INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George scored 23 points and Lance Stephenson had the first triple-double of his career, leading the perfect Indiana Pacers to a 95-79 victory Monday night over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Indiana became the NBA’s seventh team to open 8-0 since 2000 — two more wins than the franchise’s previous best start. And they followed a familiar script in the battle between last season’s conference runner-ups by dominating the glass, dominating the second half and divvying up top honors.
Stephenson finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists. George Hill scored 13 points and Roy Hibbert added five more blocks to his NBA-leading total.
Memphis was led by Marc Gasol with 15 points and Zach Randolph with 12.
BULLS 96, CAVALIERS 81
CHICAGO — Derrick Rose had 16 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with a right hamstring injury, and Chicago pulled away from Cleveland.
Rose grimaced after he drove down the lane for a twisting layup with 3:39 left. He remained in the game for a short time before he was pulled for Kirk Hinrich, and a trainer then attended to the 2011 NBA MVP at the end of the bench.
Coach Tom Thibodeau said it looks like Rose has a “minor” hamstring injury. He said Rose will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
Kyrie Irving had 16 points for Cleveland, but was 5 for 19 from the field in his first game against Rose. The Cavaliers committed 20 turnovers, leading to 29 points for the Bulls.
CLIPPERS 109,
TIMBERWOLVES 107
LOS ANGELES — Blake Griffin had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Chris Paul added 21 points and Los Angeles held off Minnesota after Kevin Love missed a tip-in at the buzzer.
Kevin Martin missed a jumper that Nikola Pekovic rebounded, only to miss the layup. Love grabbed the ball and missed again to end the Wolves’ two-game winning streak.
Paul had 11 assists, Jamal Crawford scored 18 points and DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 11 rebounds to help the Clippers improve to 3-0 at home.
Martin scored 30 points for the Wolves, who lost their sixth straight against the Clippers.
SPURS 109, 76ERS 85
PHILADELPHIA — Danny Green scored 18 points, Tony Parker had 14 and San Antonio rolled to an easy victory.
The defending Western Conference champions are off to a 7-1 start following consecutive wins in New York and Philadelphia.
Evan Turner scored 20 points and Spencer Hawes had 17 for the Sixers, who couldn’t give coach Brett Brown a better effort in his first game against his former team.
Brown spent 11 years in San Antonio, including seven as an assistant under Gregg Popovich and was part of the team’s four championships.
HAWKS 103, BOBCATS 94
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Al Horford scored 24 points and Atlanta handed Charlotte coach Steve Clifford a loss in his first game back since undergoing a heart procedure.
Clifford missed Charlotte’s game last Friday night against the New York Knicks after having two stents placed in his heart.
The Hawks trailed by nine at halftime but outscored the Bobcats 34-16 in the third quarter behind 72 percent shooting to take control of the game. Horford had 13 points in the third quarter to help turn the tide for the Hawks.
Josh McRoberts led the Bobcats with 19 points and seven assists.
CELTICS 120, MAGIC 105
BOSTON — Avery Bradley scored 24 points as Boston beat Orlando for the second time in four days.
Kelly Olynyk, Jordan Crawford and Jeff Green each had 16 points for Boston, which has won four straight after opening the season with four losses under first-year coach Brad Stevens. The Celtics shot 60 percent (51 for 85).
Arron Afflalo had 18 points and seven assists, Victor Oladipo scored 17 points and Nikola Vucevic had 15 points and 10 boards for Orlando, which dropped its 16th straight road game.
ROCKETS 110,
RAPTORS 104, 2 OT
HOUSTON — Jeremy Lin scored 31 points, Dwight Howard had 18 points and 24 rebounds, and Houston outlasted Toronto to snap a two-game losing streak.
Lin shot 10 of 17 from the field and hit 8 of 9 from the free throw line. James Harden finished with 26 points and 10 assists.
Howard was just 4 of 12 at the foul line. Chandler Parsons had 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Rockets, who could not hold a double-digit, second-half lead for the second straight game.
Rudy Gay led the Raptors with 29 points and 10 rebounds but shot 11 of 37 from the field.
NUGGETS 100, JAZZ 81
SALT LAKE CITY — Andre Miller scored nine of his season-high 15 points in the fourth quarter and Denver defeated winless Utah.
Ty Lawson had 17 points and Kenneth Faried added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Nuggets, who outscored the Jazz 30-13 in a dominant final period.
TRAIL BLAZERS 109,
PISTONS 103
PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard bounced back from a miserable shooting night with 25 points, making five 3-pointers, and Portland held off Detroit.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers, who led by as many as 13 points in the second half.
Brandon Jennings had 28 points and four rebounds for Detroit. Acquired by the Pistons in an offseason sign-and-trade with Milwaukee, Jennings came into the game the game needing one rebound for 1,000 in his career, and one point for 5,000.
