Deadspin | NBA roundup: Wolves’ Anthony Edwards places up 45 to beat Giannis, Heat

Anthony Edwards scored 45 factors as he and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled Giannis Antetokounmpo’s debut with the Miami Heat in an emphatic 131-106 season-opening win Wednesday night time.

Edwards grew to become simply the third participant in NBA historical past to report a number of 40-point video games in season openers, becoming a member of Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. He shot 16-for-29 from the ground, together with 9-for-17 from 3-point vary, and added 10 rebounds.

Antetokounmpo scored 35 factors and grabbed six rebounds after becoming a member of Miami in an offseason commerce with the Milwaukee Bucks.

LaMelo Ball, making his Timberwolves debut, hit 5 3-pointers and completed with 21 factors and 6 assists. Klay Thompson scored 10 factors in his Heat debut.

Hawks 132, Magic 125

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 31 factors and hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers within the remaining two minutes to assist visiting Atlanta defeat Orlando within the season opener for each groups.

Alexander-Walker’s two treys enabled the Hawks to stretch their lead from 122-121 to 128-123. Atlanta additionally acquired 20 factors and 5 steals from Dyson Daniels, 20 factors and 14 rebounds from Jalen Johnson and 19 factors from CJ McCollum.

Orlando’s Paolo Banchero scored 35 factors, making 10 of 12 pictures from the ground, and added seven rebounds and 10 assists. The Magic acquired 22 factors apiece from Wendell Carter Jr. and Franz Wagner and 18 from Desmond Bane in coach Sean Sweeney’s debut.

Rockets 128, Mavericks 110

Kevin Durant scored 30 factors, Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. mixed for 53, and Houston rolled previous visiting Dallas within the groups’ season opener.

The Rockets shot 53.4% from the ground, led by Durant (10-for-16), Sengun (9-for-15) and Smith (11-for-17). Sengun posted 23 factors and 10 rebounds, whereas Smith scored 30 factors and hit 4 3-pointers. Houston, which outscored Dallas 38-12 within the second quarter, led by as many as 37 factors within the third quarter earlier than the guests rallied.

Cooper Flagg paced Dallas with a game-high 32 factors on 10-for-17 capturing. Kyrie Irving scored 15 factors in his first sport since March 3, 2025, when he tore his left ACL. Marcus Sasser added 17 factors off the bench for the Mavericks, who shot 51.9% from the ground.

Lakers 127, Warriors 105

Luka Doncic scored 28 factors and Walker Kessler added 26 on 12-of-12 capturing in his Los Angeles debut because the Lakers routed visiting Golden State.

Austin Reaves scored 23 factors for the Lakers, who led by 14 at halftime earlier than taking management by outscoring Golden State 36-16 within the third quarter. Kessler completed with 9 rebounds and 10 dunks, whereas Doncic added eight rebounds and 7 assists.

The Warriors had been led by Stephen Curry, who scored 20 of his 23 factors within the first half. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg completed with 12 factors.

Wizards 128, Bucks 116

Anthony Davis scored 34 factors and grabbed 12 rebounds to steer Washington to a victory over the visiting Milwaukee within the groups’ season opener.

Trae Young added 20 factors and a game-high 13 assists for the Wizards, whereas Kyshawn George scored 18 factors.

In their first sport with Milwaukee after being included within the offseason commerce that despatched Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami, Tyler Herro led the Bucks with 24 factors and Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 22. Fellow former Heat participant Kasparas Jakucionis added 15 factors off the bench.

Hornets 110, Nets 103

Grayson Allen scored 21 factors off the bench, whereas Naz Reid totaled 20 factors, 11 rebounds and 7 assists because the newcomers made robust first impressions in Charlotte’s victory over Brooklyn in New York.

