Donovan Mitchell hit a tiebreaking midrange jumper with 48 seconds left in overtime as the host Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat the previously unbeaten Minnesota Timberwolves 127-125 on Monday night.
Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards missed a wide-open 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining that could have tied the game. Peyton Watson grabbed the rebound and made two free throws to push Cleveland’s lead to 127-122.
Mitchell finished with 26 points and seven assists, while James Harden had 19 points and nine assists for the Cavaliers, who improved to 2-1. Evan Mobley added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Meleek Thomas scored 16 off the bench in his NBA debut.
Edwards connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer to finish with a season-high 47 points, his seventh career regular-season game with at least Jaden McDaniels had 14 points and Rudy Gobert collected 20 rebounds and LaMelo Ball had 11 points and seven turnovers.
Warriors 134, Nuggets 114
Steph Curry hit all eight of his field-goal attempts and scored 17 of his 24 points in the third quarter, leading visiting Golden State over Denver for its first win of the season.
Curry made a trio of 3-pointers and all five of his free-throw attempts to complete his perfect night. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg scored a career-high 31 points and added 12 rebounds, Brandin Podziemski scored 18 points, Gui Santos contributed 13 and Al Horford had 11 for Golden State.
DeMar DeRozan scored a team-high 21 points, Nikola Jokic finished with 19 points and 11 assists, Jamal Murray also had 19 points and Bryce Hopkins added 13 points for Denver, which played the final 8:34 without Aaron Gordon after the forward was hit with two technicals.
Bucks 110, Pacers 102
Tyler Herro compiled 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as Milwaukee notched the first win of the Taylor Jenkins era, defeating visiting Indiana.
Ryan Rollins added 19, Kyle Kuzma had 17 and Kel’el Ware paired 16 points with 14 rebounds as Milwaukee avoided its first 0-4 start to a season since 1976-77, 50 years ago.
Tyrese Haliburton posted 22 points and nine assists for Indiana, while Pascal Siakam chalked up 20 points, 13 boards and six assists.
Mavericks 113, Heat 109
Reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg returned from a one-game absence to score 29 points and dish 11 assists as visiting Dallas defeated Miami.
Flagg, who sat out Saturday due to a left shoulder injury, added six rebounds against the Heat. He shot 12 of 23 overall and 2 of 8 on 3-point attempts. Kyrie Irving, who was rested in Dallas’ previous game, posted 18 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Giannis Antetokounmpo posted his first triple-double for the Heat — 29 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists — but Miami fell to 0-4 on the season. Besides Antetokounmpo’s contributions, Miami got 21 points from Davion Mitchell. All-Star center Bam Adebayo was held to eight points and eight rebounds.
Celtics 134, Bulls 99
Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score a game-high 28 points to lead Boston to a victory over visiting Chicago.
Pritchard made 7 of 10 shots from behind the 3-point arc. Jayson Tatum added 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Boston, which made 21 of its 44 3-point attempts and had a 54-40 edge in rebounds.
Norman Powell led the Bulls with 20 points. Caleb Wilson tossed in 17, and Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis each finished with 11. Leonard Miller had nine points and nine rebounds.
Thunder 125, Suns 114
Ajay Mitchell scored 30 to lead Oklahoma City to a home win over Phoenix a day after losing a pair of starters to long-term injuries.
Oklahoma City was playing its first game since Jalen Williams suffered a fractured fibula and a dislocated left ankle in the closing minutes of a win over the Clippers. Earlier in that game, Cason Wallace suffered a torn labrum. Both will require surgery and will be out long term. In the win over Phoenix, Alex Caruso left after turning his right ankle.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting and Isaiah Hartenstein had 15 points and 13 rebounds. Phoenix’s Devin Booker had scored a combined 66 points over the first two games but finished with just three points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Jalen Green led the Suns with 20 points while Dillon Brooks added 19.
Rockets 120, Hawks 110
Alperen Sengun scored a game-high 29 points, Jabari Smith Jr. added a double-double and Houston Rockets remained unbeaten by beating visiting Atlanta.
Sengun added nine rebounds and nine assists to pace a balanced attack. Smith paired 16 points with 12 rebounds, while Kevin Durant added 22 points and nine boards. Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard scored 13 points apiece off the bench.
Jalen Johnson paced the Hawks with 21 points and nine rebounds while CJ McCollum added 20 points and four 3-pointers. The Hawks dropped back-to-back games against the Rockets.
Grizzlies 110, Jazz 105
Ty Jerome scored eight of his 15 points in the final six minutes — including two clutch free throws with 11.6 seconds remaining — to lead Memphis to a victory over host Utah.
The Grizzlies won their fourth straight game to open the season for only the second time in franchise history. Meanwhile, Utah lost two starters in the first half. Jaren Jackson Jr., the former Grizzlies star, injured his right knee in the second quarter and did not return. Lauri Markkanen injured his right wrist early in the first quarter and did not return.
Cedric Coward had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Jaylen Wells added 14 points and Cam Boozer and Jerami Grant each scored 13 for Memphis. Keyonte George had 26 points for the Jazz and Ace Bailey contributed 17 points and 10 boards. Mo Bamba added 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Hornets 110, Wizards 103
Brandon Miller scored a career-high 39 points and Charlotte held off visiting Washington for their first back-to-back wins of the young season.
Miller made 15 of 28 shots from the field, including five 3-pointers. Naz Reid added 18 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, while Grayson Allen scored 15 off the bench, including seven from the free-throw line. Moussa Diabate chipped in 11 points and 17 rebounds.
Anthony Davis scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Wizards, hitting three of Washington’s nine 3-point attempts. Trae Young added 22 points and 10 assists, Kyshawn George posted 20 points and Alex Sarr had 12 points.
