MIAMI — Justise Winslow’s first game in more than nine months was a success, and that’s a good sign for the Miami Heat.
Winslow had six points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots in 23 minutes, and the Heat topped the Atlanta Hawks 96-90 in the preseason opener for both teams Sunday night.
Winslow missed most of last season because of shoulder surgery, and one of the major questions in the Heat preseason is how the No. 10 pick in the 2015 draft out of Duke will fit again in the Miami rotation. He was the first sub in after starting forward James Johnson got into early foul trouble, and made 3 of his 6 shots.
“You can see that there isn’t any hesitation in his play or any lack of aggressiveness,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s being who he’s meant to be — a player … contributing in a lot of different ways.”
In the other game Sunday, Toronto beat the Los Angeles Clippers 121-113 in Honolulu. It was the Clippers’ first game since the deal that saw star point guard Chris Paul leave the team for Houston this summer.
Serbian guard Milos Teodosic, a 30-year-old point guard who until now has spent his entire pro career in Europe, made his NBA debut. Teodosic missed all five of his shots, but handed out eight assists.
“He came over here for a reason — to prove that he can play and be great over here,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re really looking forward to it. We hope he’s right.”
Miami scored the last eight points of the third quarter, then went on a 12-0 run in the fourth to help put the game away.
Tyler Johnson led Miami with 14 points. Josh Richardson finished with 12 points, Rodney McGruder scored 10 and new addition Kelly Olynyk added nine points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Dewayne Dedmon scored 12 on 5 for 7 shooting for Atlanta. Take him away, and the rest of the Hawks shot 26 for 80.
RAPTORS 121, CLIPPERS 113
All five Toronto starters scored in double figures, with Kyle Lowry leading the way with 17 points. Blake Griffin led the Clippers with a game-high 18.
RAPTORS: CJ Miles and Serge Ibaka each had 12 points, DeMar DeRozan scored 11 and Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes. … Norman Powell scored 16 off the bench for Toronto.
CLIPPERS: Danilo Gallinari looked very good, scoring 17 points and making 10 of 12 free throws. … Lou Williams also scored 17 for the Clippers, and Patrick Beverley — who will likely replace Paul as the starting point guard — scored 14.