here<\/a>.<\/p>\nBen Simmons impressed for the Hawks. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
BUCKS SMASH DEPLETED SIXERS AMID EMBIID PROBE<\/p>\n
Damian Lillard led the Milwaukee Bucks to a resounding 122-109 win over the depleted Philadelphia 76ers in the teams\u2019 season opener.<\/p>\n
Lillard scored a game-high 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting with six triples, nine rebounds and six assists.<\/p>\n
Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting with 14 rebounds and seven assists as the Bucks coasted to the lopsided win against a Sixers side missing Joel Embiid and Paul George.<\/p>\n
It came after it was reported by ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania that the NBA is likely to launch a probe into the Sixers surrounding the player participation of Embiid, who\u2019ll miss the first week of the season due to a knee issue. <\/p>\n
Embiid also missed all of the pre-season due to left knee injury management.<\/p>\n
As per the player participation policy, the NBA is likely to review a team that has a superstar miss a nationally televised game like Thursday\u2019s, which was broadcasted on ESPN Australia. <\/p>\n
Milwaukee pushed ahead by double digits late in the second quarter after a back-to-back threes to Taurean Prince, who was filling in the starting line-up for Khris Middleton, followed by a Lillard triple. <\/p>\n
Doc Rivers\u2019 side led by as much as 20 points at one stage in third quarter behind a barrage of three-pointers \u2014 four to Lillard and three more assisted on\u2014 to shut the gate on Philly in its own building. <\/p>\n
PAOLO GOES OFF AS MAGIC THUMP HEAT<\/p>\n
Paolo Banchero poured in 33 points with 11 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a dominant 116-97 win over crosstown rivals Miami Heat. <\/p>\n
It was a hot start to Banchero\u2019s third season, with the former No. 1 pick shooting 12-of-24 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line with four triples and finishing with a +42 plus\/minus. <\/p>\n
After a tight first half, the Magic broke away with a 39-18 third term led by Banhero\u2019s 12 points as the visitors went up by 25 points within the blink of an eye. <\/p>\n
Panchero\u2019s running partner Franz Wagner added 23 points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went 0-of-5 from the field in his Orlando debut.<\/p>\n
It was a forgettable performance for Miami including Jimmy Butler (three points on 1-of-8 shooting) and Bam Adebayo (nine points on 1-of-5 shooting) struggling.<\/p>\n
HORNETS UPSET ROCKETS <\/p>\n
Alperen Sengun (25 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, four steals) was upstaged by LaMelo Ball (34 points, eight rebounds, 11 assists) as the Charlotte Hornets upset the Houston Rockets 110-105.<\/p>\n
The Rockets were in complete control of Thursday\u2019s clash in their building including leading 60-49 at half-time behind Sengun\u2019s 19 points and 13 rebounds.<\/p>\n
But Charlotte came storming back in the second half, able to contain Sengun as Ball took over. The Hornets went on a 10-0 run from late in the third quarter and into the fourth to take the lead.<\/p>\n
Jalen Green, who led Houston with 28 points, scored five quick points late in the fourth to tie the game before Grant Williams nailed a three-pointer with 40 seconds and a pair of Ball free throws iced the win for Charlotte. <\/p>\n
It marked Ball\u2019s first regular season game since January 26 after an ankle injury heavily disrupted his 2023\/24 season.<\/p>\n
SUNS OUTLAST CLIPPERS IN OT <\/p>\n
The Phoenix Suns outlasted the Clippers 116-113 in an exciting overtime duel to spoil Los Angeles\u2019 Intuit Dome debut.<\/p>\n
Kevin Durant led all Suns starters in double figures with 25 points, including nailing the game-tying jumper with 21 seconds left in regulation to force OT, and Bradley Beal added 24 points.<\/p>\n
James Harden racked up 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists but missed a free throw that could\u2019ve sent the game to a second OT.<\/p>\n
