CHICAGO — Kemba Walker scored 21 points, RJ Barrett added 20 and the New York Knicks hung on to hand the Chicago Bulls their first loss of the season 104-103 on Thursday night.
Julius Randle had 13 points and 16 rebounds. Derrick Rose came off New York’s bench to score 12 points against his former team as the Knicks won their second straight and improved to 4-1.
Chicago star Zack LaVine scored 25 points, despite playing with a torn ligament in his left thumb.
The Bulls went on a 12-0 run in the final minutes to nearly tie the score in a game the Knicks seemingly had wrapped up.
LaVine’s dunk with 9.5 seconds left trimmed New York’s lead to one point after the Knicks held a 104-91 advantage with 2:59 left. LaVine’s thumb was taped up after he was injured Monday in Toronto.
Randle missed a pair of free throws with 4.7 seconds left to give Chicago the final possession, but DeMar DeRozan missed a 15-foot, pull-up shot as time ran out.
Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and DeRozan added 20 points for Chicago, which fell to 4-1 The Bulls’ 4-0 start was their best since 1996-97.
76ERS 110, PISTONS 102
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid shook off lingering pain in his right knee and had 30 points and 18 rebounds to lead Philadelphia over Detroit.
Embiid remains hampered by a right knee that hasn’t been right since he suffered a torn meniscus during last season’s playoffs.
The 76ers watched a 14-point edge evaporate in a loss to Brooklyn in the home opener. It almost happened again after former Villanova standout Saddiq Bey buried a 3 that pulled the Pistons to 101-94 and another that made it 103-97.
Embiid countered with four free throws and buried a 3-pointer from the top of the arc down the stretch that saved the Sixers.
Bey led the Pistons with 19 points. The Pistons missed 10 of their first 12 shots and their first seven 3s and fell to 0-4.
Tobias Harris scored 17 points and Maxey had 16 for the Sixers.
WIZARDS 122, HAWKS 111
WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal scored 27 points and Montrezl Harrell added 25 with 13 rebounds to lift Washington over Atlanta.
The Wizards (4-1) continued their impressive start under new coach Wes Unseld Jr., winning this time without new point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. Washington rested Dinwiddie, who missed almost all of last season because of a knee injury, on the second night of a back-to-back. The Wizards were also without Daniel Gafford because of a thigh issue.
The Hawks cut a 20-point second-half deficit to five in the fourth quarter, but Harrell dunked off a pass from Beal, and then a dunk by Beal made it 115-106.
John Collins led Atlanta with 28 points on 14-of-16 shooting, and Trae Young added 15 points and 13 assists.
JAZZ 122, ROCKETS 91
HOUSTON — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and seven Utah players reached double figures in a win over Houston.
Utah is off to its first 4-0 start since the 2006-07 season.
Joining Bogdanovic, Rudy Gobert (16), Jordan Clarkson (16), Donovan Mitchell (15), and Joe Ingles (14), Eric Paschall (13) and Hassan Whiteside (10) also scored in double figures for the Jazz.
Christian Wood led Houston with 16 points and Jalen Green had 13 points on 3 of 16 shooting. He missed all eight of his 3-point attempts. Rockets rookie Alperen Sengun had 14 points.
Houston’s shooting struggled, particularly from behind the 3-point line. The Rockets made just 9 of 44 from beyond the arc, just 20.5%.
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