LOS ANGELES — Jordan Clarkson scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers won coach Luke Walton’s debut, holding off the Houston Rockets 120-114 on Wednesday night.
D’Angelo Russell scored 20 points and Julius Randle added 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the young Lakers, who got off to an exciting start in the franchise’s first season without Kobe Bryant since 1995.
With a revamped roster coming off the worst season in the 16-time champion team’s history, Los Angeles surged in the fourth quarter of an auspicious opener under Walton, the 36-year-old former Lakers forward.
James Harden had 34 points, a career-high 17 assists and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who lost in former Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni’s debut on the Houston bench.
The Lakers played an up-tempo, aggressive offensive game under Walton, and nobody seized the moment better than Clarkson, who came off the bench in his first game since signing a $50 million contract. His 3-pointer put the Lakers up 116-112 with 1:48 left, and the Lakers hung on while the Rockets missed a long series of open shots in the final minute.
Brandon Ingram scored nine points in the No. 2 pick’s NBA debut for the Lakers. Timofey Mozgov had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Luol Deng had seven points in their Lakers debuts.
After matching the franchise record with 14 first-half assists, Harden tied his career high with his 16th early in the third quarter. The Los Angeles native managed only six points in the fourth quarter, going 1 for 5, and his teammates were a combined 5 for 16.
THUNDER 103, 76ERS 97
PHILADELPHIA — Russell Westbrook had 32 points, 12 rebounds and took over late to lead the Thunder to a victory over the 76ers.
Westbrook scored the decisive points on opening night for the Thunder in their first game since franchise star Kevin Durant left in free agency and signed with the Golden State Warriors.
Joel Embiid scored 20 points in 22 minutes in his first game for the Sixers since they made him the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 draft. Embiid had sat out the last two seasons with foot injuries. He received a roaring ovation when he was introduced and fans went wild on every shot.
NUGGETS 107, PELICANS 102
NEW ORLEANS — Jusuf Nurkic scored 23 points, Will Barton added 22, and the Nuggets survived a dominant performance by Anthony Davis to defeat the Pelicans.
Davis had 50 points, 16 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and four blocks. His production helped New Orleans trim a deficit as large as 14 late in the second quarter down to two points in the waning minutes. He simply didn’t have enough help.
The rest of the Pelicans combined to shoot 21 of 58. Tim Frazier scored 15 for the Pelicans. E’Twaun Moore added 10 points, but missed a 3-point attempt that could have tied it with 24 seconds left.
Danilo Gallinari scored 15 for Denver and Wilson Chandler added 12 points.
RAPTORS 109, PISTONS 91
TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 40 points and Jonas Valanciunas added a career-high 32 as the Raptors opened their season with a victory over the Pistons.
DeRozan made a career-high 17 field goals on 27 shots and was a perfect 6 for 6 from the free throw line, while Valanciunas was 10 for 15 from the field to go along with 11 rebounds. Valanciunas’ previous career high was 31, also against the Pistons, on Jan. 12, 2015.
Tobias Harris had 22 points and Marcus Morris had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who lost for the eighth time in their last 11 games against Toronto.
GRIZZLIES 102, TIMBERWOLVES 98
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Mike Conley scored 24 points, Marc Gasol added 18 and the Grizzlies overcame a slow start for a victory over the Timberwolves.
Conley and Gasol led a push down the stretch as the Grizzlies erased a 90-86 deficit the final 2:44. Zach Randolph had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis.
Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with 25 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21. Zach LaVine added 19 points.
The game was the debut of two coaches with new teams, Tom Thibodeau for Minnesota and former Miami Heat assistant David Fizdale with Memphis.