With Jusuf Nurkic\u2019s free throws putting Phoenix up three, the Clippers had one last chance to force the extra session, but a turnover at midcourt ensured the win for the visitors in Mike Budenholzer\u2019s first game as coach.<\/p>\n
PACERS TOP PISTONS<\/p>\n
A new season brought a familiar sinking feeling for the Detroit Pistons, who took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter against Indiana only for the Pacers to fight back for a 115-109 victory.<\/p>\n
Myles Turner scored 20 points and Bennedict Mathurin scored 14 of his 19 points in the final period, when the Pacers out-scored the Pistons 33-19 to take control.<\/p>\n
It was a dream return for Mathurin, whose 2023-24 season was cut short by a shoulder injury that required surgery in March.<\/p>\n
\u201cStepping away from the game for seven months makes you realize how blessed I am,\u201d Mathurin said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just really excited we got the win tonight.\u201d <\/p>\n
Pascal Siakam added 19 points and Tyrese Haliburton had 15 for Indiana, including a three-pointer that pushed the Pacers\u2019 lead to 113-107 with 20.8 seconds remaining.<\/p>\n
Haliburton, who allowed himself a celebratory dance, added five rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots for the Pacers, who fell to eventual champions Boston in last season\u2019s Eastern Conference finals.<\/p>\n
The Pistons are hoping to turn the page on a league-worst 14-68 campaign last season. But new coach J.B. Bickerstaff\u2019s tenure started with another defeat.<\/p>\n
Cade Cunningham scored 28 points and handed out eight assists to lead Detroit, who led by 12 points early in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
Jaden Ivey scored 17 points and free agent acquisition Tobias Harris scored 13 as six Detroit players scored in double figures in the defeat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought our guys did a really good job, they competed their tails off,\u201d Bickerstaff said.<\/p>\n
\u2014 AFP<\/p>\n
ALL RESULTS <\/p>\n
PACERS 115 PISTONS 109<\/p>\n
CAVALIERS 136 RAPTORS 106<\/p>\n
BUCKS 124 76ERS 109<\/p>\n
MAGIC 116 HEAT 97<\/p>\n
NETS 116 HAWKS 120<\/p>\n
BULLS 111 PELICANS 123<\/p>\n
HORNETS 110 ROCKETS 105<\/p>\n
GRIZZLIES 126 JAZZ 124<\/p>\n
WARRIORS 139 TRAIL BLAZERS 104<\/p>\n
SUNS 116 CLIPPERS 113 (OT)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aussies Josh Giddey, Ben Simmons and Dyson Daniels all made their season debuts as part of the NBA\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3771],"tags":[1736,676,208,7,2643,1006,670,920,46,473,919,329,3824,206,133,26581,164,194,248,5756,26584,26582,3808,189,121,26583,6,478,1136,1734,1740,179,76,472,471,12175,26580,1742,1730],"class_list":{"0":"post-134788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bulls","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-atlanta","10":"tag-atlanta-hawks","11":"tag-basketball","12":"tag-ben-simmons","13":"tag-bronny-james","14":"tag-brooklyn","15":"tag-bulls","16":"tag-celtics","17":"tag-charlotte-hornets","18":"tag-chicago","19":"tag-chicago-bulls","20":"tag-chicagobulls","21":"tag-dyson-daniels","22":"tag-espn-inc","23":"tag-father-son-duo","24":"tag-golden-state-warriors","25":"tag-houston-rockets","26":"tag-jordi-fernandez","27":"tag-josh-green","28":"tag-lebron-ampamp-bronny","29":"tag-lebron-ampampamp-bronny","30":"tag-louisiana","31":"tag-miami-heat","32":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","33":"tag-minutes-restriction","34":"tag-nba","35":"tag-new-orleans","36":"tag-new-york","37":"tag-north-america","38":"tag-northern-america","39":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","40":"tag-orlando-magic","41":"tag-phoenix-suns","42":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","43":"tag-preseason-games","44":"tag-state-of-georgia","45":"tag-time-offer","46":"tag-united-states-of-america"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}