NBA: Wade sparks Heat to lopsided win over Magic

MIAMI (AP) - Dwyane Wade scored 26 points in Miami's home opener, LeBron James had 15 points and seven assists and the Heat scored the first 14 points of the second half to turn a close game into a surprisingly one-sided 96-70 victory over the Magic.

The Heat earned their sixth win over the Magic in their last 21 meetings. Of course, all the previous ones were before Wade, James and Chris Bosh teamed up in Miami.

And if this game was the measuring stick to see how the Heat are coming together, the result had to be an enjoyable one for Miami's Big 3. The Heat held Orlando to its lowest point total since Dec. 2, 2005.

When the Heat acquired James this summer, Magic president of basketball operations Otis Smith uttered a now-infamous-in-Miami line: "I was surprised that he went. I thought he was, I guess, more of a competitor."

Hornets 101, Nuggets 95

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Chris Paul scored 18 points and the New Orleans Hornets kept rookie coach Monty Williams unbeaten.

David West scored 17 points and Emeka Okafor, who did not attempt a shot in the Hornets' opener on Wednesday, added 13 points in the club's second game.

Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, which led 79-74 early in the fourth quarter before Paul returned from a rest to score 10 of his points inside the final nine minutes.

Chauncey Billups had 20 points for Denver and J.R. Smith added 12.

Both teams shot better than 48 percent, but the Hornets' defense stepped up late with blocks on Billups and Anthony. Celtics 105, Knicks 101

BOSTON (AP) - Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with a career-high 24 assists, and Paul Pierce scored 25 points with 14 rebounds.

Rondo had 10 points and 10 rebounds and topped his regular-season personal best of 18 assists set against Sacramento in March, but fell short of the franchise record of 28 set by Hall of Famer Bob Cousy in 1959.

Amare' Stoudemire scored 27 for the Knicks, reserve Wilson Chandler had 19 and Raymond Felton scored 17. Landry Fields had 11 points and 10 rebounds in New York's first loss after winning its opener on Wednesday.

Timberwolves 96, Bucks 85

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Michael Beasley had 21 points and 10 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves pounded the Milwaukee Bucks on the boards in a 96-85 victory on Friday night.

Kevin Love added 17 points and 16 rebounds, and the Timberwolves outrebounded the Bucks 62-39 to get their first win of the season.

Corey Maggette scored 23 points for the Bucks, who shot just 36 percent, including 3 for 20 from 3-point range.

The Timberwolves weren't exactly sharp shooters themselves at 38 percent, but their 26-9 advantage in second-chance points made all the difference.

Luke Ridnour had 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds against his former team.

Nets 106, Kings 100

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Devin Harris had 21 points and 10 assists, helping New Jersey stage another late rally.

New Jersey closed with a 17-3 surge over the final 3:40. Harris scored seven straight late in the run to give new owner Mikhail Prokhorov and coach Avery Johnson a second straight heart-pounding win.

The Nets, who squandered an 18-point lead in this one, needed 21 games last season to get two wins. Now they have done it in two games this season.

Brook Lopez had 29 points and 15 rebounds for the Nets, who erased a seven-point deficit in the final 1:40 to beat Detroit in their opener on Wednesday.

Tyreke Evans and Francisco Garcia had 18 points apiece for Sacramento.

Hawks 104, 76ers 101

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Al Horford had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Joe Johnson scored 22 points and Jamal Crawford finished with 19.

Reserve Andres Nocioni, who scored 15 points, had his 27-footer partially blocked by Josh Smith as time expired, allowing the Hawks to move to 2-0 after wasting nearly all of a 15-point lead.

Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand had the kind of games the Sixers expected to see more off when they signed them both to $80 million contracts in 2008. Iguodala had 27 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and Brand had 20 points and eight boards.

Doug Collins is 0-2 in his return to coaching after a lengthy stay at TNT.

Pacers 104, Bobcats 101

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Danny Granger scored 33 points, Tyler Hansbrough made a big contribution in his return to North Carolina and Indiana rallied to beat Charlotte.

With Hall of Famers Michael Jordan (Bobcats owner) sitting at the end of Charlotte's bench and Larry Bird (Pacers president) in the fourth row behind Indiana's, their teams staged a dramatic fourth quarter that featured an unlikely star.

Hansbrough, who led North Carolina to a national championship but was injured for most of his rookie season injured, hit two free throws with 10.7 seconds left.

D.J. Augustin and Stephen Jackson then missed tying 3-point attempts for the Bobcats.

Gerald Wallace led Charlotte with 29 points.

Raptors 101, Cavaliers 81

TORONTO (AP) - Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points and Linas Kleiza added 19 for the Raptors in a matchup of teams spurned by stars over the summer.

Antawn Jamison scored 13 points for the Cavaliers, who were without Mo Williams and Anderson Varejao. Williams has an injured groin and Varejao was with his ill father.

DeMar DeRozan added 14 points while Sonny Weems and Leandro Barbosa chipped in 13 each for the Raptors (1-1), who got their first win since Chris Bosh left to join former Cleveland superstar LeBron James with the Miami Heat.

Anthony Parker added 10 points for the Cavaliers (1-1), including a 3-pointer to end the first half with Cleveland down 46-38.

Thunder 105, Pistons 104

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Jeff Green made a layup with 2.5 seconds left for Oklahoma City.

The Pistons were out of timeouts at the end of the game and failed to attempt a shot.

Charlie Villanueva made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds left, but Detroit's defense allowed the Thunder to make one too many easy shots with the game on the line.

The Thunder made their first 24 free throws and 37 of 44 overall, but Kevin Durant missed one with 14 seconds left and Serge Ibaka split a pair with 18 seconds to go to give Detroit a chance. Durant finished with 30 points and Green had 21.

Ben Gordon had 32 points and Rodney Stuckey scored 24 for the Pistons.

Grizzlies 91, Mavericks 90

DALLAS (AP) - Rudy Gay scored 21 points, O.J. Mayo added 20, and each made key defensive plays in the final seconds.

Marc Gasol added 10 points and 15 rebounds, and Dallas native Darrell Arthur contributed 14 points for Memphis, which split its first two games of the season.

Gasol missed the opener with a sprained left ankle, but went through pregame warmups and decided his ankle was sound enough for him to play.

Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and Caron Butler finished with 18 for the Mavericks, also 1-1 after the first two games.