Hornets’ 3-0 start a franchise first

HORNETS 111, NETS 95

NEW YORK — LaMelo Ball had a good first three quarters in Brooklyn, then decided it was best if he watched the fourth.

Ish Smith was rolling so well that the Rookie of the Year told Charlotte Coach James Borrego to stick with his backup.

“That’s big. That just shows where our growth is,” forward Miles Bridges said. “As long as he’s being mature and we’re all being mature, we’re going to keep winning.”

The Hornets have never done that this well to start a season.

Bridges had 32 points and nine rebounds, Smith added 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and the Hornets improved to 3-0 for the first time by beating the Brooklyn Nets 111-95 on Sunday.

Ball had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, but it was the Hornets’ backups who led them in a dominant final quarter. Cody Martin scored 8 of his 12 in the final 12 minutes.

Before that, it was another big night for Bridges, who had his second consecutive 30-point outing and finished a point shy of his career high.

Kevin Durant scored 38 points for the Nets, who fell to 1-2. James Harden had 15 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds for Brooklyn.

It was a disappointing home opener that featured demonstrators outside the arena supporting Nets guard Kyrie Irving and protesting New York’s vaccine mandate.

The Nets are not allowing Irving to play while he is not vaccinated against covid-19, which the city’s mandate says pro athletes playing for a local team must do.

Brooklyn sure looked as if it needed Irving on a night when nobody besides Durant, who shot 17 for 24, got into any sort of flow. Durant disagreed. “It’s three games in. Of course, we’ve got enough,” Durant said.

“We definitely want Kyrie

Irving out here on the floor and he’s a huge part of what we do, but it’s not happening right now. So we’ve got to figure it out. But nobody’s going to lose confidence while we’re playing and hope Kyrie comes and saves us during the game. No, you’ve got to play.”

LAKERS 121, GRIZZLIES 118

LOS ANGELES — Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points, Anthony Davis had 22 points and four blocks, and LeBron James scored 19 as Los Angeles overcame Ja Morant’s 40-point game and beat Memphis.

There was plenty of drama in the final minute as Morant was fouled on a three-point attempt by Kent Bazemore with 2.5 seconds left and Memphis trailing by three. Morant had a chance to tie the game, but missed the third and final free throw and the Lakers escaped with the win.

Anthony moved into ninth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 27,423 career points.

Morant added 10 assists and made a career-best five three-pointers.

76ERS 115, THUNDER 103

OKLAHOMA CITY — Seth Curry scored 28 points to help Philadelphia beat Oklahoma City.

Joel Embiid added 22 points and nine rebounds for Philadelphia. The 76ers are off to a 2-1 start as they work through issues with Ben Simmons, the point guard the team listed as out because

of personal reasons.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points, and rookie Josh Giddey had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals for the Thunder (0-3).

Curry scored 23 points in the first quarter.

CELTICS 107, ROCKETS 97

HOUSTON — Jayson Tatum had 31 points and nine rebounds and Boston beat Houston to avoid its first 0-3 start since 2013.

Tatum, had 20 points in the first half on 8-of-13 shooting. Al Horford

added 17 points, including 11 in the third quarter, and 10 rebounds. Dennis Schroder, who started for the injured Jaylen Brown, finished with 18 points, and Grant Williams added 18 points.

Second overall pick Jalen Green had 30 points, making 8 of 10 on three-pointers, for Houston. Christian Wood had 20 points and nine rebounds.

WARRIORS 119, KINGS 107

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Stephen Curry scored 27 points and became the first player in Warriors franchise history to reach 5,000 assists, helping Golden State improve to 3-0 with a victory over Sacramento.

Curry had 10 assists and seven rebounds. The two-time MVP had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in each of the Warriors’ first two games.

Jordan Poole added 22 points, and Draymond Green had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.

Harrison Barnes scored 24 points for the Kings (1-2), and Richaun Holmes had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

MAGIC 110, KNICKS 104

NEW YORK — Cole Anthony had 29 points and a career-high 16 rebounds and Terrence Ross scored all 22 of his points in the fourth quarter in Orlando’s victory over New York.

Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr. added 11 points apiece to Orlando help Orlando end a season-opening, twogame losing streak.

Julius Randle had 30 points and 16 rebounds for New York. The Knicks lost for the first time in three games this season.