MIAMI (AP) — Shane Battier went 4 for 4 from 3-point range, including a critical one from the right corner with 1:33 remaining, and Miami wasted most a 25-point lead before holding off Derrick Rose and Chicago 107-95 on Tuesday night in the season-opener for both teams.
LeBron James scored 17 points for Miami, which got its 2013 NBA championship rings in a pregame ceremony. The Heat trailed 9-2 early, then outscored Chicago 52-24 over the remainder of the first half.
Rose finished with 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting in 34 minutes in his first game since a serious knee injury in April 2012. Carlos Boozer had 31 points and seven rebounds for Chicago, which got within eight points in the final minutes.
Chris Bosh scored 16 points, Battier finished with 14 and Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers each had 13 for Miami, which had seven players score in double figures.
Pacers 97, Magic 87
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Paul George scored 24 points, and Roy Hibbert added 16 rebounds and seven blocks to lead Indiana.
George’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter gave Indiana a 69-64 lead and sparked the decisive 17-4 run to open the fourth.
Hibbert nearly matched his career-high for rebounds (17) in the first half. He had eight points but left the game midway through the fourth quarter after injuring his knee in a spill underneath his own basket. Team officials said it was not serious and he could have returned.
Victor Oladipo, the ex-Hoosiers star and No. 2 overall draft pick, had 12 points and three turnovers for the Magic.
Lakers 116, Clippers 103
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Xavier Henry scored a career-high 22 points, Jordan Farmar added 16, and five Lakers reserves surged past the Clippers in the fourth quarter.
With Kobe Bryant watching in street clothes on the Lakers’ bench, Jodie Meeks scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers stunned their Staples Center rivals in Clippers coach Doc Rivers’ debut.
Henry, the former first-round draft pick who burned out in Memphis and New Orleans, scored 12 points in the fourth quarter while leading a decisive 28-8 run.
Blake Griffin scored 19 points and Chris Paul had 15 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who beat the Lakers four times last season on the way to their first Pacific Division title. DeAndre Jordan added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lakers improved to 42-24 on opening night, the best winning percentage in NBA history.