Jimmy Butler scored 31 points and Stephen Curry added 23 as the visiting Golden State Warriors opened the season with a 119-109 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
Jonathan Kuminga produced 17 points and nine rebounds, and Buddy Hield also had 17 points for the Warriors, who took control with an 18-4 scoring burst to open the second half.
Golden State finished 17 of 40 (42.5 percent) from 3-point range as Kuminga went 4 of 6 from distance and Hield went 5 of 10. Curry was 3 of 9 from the 3-point arc.
Luka Doncic amassed 43 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in his first season opener with the Lakers after arriving in a trade from the Dallas Mavericks in February. Austin Reaves totalled 26 points and nine assists for Los Angeles.
Deandre Ayton scored 10 points in his Lakers debut as Los Angeles went 8 of 32 (25 percent) from 3-point range while missing 11 of 28 free throw attempts. The Warriors went 26 of 29 from the free throw line, with Butler going 16 of 16.
Lakers star LeBron James missed the first season opener of his 23-year NBA career due to sciatica.
The Warriors turned a one-point half-time lead into a 73-58 advantage less than five minutes into the second half. Golden State led 90-79 through three quarters, behind 13 points from Kuminga in the period.
The Lakers’ Rui Hachimura started a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer, and Los Angeles pulled within 105-99 with 3:59 remaining.
Draymond Green made a 3-pointer to put the Warriors up 108-99, and Butler made a reverse layup for a 110-100 advantage with 2:29 to go. Curry sealed the victory by sinking a 3-pointer with 51.2 seconds remaining.
Green had eight points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
The Lakers trailed for much of the first half before going on a 16-5 run to grab a 51-50 advantage. The Warriors led 55-54 at the break.
Doncic led all scorers with 22 points in the first half, while Butler topped the Warriors with 17 points. Golden State went 16 of 18 from the free throw line in the first half, while Los Angeles went 9 of 16.
Thunder open title defence with win against Rockets
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, including two from the free throw line with 2.3 seconds remaining in double overtime, lifting the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 125-124 home win over the Houston Rockets in their season opener.
Before the game, Oklahoma City’s championship banner was raised into the rafters, and the players were presented with their championship rings for last year’s title run.
Then the Thunder and Rockets locked into a wild back-and-forth game, largely featuring Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren coming up with big plays for Oklahoma City as Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant did the same for Houston.
In the end, it was Gilgeous-Alexander coming up with the final big moment.
After Sengun put the Rockets ahead by one with a driving finger roll off a feed from Durant with 11 seconds left, Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the basket and drew a foul on Durant.
The foul was Durant’s sixth, ending his Rockets debut.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who had missed four of his 12 earlier free throws, hit both of his foul shots to put Oklahoma City ahead. Jabari Smith Jr’s turnaround shot at the buzzer missed the mark to give the Thunder the win.
Holmgren, who fouled out in the first overtime, finished with 28 points and seven rebounds.
Sengun, who sank a career-high five 3-pointers, finished with 39 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Durant scored 23 points and pulled down nine boards.
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