National Basketball Association Game Capsules

Oct 31, 2014 - 5:47 AM Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - John Wall had 30 points and 12 assists as the Washington Wizards defeated the Orlando Magic 105-98 on Thursday night. Marcin Gortat posted 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Paul Pierce supplied 16 points for the Wizards, who bounced back from a season-opening loss at Miami Wednesday. Nene added 12 points, five assists and three steals in his season debut after serving a one-game suspension after leaving the bench during a scuffle with Chicago in the preseason. Nikola Vucevic provided 23 points and 12 rebounds, Ben Gordon netted 22 points off the bench and Evan Fournier put in 21 for Orlando, which fell to New Orleans on Tuesday.

Final Score: Minnesota 97, Detroit 91

Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Nik Pekovic had 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Detroit Pistons 97-91 on Thursday night. Thaddeus Young posted 19 points, Ricky Rubio supplied 11 points and eight assists and Mo Williams added 13 points and four assists for Minnesota, which fell at Memphis in its opener Wednesday night. Caron Butler tallied 24 points and eight rebounds off the bench to lead the Pistons, who lost at Denver to open their season Wednesday. D.J. Augustin provided 20 points and six assists, while Andre Drummond put up 11 points and 12 boards in defeat.

Final Score: Dallas 120, Utah 102

Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons dropped 21 points apiece and the Dallas Mavericks toppled the Utah Jazz on Thursday, 120-102, in their home opener. Two nights after losing a tight game to the defending-champion Spurs, Dallas' stars made sure it wouldn't fall to 0-2. Nowitzki and Parsons shot a combined 17-of-29 from the floor. Al-Farouq Aminu contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, Monta Ellis netted 14 points with six assists and Tyson Chandler scored 13. The Mavs led by as many as 30 points and never trailed. Derrick Favors went for 17 points and 11 rebounds for Utah, which hasn't won in two games this season. Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke both scored 16 points in defeat.

Final Score: New York 95, Cleveland 90

Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James is home. It doesn't matter that he shot only shot 5-of-15 in his first home game in front of a raucous crowd at Quicken Loans Arena in four years, or that he turned the ball over eight times, or even that his Cavaliers lost. What matters, is that he's home. Carmelo Anthony spoiled James' homecoming, scoring 25 points to lead the New York Knicks past Cleveland on Thursday, 95-90. James' long anticipated return to Cleveland didn't go quite according to plan, but there are 81 more regular season games to go for the new-look Cavs to sort things out. Kevin Love, acquired in a blockbuster deal from the Timberwolves, had 19 points and 14 rebounds in his first action in a Cleveland uniform, while returning star Kyrie Irving led the way with 22 points and seven assists. The four-time MVP James famously left his hometown for the Miami Heat following the 2009-10 season. He led Miami to four straight championship appearances, winning two, before signing with Cleveland this offseason. James finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists in the setback.

Final Score: LA Clippers 93, Oklahoma City 90

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - It wasn't pretty, but Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers grinded out a 93-90 win over the short- handed Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. Paul missed a pair of free throws that could have made it a three-point game with 13.8 seconds remaining, but he went to the ground to secure the rebound on Sebastian Telfair's miss at the other end and Griffin sank two from the stripe. It was 91-88 with 5.8 seconds left when LA fouled Nick Collison intentionally to prevent the Thunder from getting off a look from 3-point range. He hit two as well, then J.J. Redick restored the three-point margin with his pair with 2.8 seconds to play. Without any timeouts, Thunder center Steven Adams inbounded to Serge Ibaka near mid-court. Ibaka took two dribbles and lined up a deep triple, which missed short as the final buzzer sounded.