DeRozan, Lavine lift Bulls over Raptors for 4th straight win

TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points against his former team, Zach LaVine had 22 points and the Chicago Bulls opened their season with four straight wins for the first time since 1996-97, holding off the Toronto Raptors 111-108 on Monday night.

Nikola Vucevic scored 17 points and Lonzo Ball had 15 as the Bulls won their fourth straight meeting with Toronto. Ball shot 5 for 9 from 3-point range.

OG Anunoby scored 22 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 18 as the struggling Raptors lost for the third time in four games.

Toronto’s Fred VanVleet scored 15 points and set a career high with 17 assists. Precious Achiuwa had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, and rookie Scottie Barnes scored 13 points.

CELTICS 140, HORNETS 129, OT

CHARLOTTE — Jayson Tatum scored a season-high 41 points, Jaylen Brown added 30, including an emphatic dunk in overtime, and Boston handed Charlotte its first loss of the season.

Dennis Schroder had nine of his 23 points in overtime, and Robert Williams added 12 points and 16 rebounds in a game that featured 28 lead changes.

Miles Bridges had 25 points and 10 rebounds and LaMelo Ball added 25 points on seven 3-pointers for the Hornets before fouling out in overtime. Kelly Oubre added 19 points for Charlotte, which was seeking its first 4-0 start in franchise history.

Both teams had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation but had difficulty inbounding the ball, resulting in neither team getting a shot off in the game’s final 15 seconds.

BUCKS 119, PACERS 109

INDIANAPOLIS — Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Khris Middleton added 27 points as defending NBA champion Milwaukee beat Indiana.

Coach Mike Budenholzer held out two injured starters — center Brook Lopez and guard Jrue Holiday — as well as key backup Bobby Portis. Milwaukee still had enough scoring punch to pull away from the Pacers, who have lost three of their first four games under new coach Rick Carlisle.

The Pacers were led by Malcolm Brogdon with 25 points and seven assists. Domantas Sabonis had 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists

It was Middleton’s four-point play to close the first-quarter scoring that changed the game. It broke a 30-30 tie, and Milwaukee never trailed again.

HEAT 107, MAGIC 90

MIAMI — Jimmy Butler scored 36 points on 15-for-21 shooting, Bam Adebayo added 16 points and 13 rebounds and Miami pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Orlando.

Markieff Morris had 16 points off the Miami bench, and Tyler Herro finished with 13 points, five rebounds and nine assists for the Heat.

Miami was 19 for 19 from the foul line, tying the second-most makes without a miss in team history. The Heat were 30 for 30 against Boston on March 24, 1993.

Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs led Orlando with 15 points, while Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton each added 12 for the Magic. Mo Bamba and Robin Lopez had 11 apiece for Orlando.

Butler also had five steals, and did the bulk of his scoring work at the rim for Miami.

HAWKS 122, PISTONS 104

ATLANTA — Trae Young had 32 points and nine assists and John Collins scored 22 in Atlanta’s win over Detroit.

The Hawks have won 24 of their last 30 home games, including playoff games, dating to Feb. 21.

The Pistons’ Kelly Olynyk had 17 of his 21 points in the first half and Saddiq Bey scored 21 for Detroit, which dropped to 0-3.

Olynyk and Josh Johnson were new additions to the Pistons’ starting lineup — Olynyk replacing the injured Jerami Grant and Johnson taking the spot of Frank Jackson.

NETS 104, WIZARDS 90

NEW YORK — Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Brooklyn bounced back from a poor finish a day earlier with a blistering start that gave them a victory over Washington.

Patty Mills made five 3-pointers and added 21 points off the bench, while James Harden finished with 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

The Nets were dominated in the second half of a 111-95 loss to Charlotte on Sunday in their home opener, which featured protests by fans over the vaccine mandate that has kept Kyrie Irving from playing for Brooklyn. They overcame poor 3-point shooting nights from Harden (1 for 8) and Joe Harris (3 for 11) by holding Washington below 35% shooting.

Washington’s Bradley Beal scored 19 points but shot 8 for 22 after missing a game with a bruised right hip. The Wizards won their first two games but were already down by 18 in this one by the time the Nets honored Spencer Dinwiddie with a video tribute after the first quarter of his return to Barclays Center.

PELICANS 107, TIMBERWOLVES 98

MINNEAPOLIS — Brandon Ingram scored 27 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points and 23 rebounds, and New Orleans snapped its season-opening, three-game losing streak.

Devonte’ Graham added 21 points for New Orleans, which was again without injured star Zion Williamson. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 17 points for the Pelicans, who had a 21-point lead trimmed to four points late in the third quarter.

Minnesota had its two-game win streak halted as its offense failed to find a rhythm until Anthony Edwards got the offense and the crowd going by scoring 21 of his 28 points in the third.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 14 rebounds, and Patrick Beverly added 13 points off the bench.

A game after tying a franchise record with 30 turnovers, New Orleans was in sync early, using the extra pass to get its offense going. The Pelicans had eight assists as a team on their first nine baskets.

CAVALIERS 99, NUGGETS 87

DENVER — Kevin Love scored 22 points, Jarrett Allen recorded his second straight double-double and Cleveland held off Denver.

Allen finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds to help the Cavaliers start a five-game trip on the right note. This was on the heels of a 11-point, 14-rebound performance in a win over Atlanta over the weekend.

The Cavaliers overcame a big night from NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, who scored 24 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. They held Denver to 9-of-38 shooting from 3-point land, and forced more than 20 turnovers.

Up by 11 in the third quarter, Cleveland saw Denver rally to tie the game at 70. But Love hit a reverse layup to ignite a 19-3 run that helped put the game away.