Acquired from Phoenix in an offseason deal for Miles Bridges, Allen made 6 of 9 pictures and sank 5 of Charlotte’s 15 3-pointers. Acquired from Minnesota within the offseason commerce that despatched LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves, Reid recorded his seventeenth profession 20-point, 10-rebound sport and helped Charlotte rating 20 second-chance factors.

Julius Randle led all scorers with 33 factors in his debut for the Nets. Michael Porter Jr. opened his second season in Brooklyn with 26 factors and 7 rebounds, however the veteran duo had been the one Nets to attain in double figures.

Clippers 121, Kings 96

Darius Garland scored 30 factors, Brook Lopez added 17 factors and 11 rebounds and Los Angeles moved on from a tumultuous offseason to earn a victory over Sacramento within the season opener for each groups in Inglewood, Calif.

Rookie Keaton Wagler had 15 factors and 5 assists for the Clippers, who gained after receiving sanctions within the offseason, together with the lack of draft picks, for circumventing the wage cap with now-departed ahead Kawhi Leonard.

Zach LaVine scored 28 factors and Domantas Sabonis added 14 factors, 18 rebounds and eight assists for the Kings after each gamers missed a majority of final season with accidents.

Grizzlies 123, Jazz 103

Ty Jerome scored a career-high 45 factors to steer Memphis to a victory over visiting Utah within the season opener for each groups.

Jerome stepped into the place to begin guard position following the departure of two-time All-Star Ja Morant, who was traded to Portland in the course of the offseason. Jerome broke the franchise report for many factors by a Memphis participant in a season opener, surpassing Morant’s mark of 44.

Grizzlies first-round draft decide Cameron Boozer began however struggled from the sphere, making 2 of 15 pictures, together with all six of his 3-point makes an attempt. Boozer completed with seven factors, a game-high 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Keyonte George led Utah with 22 factors, and Lauri Markkanen added 18 factors and 9 rebounds.

Raptors 135, Bulls 92

Kawhi Leonard, Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes scored 23 factors apiece as Toronto rolled to a victory over visiting Chicago within the season opener for each groups.

RJ Barrett added 20 factors, and Quickley dished out seven assists. Leonard rejoined the Raptors in a Sept. 14 commerce with the Los Angeles Clippers, returning to the staff he led to its first NBA championship in 2019.

Matas Buzelis led Chicago with 17 factors, making 13 of 16 free-throw makes an attempt. Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 general decide in June’s NBA draft, scored 16 factors in his debut. Jalen Smith and Norman Powell every added 15 factors.

Pacers 123, Pelicans 120

Pascal Siakam scored 30 factors and Tyrese Haliburton paired 23 factors with 12 assists in his return as Indiana defeated host New Orleans in each groups’ season opener.

Obi Toppin added 20 off the bench, Andrew Nembhard posted 18 factors and 9 assists, and Ivica Zubac had 16 factors and 15 rebounds. For Haliburton, it was his first official sport since Game 7 of the 2025 Finals towards the Oklahoma City Thunder when he tore his proper Achilles, sidelining him all of final season.

Dejounte Murray contributed 23 factors and 7 assists for New Orleans, whereas Zion Williamson had 22 factors and Yves Missi compiled 13 factors, 14 boards and three blocks.

Trail Blazers 124, Suns 83

Damian Lillard made six 3-pointers and scored 25 factors in his first sport in almost 18 months, and Portland opened the sport with 21 consecutive factors en path to a dismantling of visiting Phoenix within the season opener for each groups.

Lillard, who tore his left Achilles tendon in the course of the 2025 postseason with the Milwaukee Bucks, excelled in 24 minutes in his first look in a Portland uniform in additional than 3 1/2 years. Deni Avdija recorded 18 factors and 10 rebounds and Ja Morant had 14 factors and eight assists in his Trail Blazers debut after being acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies within the offseason.

Devin Booker led Phoenix with 23 factors. Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green added 10 factors apiece for the Suns, who shot 35.7% from the sphere and 6 of 31 (19.4%) from 3-point vary.

–Field Level Media