Associated Press
The NBA roundup…
CHARLOTTE — D.J. Augustin scored 19 points, rookie Kemba Walker added 13, including two free throws with 9.9 seconds remaining, and the Charlotte Bobcats erased a 14-point deficit to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 96-95 on Monday night in their season opener.
Gerald Henderson added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats.
Brandon Jennings had 22 points for the Bucks, while Andrew Bogut had 17 points and nine rebounds.
The Bobcats got a huge lift off the bench from Walker and center Byron Mullens, who was acquired in a trade last week with the Thunder. Walker scored nine points in the second half, creating shots off the dribble, and chipped in with seven rebounds. Mullens was 5 of 7 from the field for 10 points.
The Bobcats led 89-81 with 2:10 left, but the Bucks needed less than a minute to erase that deficit. Jennings hit a pair of 3-pointers and Mike Dunleavy added another from the corner to take a 90-89 lead.
Augustin made a driving layup with 36.5 seconds left to give the Bobcats the lead, 93-92.
Dunleavy had a chance to put the Bucks ahead but missed an open 3-pointer with 11 seconds left. Walker was fouled and made both free throws to seal the win.
Walker gave the Bobcats an emotional lift off the bench in his first real game since leading Connecticut to the NCAA championship.
Late in the game he made a nice drive to the basket and a scoop shoot while drawing a foul, bringing Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, seated courtside, off his seat. Newton and Walker, who both wear No. 1, have forged a friendship.
Stephen Jackson had a frustrating game against his former team.
After downplaying his return to Charlotte before the game, Jackson fouled out and was charged with a technical foul. He was just 1 of 5 from field and finished with six points.
MAGIC 104, ROCKETS 95
ORLANDO, Fla. — Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points to lead five Magic players in double figures as Orlando earned its first victory of the season with a 104-95 win over Houston on Monday night.
Orlando got 13 points from Turkoglu and eight points from J.J. Redick in the fourth quarter to help the Magic stave off a handful of second-half charges by the Rockets. Dwight Howard finished with 21 points and Redick 20.
Kyle Lowry led Houston with 20 points and 12 assists, Luis Scola added 19 and Courtney Lee 15 off the bench.
The Rockets trailed by as many as 12 points and got within four in the fourth quarter, but the Magic were able to hit some timely 3-pointers late to help secure the victory.
RAPTORS 104, CAVS 96
CLEVELAND — Rookie Kyrie Irving scored six points and hardly played like the No. 1 overall pick as the Toronto Raptors spoiled the Cleveland guard’s NBA debut with a 104-96 season-opening win over the Cavaliers on Monday night.
Irving, who played just 11 games at Duke before turning pro, finished just 2 of 11 from the field — he made a meaningless 3-pointer in the final minutes — with seven assists and one turnover in 26 minutes. The Cavs are counting on the 19-year-old to turn around a team that won just 19 games last season.
Toronto, which went only 22-60 last season, won its first game under coach Dwane Casey, who was an assistant last season for the champion Dallas Mavericks.
THUNDER 104, TIMBERWOLVES 100
MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Durant scored 33 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
Russell Westbrook added 28 points, six assists and six rebounds, and James Harden scored 16 points for the Thunder, who have started off a season loaded with expectations at 2-0.
Kevin Love had 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and Ricky Rubio had an impressive debut with six assists, six points and five rebounds in 26 minutes for the Timberwolves, who hung with the Western Conference favorites all game long.
PACERS 91, PISTONS 79
INDIANAPOLIS — Roy Hibbert had 16 points and 14 rebounds to help the Indiana Pacers defeat the Detroit Pistons 91-79 on Monday night in the season opener for both teams at the renamed Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
David West, Indiana’s big free agent addition, had 11 points and 12 rebounds, even though he made just 3 of 12 field goals. Tyler Hansbrough had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Paul George added 12 points.
Danny Granger, Indiana’s leading scorer last season, finished with 16 points on 6-for-18 shooting. The Pacers shot just 37 percent from the field, but got away with it because they outrebounded the Pistons 53-40. Indiana had 18 offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points.
NETS 90, WIZARDS 84
WASHINGTON — Kris Humphries shrugged off loud booing to finish with 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Deron Williams had 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, helping the New Jersey Nets beat the Washington Wizards 90-84 Monday night in the season opener for both teams.
The Nets trailed by as many as 21 points in the second quarter, but began to turn things around with a 16-2 run.
John Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft, had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists, but he only shot 3 for 13. Backup shooting guard Nick Young led Washington with 16 points in just 18 minutes. He missed a large part of the second half after jamming his left foot, but returned.
The Associated Press
12/26/11 21:44