Lakers 99, Nuggets 97 (OT)
DENVER -- Kobe Bryant recorded 33 points and hit the game- winning shot with 0.6 seconds remaining in overtime, giving Phil Jackson a triumphant return to the sidelines as the Los Angeles Lakers earned an exciting 99-97 victory over Denver at the Pepsi Center. Jackson guided LA to three world championships in five seasons before he and owner Jerry Buss mutually agreed to part ways shortly after the Lakers' five-game loss to Detroit in the 2004 Finals. After Kenyon Martin made 1-of-2 free throws with 22.1 seconds left to knot the score, Los Angeles held the ball down to the final seconds. Kwame Brown missed a hook shot but was able to get his own rebound, then threw the ball to Bryant. The All-Star guard knocked down a 22-footer with a hand in his face for the deciding points. Marcus Camby compiled 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Nuggets before fouling out with 37 seconds left in overtime. Carmelo Anthony added 16 but was also on the sidelines during Bryant's shot, as he received his sixth and disqualifying foul with 3:16 to go in the additional period.

Pacers 90, Magic 78
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Ron Artest had 16 points in his first contest since the infamous brawl last fall, as the Indiana Pacers ran past the Magic, 90-78, in the season opener for both squads at Orlando Arena. Jermaine O'Neal scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and lead Austin Croshere added 16 points for Indiana, which made 47 percent of its shots. Artest was playing in his first game since his 73-game suspension from last season. It also marked the first time since the start of the 1986-87 season that the Pacers didn't have a familiar face in the lineup, as Reggie Miller retired last season after 18 years with the franchise. Steve Francis paced the Magic with 15 points. Hedo Turkoglu finished with 14 points, while Dwight Howard and DeShawn Stevenson both had 12 in the loss.

Wizards 99, Raptors 96
TORONTO -- Antawn Jamison scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds, along with hitting the go-ahead jumper late in the fourth quarter, as the Washington Wizards defeated the Toronto Raptors, 99-96, at the Air Canada Centre. In both team's season openers, Gilbert Arenas added 21 points and seven assists, while Brendan Haywood chipped in with 10 points and 14 boards for the Wizards. Washington has now won three straight season openers and seven of the last nine meetings with Toronto. Jalen Rose scored 20 points, Chris Bosh started the season with a double-double -- 17 points and 14 rebounds -- and Morris Peterson stroked in 16 points for the Raptors. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak in season openers for Toronto, which was playing its fourth straight season opener at home.

Cavaliers 109, Hornets 87
CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 31 points as the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers started their season with a shooting display that led to a 109-87 victory over the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets at Quicken Loans Arena. James connected on 9-of-16 field goals, including 6-of-7 from behind the three-point arc for Cleveland, which supplied new general manager Danny Ferry and new coach Mike Brown with their first wins, respectively. James added four assists and three rebounds while All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who signed a multi-year deal to stay with the club this offseason, netted 12 points and snatched seven boards. New Orleans/Oklahoma City was led by Speedy Claxton, who scored 16 points. J.R. Smith netted 15 points, rookie Chris Paul, the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft, dropped in 13 and David West and Chris Andersen added 11 points a piece.

Celtics 114, Knicks 100 (OT)
BOSTON -- Paul Pierce had a game-high 30 points to spoil the Knicks coaching debut of Larry Brown as the Boston Celtics defeated New York, 114-100, in overtime at TD Banknorth Garden. Ricky Davis had 27 points and Delonte West finished one rebound and one assist short of a triple-double, ending the game with 14 points, nine boards and nine assists, for the Celtics, who have won 13 of the last 17 meetings with the Knicks. Pierce went 18- for-24 from the free throw line and also had a game-high 12 rebounds as the Celtics outscored the Knicks 20-6 in overtime. Stephon Marbury had 22 points and Eddy Curry, who was acquired in the offseason along with forward/center Antonio Davis from the Chicago Bulls, added 19 points, for New York who hired Brown in the offseason after he was released from Detroit after the Pistons fell in the championship against the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.

Bucks 110, Nets 96
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Michael Redd delivered a career-high 41 points, 33 of which came in the second half, to lead Milwaukee back from an early deficit in a 110-96 victory over New Jersey at Continental Airlines Arena. Redd shot 12-of-20 from the floor and 14-of-17 from the foul line for the Bucks, who fell behind by 16 points in the first quarter before overwhelming the Nets the rest of the way. Milwaukee, now off to an impressive 2-0 start to the young season, also received a personal-best 23 points off the bench from Maurice Williams and 21 from T.J. Ford. No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut chipped in 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds in the win. Vince Carter scored 25 points to highlight an otherwise disappointing season- opener for New Jersey, considered one of this year's prime contenders in the Eastern Conference. Richard Jefferson recorded 18 points and eight rebounds before being ejected in the fourth quarter.

