3 of 14 and scoring 12 points - most coming late. He also had 11 rebounds.

Lawson ignited a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter, scoring on driving layups and quick jumpers to help the Nuggets pull away in what had been a close contest.