The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES
Kawhi Leonard began a new chapter with the Los Angeles Clippers, scoring 30 points to go with a strong bench effort in a 112-102 victory over LeBron James and the Lakers on Tuesday night in the teams’ season opener.
Lou Williams added 21 points and Montrezl Harrell had 17 off the bench when the Clippers opened their 50th season and 36th in Los Angeles as the once unlikely but now favorites to win the franchise’s first NBA championship.
Leonard won his second NBA title last season in Toronto.
The Lakers showed off their new 1-2 punch of James and Anthony Davis. Davis scored 25 points, making 9 of 14 free throws, and James had 18. Danny Green outscored them both with 28 points.
But Leonard got it done without his personal recruit Paul George, sidelined indefinitely while rehabbing from a pair of offseason shoulder surgeries.
Raptors 130,
Pelicans 122, OT
TORONTO (AP) — Fred VanVleet scored a career-high 34 points, Pascal Siakam fouled out with 34 points and 18 rebounds, and defending champion Toronto beat New Orleans in the NBA’s season-opening game.
Kyle Lowry scored 22 points, including a pair of free throws that put Toronto in the lead for good, and Serge Ibaka had 13 as the Raptors won their seventh straight season opener and posted their eighth win in nine meetings with the Pelicans.
Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday tied it at 122 by making a pair of free throws with 2:23 left in overtime. Lowry answered with his foul shots, VanVleet hit a corner 3, and Lowry also connected from long range to cap a decisive 8-0 run.
Brandon Ingram scored 22 points and Josh Hart had 15 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which began the season without No. 1 pick Zion Williamson. JJ Redick scored 16 points, Nicolò Melli had 14 and Holiday added 13.
Raptors get rings
TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors received the biggest championship rings in NBA history and unfurled a banner celebrating their victory in a ceremony before their season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was on hand Tuesday night to honor the Raptors, who won the first title in team history with a six-game triumph over the Golden State Warriors last June.
The rings each contain more than 650 diamonds, as well as 16 rubies representing the number of playoff victories required to win the title. On the face of the ring, diamonds form the Toronto skyline above the word “North” spelled out in diamonds inside a golden chevron.
Celtics-76ers
PHILADELPHIA — While his front office contemporaries enjoyed the spoils of splashy signings and bold trades, Elton Brand flew halfway across the world to serve as perhaps the most overqualified ball boy for the league’s most enigmatic talent.
As Joel Embiid hoisted jumpers in his offseason workouts in Cameroon, his general manager gladly grabbed loose rebounds, the game plan of an equal parts hectic and intensely personal visit Brand hoped would deepen the bond between Embiid and the only franchise he’s ever known. No member of the Philadelphia 76ers had ever made the pilgrimage to Africa’s west coast to spend time in Embiid’s homeland. Yet there Brand was, running a local hill with Embiid’s cousin. Taking in home-cooked meals prepared by Embiid’s mom, Christine. Getting a tour of the city of 2.8 million.
It wasn’t something Brand needed to do. Embiid is locked up in Philadelphia indefinitely . Yet the trip was significant to Brand, who called it “touching.”
The man tasked with helping the 76ers finish The Process they started earlier this decade believes a personal touch can help Philadelphia take the final steps from joke to juggernaut.
When the Sixers open the season against Boston tonight, Brand will sit in his usual seat on press row, with a clear view of Embiid, Ben Simmons and perhaps the best Sixers team to hit the court since the last one to win it all in 1983.
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