Philadelphia 76ers stay unbeaten with win over Bulls

NBA round-up

(Reuters) Lance Stephenson matched a career high with 22 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 89-74 Saturday.

Paul George had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Roy Hibbert added 11 points for the Pacers, who improved to 3-0.

Dion Waiters led Cleveland with 17 points, but he made just 7-of-21 shots from the field and was held to two points in the second half.

Kyrie Irving scored 15 points and Anderson Varejao added 14 for the Cavaliers (1-2).

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76ers 107, Bulls 104

Despite being projected to be among the worst teams in the NBA, the Philadelphia 76ers improved to 3-0 with a stirring 107-104 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

The Sixers opened the season with an unlikely victory over the two-time defending champion Miami Heat and then won on Friday at Washington.

For a team projected by many to win about 20 games, the Sixers have done a complete reversal under first-year coach Brett Brown.

Rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams led the Sixers with 26 points and 10 assists, and Evan Turner added 20 points. Spencer Hawes had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Thaddeus Young scored 13 points and Tony Wroten had 11.

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Mavericks 111, Grizzlies 99

Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 and the Dallas Mavericks downed the Memphis Grizzlies 111-99 at American Airlines Center.

The Mavericks sprinted ahead early and held the lead for the rest of the game against their Southwest Division rivals. Nowitzki joined five team mates in double figures, including the entire starting lineup.

Dallas forward Shawn Marion had his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

Samuel Dalembert nearly joined Marion with 14 points and nine boards. Jose Calderon score 15 and dished out five assists.

Monta Ellis added 18 points and Vince Carter chipped in 11 off the bench.

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Raptors 97, Bucks 90

Rudy Gay scored 18 points as the Toronto Raptors held off a late rally for a 97-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Gay was just 4-of-14 from the field but finished with two three-pointers and went 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Kyle Lowry finished with 14 points, and Landry Fields and Amir Johnson had 11 each.

O.J. Mayo led Milwaukee with 16 points, Ersan Ilyasova added 14 with 6-of-12 shooting from the field and making both of his three-point attempts.

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Pelicans 105, Bobcats 84

Anthony Davis scored 25 points and had a career-high six blocked shots to power the New Orleans Pelicans to their first victory of the season, a 105-84 win over the Charlotte Bobcats at the New Orleans Arena.

Davis, who has scored at least 20 points in his first three games of the season, was just shy of a third consecutive 20-point, 10-rebound game, finishing with eight boards.

The Bobcats were paced by Ramon Sessions, who came off the bench to score 22 points, and Kemba Walker’s 14.

Rockets 104, Jazz 93

Three Houston players scored at least 20 points and the Rockets overcame a 19-point deficit in the first half en route to a runaway 104-93 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Chandler Parsons led the Rockets with 24 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, James Harden scored 23 and Jeremy Lin added 20 points.

Houston won its third consecutive game to open the season despite a comparatively quiet night by Dwight Howard, who finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.

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Trail Blazers 115, Spurs 105

LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard combined for 49 points as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs 115-105.

Lillard scored 25 points and Aldridge added 24 as the Blazers won their home opener for the 13th straight season.

Wesley Matthews chipped in 20 points and Nicolas Batum had a triple-double, collecting 11 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Blazers.

Tim Duncan had 24 points and seven rebounds and Tony Parker added 17 points and nine assists for San Antonio (2-1).

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Warriors 98, Kings 87

Klay Thompson poured in 27 points and the Golden State defense limited the Sacramento Kings to 31.7 percent shooting from the field in a runaway first half as the Warriors rolled to a 98-87 victory.

The win was the Warriors’ second consecutive home blowout after a 125-94 drubbing of the Los Angeles Lakers in the home opener on Wednesday. Thompson had 38 points in that game.

Stephen Curry had 22 for the Warriors collecting his 5,000th career point on a three-pointer with 3:11 remaining in the first half.