NBA recap: Damian Lillard, Bucks win opener over 76ers

Damian Lillard scored 30 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 124-109 road win over the Philadelphia 76ers in both teams' season openers on Wednesday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 25 points on 8 of 11 shooting as well as 14 rebounds and seven assists for Milwaukee. Bobby Portis scored 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting off the bench, while Taurean Prince also scored 16 points, powered by 4 of 5 success on 3-point attempts.

Tyrese Maxey shot 10 of 31 en route to 25 points for Philadelphia, which played without Joel Embiid and Paul George, both of whom are nursing knee injuries. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 21 points while Andre Drummond added 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Sixers led by one point after the first quarter, and the score remained close for most of the second quarter before the Bucks began to create some separation. Milwaukee led 58-47 at halftime before scoring 42 points in the third quarter, including 15 from Lillard.

Pelicans 123, Bulls 111

Brandon Ingram scored 33 points and CJ McCollum added 23 as host New Orleans defeated Chicago in the season opener for both teams.

Dejounte Murray had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, Jordan Hawkins scored 13 points and rookie Yves Missi added 12 to help the Pelicans overcome the absence of Zion Williamson (illness).

Zach LaVine scored 27 and Nikola Vucevic added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls. Lonzo Ball, playing in a regular season game for the first time since January 14, 2022 after recovering from knee problems, scored five points in 14 minutes.

Pacemaker 115, piston 109

Myles Turner had 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four blocks as visiting Indiana JB Bickerstaff spoiled both teams' first game as Detroit's head coach in the season opener.

Pascal Siakam had 19 points, eight rebounds and nine assists and Bennedict Mathurin also chipped in 19 points for Indiana, erasing a 12-point deficit in the second half. Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and TJ McConnell added 14.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 28 points and eight assists. Jaden Ivey had 17 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley each delivered 14 points. Jalen Duren contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds and Tobias Harris added 13 points.

Magic 116, Heat 97

Paolo Banchero scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading Orlando to a season-opening win at Miami and ruining the evening as the Heat named their home court after team president and former coach Pat Riley.

Franz Wagner added 23 points for the Magic and Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. Orlando also got 18 points off the bench from Gary Harris, who went 6 of 9 on 3-point attempts.

Terry Rozier led Miami with 19 points and Nikola Jovic had 15 points. However, Jimmy Butler shot 1:8 and finished with three points, and Bam Adebayo had nine points and five rebounds.

Cavaliers 136, Raptors 106

Evan Mobley scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Cleveland beat Toronto in both teams' season openers.

Donovan Mitchell added 21 points for the Cavaliers, who took control of the game in the second quarter and led by 26 points in the fourth quarter. Caris LeVert scored 15 of his 19 points for the Cavaliers in the third quarter, shooting 8 of 9 from the field.

Chris Boucher scored 18 points for the Raptors, who were entering their 30th season. Gradey Dick added 16 points. Immanuel Quickley did not play in the second half due to a bruised right pelvis. He finished the game with 13 points and four assists.

Hawks 120, Nets 116

Trae Young had 30 points and 12 assists and reserve Onyeka Okongwu scored a career-high 28 points as Atlanta took the lead in the fourth quarter and held off visiting Brooklyn in the season opener for both teams.

Young scored 12 points in the final quarter as the Hawks nearly blew an eight-point lead in the final 20.9 seconds. He shot 7 of 16 from the floor and hit 14 of 16 free throw attempts. Okongwu made it inside and sank 11 of 12 shots, including four dunks, helping the Hawks score 37 points in the fourth.

Cam Thomas led all scorers with 36 points and scored 20 in the final quarter for the Nets, who had committed 32 fouls in Jordi Fernandez's coaching debut. Ben Simmons, returning from back surgery in March, totaled six points and eight assists in 24 minutes. He also lost the ball six times.

Hornets 110, Rockets 105

LaMelo Ball scored 34 points with 11 assists and eight rebounds as visiting Charlotte opened the season by erasing an 18-point first-half deficit to cruise to a win over Houston.

Tre Mann scored 24 points off the bench for Charlotte, terrorizing the Rockets' defense off the dribble en route to 8-for-16 shooting, which included 4-for-8 from 3-point range. Ball made all ten of his free throw attempts and Miles Bridges contributed ten points and nine rebounds for the Hornets.

Jalen Green led the Rockets with 28 points, while Alperen Sengun contributed 25 points and 18 rebounds. Fred VanVleet scored 14 points and Amen Thompson scored all 13 points in the first half for Houston, which shot just 13 of 43 (30.2 percent) from long range.

Grizzlies 126, Jazz 124

Three Memphis players scored at least 22 points and the Grizzlies survived a big surge from Utah to pick up a win in each team's season opener in Salt Lake City.

Santi Aldama had a team-high 27 points and five 3-pointers, Desmond Bane scored 24 points and Ja Morant had 22 points, 10 assists and five rebounds for the Grizzlies.

Lauri Markkanen scored a game-high 35 points and added nine rebounds, and six other Jazz players scored in double figures.

Warriors 139, Trail Blazers 104

Buddy Hield hit five 3-pointers and scored 22 points off the bench in his Golden State debut, helping the Warriors to a convincing win at Portland in the season opener for both teams.

Andrew Wiggins dropped 20 points and Stephen Curry added 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in three quarters for the Warriors, who opened a season without Klay Thompson on the roster for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Scoot Henderson led the Trail Blazers with 22 points off the bench. Jerami Grant scored 16 points.

–Field level media