Pistons 108, 76ers 88
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Richard Hamilton poured in a game-high 37 points and Tayshaun Prince added 16, leading the Detroit Pistons to a 108-88 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Chauncey Billups added 12 points and 10 assists in the season opener for the defending Eastern Conference-champion Pistons, who shot 56 percent from the floor. Detroit, which lost to San Antonio in the 2004-05 NBA Finals, posted a 42-32 edge in rebounds. Detroit is 1-0 in the Flip Saunders era. Saunders was fired by the Minnesota Timberwolves after 9 1/2 years of service, and took the reigns from Larry Brown, who departed Detroit to coach the New York Knicks. Allen Iverson paced the Sixers with 31 points and six assists. Chris Webber added 16 points and nine rebounds in the loss -- Philadelphia's second straight after dropping its season opener to Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

Heat 97, Grizzlies 78
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Antoine Walker had a successful Miami debut and netted 25 points while pulling down 16 rebounds, as the Heat won their season opener over the Memphis Grizzlies, 97-78, at the FedExForum. Walker was acquired by the Heat in a blockbuster five-team, 13-player trade that included the Grizzlies. Jason Williams, also involved in the deal, scored 10 points in his Heat debut, while Dwyane Wade added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat. Shaquille O'Neal netted 12 points and six rebounds in only 27 minutes of action and Gary Payton scored four points in his first game with the Heat. Pau Gasol paced Memphis with a game-high 26 points -- 19 in the first half -- and 12 rebounds. Eddie Jones, who was sent to the Grizzlies in the trade, chipped in 15 points against his old team. Damon Stoudamire, signed as a free agent, scored 10 points while dishing out five assists for Memphis.

Timberwolves 90, Trail Blazers 86
MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Garnett scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists, as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 90-86, at the Target Center. Richie Frahm hit five three-pointers and scored 18 points, Wally Szczerbiak had 16 points while Marko Jaric scored 14 points for Minnesota, which got head coach Dwane Casey his first NBA victory in the season opener for both teams. North Carolina product Rashad McCants scored six points on 3-of-12 shooting in his NBA debut for the Timberwolves. Darius Miles carried the Trail Blazers during their late comeback, scoring 32 points on 13-of-24 shooting. Zach Randolph tallied a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Juan Dixon chipped in with 11 points for Portland.

Bulls 109, Bobcats 105 (OT)
CHICAGO -- Chris Duhon finished with a triple-double with 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, as the Chicago Bulls overcame a 25- point deficit and an injured Kirk Hinrich to beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 109-105, in overtime in the season opener for both clubs. Hinrich went down with a sprained left ankle with 2:48 left in the third quarter, when the Bulls trailed 83-62. Chicago, which trailed 89-68 going into the fourth, held Charlotte to nine points in the quarter and was able to rally behind the strong play of Eric Piatkowski and Tyson Chandler. Piatkowski, Chandler and Darius Songaila each scored 11 points in the contest. Ben Gordon added 14 points for Chicago, which scored the final nine points of regulation. Chandler also had 11 rebounds. Gerald Wallace had 28 points and Emeka Okafor added 16 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, which was ahead 70-45 at one point in the third quarter. Melvin Ely had 13 points and 15 rebounds.

Rockets 98, Kings 89
HOUSTON -- Jon Barry scored 24 points off the bench while Yao Ming had 22 along with 10 rebounds as Houston tipped off its 2005-06 season with a 98-89 victory over Sacramento at the Toyota Center. Barry, who finished one point shy of a career-high, hit 8-of-10 shots from the floor and added three steals in 26 minutes. Tracy McGrady contributed 23 points to the winning effort. Bonzi Wells racked up 22 points and a career-best 18 rebounds while Brad Miller netted 21 points for the Kings, who played better than Wednesday's 93-67 whipping by the Hornets in Oklahoma City, but still dropped its second straight to start the year.

Jazz 93, Mavericks 82
SALT LAKE CITY -- Mehmet Okur scored 27 points, including two crucial three-pointers in the fourth quarter, as the Utah Jazz defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 93-82, at the Delta Center. Deron Williams, the third overall pick in this year's draft out of Illinois, scored 18 points and added three assists and three boards in his NBA debut. Andrei Kirilenko added seven points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz in their season opener. Jason Terry scored 21 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 16, Josh Howard chipped in 11 points and Keith Van Horn tallied a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavericks. Dallas won its season-opener last night, 111-108 in double-overtime, over the Phoenix Suns.

Clippers 101, SuperSonics 93
SEATTLE -- Sam Cassell scored 35 points and dished out 11 assists in his Clippers debut as Los Angeles opened its season with a 101-93 comeback victory over Seattle and SuperSonics new head coach Bob Weiss at KeyArena. Cassell, who was acquired from Minnesota along with a lottery- protected 2006 first-round draft pick for guards Marko Jaric and Lionel Chalmers, shot 14-of-26 from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Cassell had 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers during a key 15-2 run in the fourth quarter. Elton Brand added 15 points and eight rebounds, and James Singleton had 14 points and 10 boards for the Clippers, who shot 50 percent from the field. Ray Allen had 31 points and Rashard Lewis scored 18 for the Sonics, who connected on 41.3 percent of their field goal attempts.

Warriors 122, Hawks 97
OAKLAND -- Jason Richardson had 28 points as the Golden State Warriors used a huge second half to defeat the Atlanta Hawks, 122-97, in the season opener for both teams at The Arena in Oakland. Baron Davis left in the third quarter with a strain of his left hamstring. He finished with 15 points and seven assists on the night for the Warriors, who outscored the Hawks, 75-40, in the second half. Troy Murphy had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Mickael Pietrus put up 20 points, 18 in the second half, off the bench as the Warriors defeated the Hawks for the seventh time in a row. Al Harrington had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Joe Johnson, who was acquired in the offseason from the Phoenix Suns, added 17 points for the Hawks, who opened the season following the sudden death of Jason Collier on October 15th. Marvin Williams, the No. 2 overall pick in June's draft, had 12 points in his NBA debut for the Hawks.