The Philadelphia 76ers finally had some good news as they deal with the bad news of Ben Simmons’ injury.
And Golden State fans got to see just how explosive their team looks with Kevin Durant in the lineup.
Durant had 21 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocked shots in an impressive first home game with Golden State, leading the Warriors to a 120-75 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
Earlier, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric made successful NBA debuts in the 76ers’ 92-89 exhibition victory over the Boston Celtics in Amherst, Massachusetts.
The 76ers waited more than two years to get the 2014 lottery selections in uniform and they both started Tuesday. Embiid, who had been sidelined by foot injuries since Philadelphia took him with the No. 3 selection, had six points in 13 minutes.
Saric, who continued playing in Europe after he was selected by Orlando with the 12th pick and then dealt to Philadelphia, had 10 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes.
Unfortunately for the 76ers, they don’t know when Simmons will be able to join them. The No. 1 overall pick had surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot Tuesday and there is no timetable yet for his return.
76ers 92, CELTICS 89
76ERS: Nerlens Noel, the other young big man in the 76ers’ frontcourt, had six points in 17 minutes off the bench. … TJ McConnell scored 13 points. … Brandon Paul led the 76ers with 15. … Nik Stauskas missed all four shots, all from 3-point range.
CELTICS: Al Horford had eight points and eight rebounds in his first game since leaving Atlanta for Boston. … No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown finished with eight points. … All-Star Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder all scored 11.
UP NEXT: Philadelphia (1-0) hosts Washington on Thursday. Boston (0-1) faces Charlotte on Thursday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
WARRIORS 120, CLIPPERS 75
CLIPPERS: Chris Paul, who along with Blake Griffin was lost early in the playoffs, had five fouls and one point in 13 minutes in the preseason opener. He missed his three shot attempts. Griffin had six points, six rebounds and five fouls. He was hit with a technical at the 8:44 mark of the third quarter. … Former Warriors big man Marreese Speights received a special tribute of highlights on the main scoreboard and a “WELCOME BACK MO!” message. He pounded his chest and smiled in appreciation at the gesture. Speights was a bright spot, scoring 14 points off the bench.
WARRIORS: Durant hit a 3-pointer for the night’s first points. … Klay Thompson scored 30 points with six 3s and two-time reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry contributed 14 points and five assists. … Thompson shot 10 for 14 and 6 of 9 from long range, playing 21-plus minutes. … Coach Steve Kerr called for better rebounding and it was an improvement from Golden State’s four-point loss Saturday to Toronto in Vancouver during which the Warriors were outrebounded 58-42.
- UP NEXT: Los Angeles (0-1) hosts Toronto on Wednesday and coach Doc Rivers said he prefers back-to-backs to clear out more time for practice. Golden State (1-1) takes on Sacramento on Thursday in San Jose.
ROCKETS 130, KNICKS 103
KNICKS: Derrick Rose had 16 points and five assists in his Knicks debut. He is now expected to leave the team and travel to Los Angeles, where his rape trial began earlier Tuesday . … Kristaps Porzingis led the Knicks with 22 points. … Carmelo Anthony scored 10 on 4-for-13 shooting. … Joakim Noah sat out with a sore hamstring.
ROCKETS: James Harden had 28 points and 11 assists. … Ryan Anderson went 7 for 13 from 3-point range, finishing with 26 points and seven rebounds. … A game after scoring 72 points in the first half against the Shanghai Sharks, the Rockets shredded the Knicks for 68 by halftime. … Houston was 20 for 42 from 3-point range. … The Rockets were departing after the game for China, where they were scheduled to face New Orleans in two games.
UP NEXT: New York (0-1) hosts Brooklyn on Saturday. Houston (2-0) faces New Orleans on Sunday in Shanghai.
PACERS 113, PELICANS 96
PACERS: Al Jefferson scored 14 points, Thaddeus Young added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Jeff Teague scored 10 points in their preseason debuts for Indiana. Teague started and played 26 minutes. Young and Jefferson both played 18 minutes … Paul George had 11 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes. … Joe Young scored 12 points in 20 minutes and fellow reserve Rodney Stuckey scored 11 in 21 minutes. … Indiana outscored New Orleans 58-28 in the paint.
PELICANS: Sixth overall draft choice Buddy Hield scored 18 points in 29 minutes off the bench after scoring 19 points in his preseason debut on Saturday … Anthony Davis scored 12 points and blocked two shots in 18 minutes but made only three of 13 shots while going 6 of 8 on free throws. … Newly acquired forward Terrence Jones, who was Davis’ teammate on Kentucky’s 2012 national championship team, scored 10 points in 24 minutes.
UP NEXT: Indiana (1-0) hosts Chicago on Thursday. New Orleans (1-1) travels to China to play Houston in Shanghai on Sunday.
HEAT 106, WIZARDS 95
HEAT: Hassan Whiteside had 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. He had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first quarter and finished 9 for 12. … Justise Winslow and Dion Waiters both scored 12 points. … Luke Babbitt was 4 for 5 behind the arc and finished with 14 points.
WIZARDS: Kelly Oubre led Washington with 16 points in its first game under Scott Brooks. … Former Jazz guard Trey Burke had 14 points, starting at point guard while John Wall remains out while recovering from surgeries. … Bradley Beal finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
UP NEXT: Miami (1-0) faces Minnesota on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri. Washington (0-1) visits Philadelphia on Thursday.
LAKERS 103, KINGS 84
LAKERS: No. 2 pick Brandon Ingram missed all five field goal attempts, four from 3-point range, and finished with two points in 27 minutes in Anaheim, California. … The Lakers scored 39 points in the fourth quarter of their first game under Luke Walton. … Lou Williams scored 15 points but fellow guard D’Angelo Russell had only four on 2-of-8 shooting. … Former lottery pick Yi Jianlian of China played three minutes and missed his lone shot in his first game back in the NBA.
KINGS: Sacramento had only 32 points in the second half of its first game under Dave Joerger. … DeMarcus Cousins had 11 points and six rebounds in just 15 minutes. … Arron Afflalo, who spent last season with the Knicks, led Sacramento with 14 points. … Rookie Skal Labissiere was scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting in 15 minutes.
UP NEXT: Los Angeles (1-0) hosts Denver on Friday. Sacramento (0-1) faces Golden State in San Jose, California on Thursday.
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AP Sports Writers Brett Martel in New Orleans and Janie McCauley in Oakland, California contributed to this report.
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