Antetokounmpo scores 37 points, Bucks beat Celtics 108-100 :-: FOX Sports
BOSTON (AP) Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 16 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter, and the Milwaukee Bucks opened their season with a 108-100 victory over Boston on Wednesday night to spoil the homecoming of a Celtics team coming off a late and emotional season opener.
One night after a gruesome broken ankle just six minutes into the season cost Boston top free agent Gordon Hayward – perhaps for the entire season – the Celtics fell to 0-2 by giving up an 11-1 run that left Milwaukee with a 97-90 lead and under three minutes to play.
Antetokounmpo added 13 rebounds, Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 points and Khris Middleton had 15 points and nine rebounds. Matthew Dellavedova scored 15 points, hitting a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left after the Celtics cut the lead to two points.
Kyrie Irving scored 17 points on 7-for-25 shooting in his Boston debut.
PISTONS 102, HORNETS 90
DETROIT (AP) – Tobias Harris scored 17 of his 27 points in the first quarter, helping Detroit celebrate its return downtown with the victory over Charlotte.
The Pistons and Hornets opened the season in Little Caesars Arena, a new facility that brought them back to the city for the first time in nearly four decades. Eminem made a surprise appearance, grabbing the microphone to fire up the crowd just before tipoff. Kid Rock, another Motor City musical artist, sat in a baseline seat near Detroit’s bench.
Reserve Langston Galloway scored 16 points, Avery Bradley had 15, and Henry Ellenson added 13 points for Detroit. Reggie Jackson had 13 points and eight assists.
Dwight Howard had 10 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks in his debut with the Hornets. Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 24 points.
WIZARDS 120, 76ERS 115.
WASHINGTON (AP) – John Wall scored 28 points, Bradley Beal rebounded from a rough start to add 25 and Washington beat Philadelphia to spoil the NBA debuts of top picks Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.
The Sixers cut their deficit to two in the final minute. A pair of Philadelphia turnovers and a 3-point miss by J.J. Redick allowed the Wizards to hold on.
Wall shot 10 of 28 from the floor and had eight assists. Beal, who started 1 of 5 with a dunk, was 12 of 16 from the free throw line.
Simmons, the 2016 No. 1 pick who missed all last season with a foot injury, had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Fultz, the 2017 No. 1 pick, came off the bench to score 10 points. Sixers forward Robert Covington had 29 points. He was 7 of 11 from 3-point range.
PACERS 140, NETS 131
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Victor Oladipo scored 22 points in his Indiana debut, Darren Collison added 21 points and 11 assists in his return to Indianapolis, and the Pacers held off Brooklyn.
The Pacers, in their first game since trading All-Star Paul George, had their highest point total since a 144-point game against Denver on Nov. 9, 2010. Myles Turner had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Thaddeus Young added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
D’Angelo Russell scored 30 points in his Nets debut but backcourt mate Jeremy Lin limped to the locker room with an injury midway through the fourth quarter.
MAGIC 116, HEAT 109
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Evan Fournier scored 23 points, Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Orlando held off Miami.
Fournier stalled the Heat’s rally by scoring seven points in the final 2:27, including a driving basket with 30 seconds left. The Heat trailed by 17 early in the fourth quarter, but cut the deficit to two with 2:39 to play.
Hassan Whiteside keyed the Heat’s comeback and finished with 26 points and 22 rebounds. Goran Dragic had 17 points and six assists.
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