New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns (32) battles for a rebound against the Boston Celtics during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 25 of his 36 points in the second half, including seven of his team’s final eight to help the Boston Celtics hold off the New York Knicks 107-103 on Friday night.

Paul George and Neemias Queta added 15 points apiece to fend off a late rally by the defending NBA champion Knicks.

New York fell to 0-2 after losing its season opener to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points to lead five Knicks in double figures. OG Anunoby had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Deuce McBride finished with 20 points and Jalen Brunson added 19.

In a game that featured 12 lead changes and four ties, Boston outscored New York 33-24 in the third quarter to increase a one-point halftime lead to 10 entering the final period.

The Celtics’ edge grew as high as 91-79 before a 12-3 Knicks run cut it 94-91 on Towns’ putback dunk.

New York got it back to 99-96 on Josh Hart’s 3-pointer before Queta turned it over, leading to Brunson’s floater. But Tatum responded with a 19-footer on Boston’s next possession that made it 101-98 with 1:11 remaining.

It was 103-98 when Anunoby hit a pair of free throws with less than a minute left. But Tatum drained a 3 from the wing.

Mitchell Robinson finished with four points, four rebounds and a block after struggling with early foul trouble throughout his first matchup against the Knicks team that he helped win last season’s title. Robinson was the only member of New York’s regular rotation that didn’t return.

BULLS 132, BUCKS 125

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Norman Powell had 25 points, rookie Caleb Wilson added 21 and Chicago beat Milwaukee.

The game was played four hours earlier than originally scheduled because of the Milwaukee Brewers hosting Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.

Leonard Miller scored 19 points to help the Bulls rebound from a season-opening 135-92 loss at Toronto on Wednesday night. Jalen Smith had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Buddy Hield scored 13 points.

Tyler Herro, a Milwaukee-area native who was one of four players shipped to the Bucks in a blockbuster off-season trade that sent franchise cornerstone Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat, had 34 points.

Fellow former Heat player Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 19 points and 11 rebounds, Kyle Kuzma had 14 points and Myles Turner 12. The Bucks opened Wednesday night with a loss in Washington.

The teams exchanged leads before the Bulls sealed the victory by hitting multiple free throws down the stretch.

A moment of silence prior to the game and a video tribute at halftime for Don Nelson, the winningest coach in the history of the Bucks. He died Aug. 9 at age 86.

HAWKS 128, HORNETS 81

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jalen Johnson had 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Atlanta hammered Charlotte in the Hawks’ largest blowout in franchise history.

The 47-point victory topped the previous franchise mark of 46 set in a 126-80 win over Sacramento on Nov, 15, 2017.

Aaron Wiggins added 19 points off the bench on 7-of-9 shooting and all five Atlanta starters finished in double figures in scoring, including Nickell Alexander-Walker with 14 and C.J. McCollum with 13.

Naz Reid led the Hornets with 17 points.

The Hornets did little to win fans over in their first home game since trading away star point guard LaMelo Ball, a widely unpopular decision in Charlotte.

The Hawks forced 14 turnovers in the first half alone, leading to 15 points on runouts and built a 25-point first-half lead.

The Hornets were booed loudly as they walked off the floor at halftime by the sellout crowd of 19,524 that was expecting better from a team that won 44 games last season.

The boos grew louder as the Hawks put the pedal down in the third quarter and pulled away, pushing the lead to 49 in the fourth quarter.

RAPTORS 112, WIZARDS 102

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scottie Barnes had 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Toronto continued its stellar defensive start to the season with a victory over Washington.

RJ Barrett added 23 points and Kawhi Leonard scored 16 for Toronto, which forced 23 Washington turnovers after Chicago committed 27 in the Raptors’ season-opening victory on Wednesday.

Trae Young had 22 points and 12 assists for the Wizards, who trailed throughout and were down by 17 in the second quarter before closing within a point in the third.

Tre Johnson added 20 points, but Anthony Davis finished with only nine on 3-for-12 shooting in his second career game for Washington. He had 34 points Wednesday in their season-opening victory.

Toronto led 18-6 on the offensive glass and 52-32 in points in the paint.

The Wizards closed within a possession for the first time since the first quarter on Bilal Coulibaly’s layup to make it 64-61 early in the third, and got it to one with a 9-0 run.

Jamison Battle’s 3-pointer made it 81-77 at the end of the third, and Toronto maintained a multiple-possession lead throughout the fourth.

MAVERICKS 121, PACERS 105

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 24 points and Dallas overcame the loss of Cooper Flagg to spoil Tyrese Haliburton ’s home return for Indiana.

Flagg, last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, did not play in the second half after he injured his left shoulder when he was fouled by Aaron Nesmith on what looked like it would be a breakaway dunk.

Nesmith was called for a flagrant foul, and a double technical was assessed after a brief shoving match ensued. Flagg finished with 15 points, five rebounds and six assists.

Haliburton played in his first home game since the 2025 NBA Finals.

Irving made 5 of 10 from 3-point range. P.J. Washington had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks in their first win under new coach Dusty May, who grew up in Indiana.

While Haliburton received a rousing ovation during player introductions, Indiana’s play soon turned those cheers into boos.

TIMBERWOLVES 115, MAGIC 93

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels each scored 15 points to help Minnesota beat Orlando.

Rudy Gobert added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves (2-0), off to their best start since winning their first two games five years ago.

Wendell Carter Jr. had 20 points and nine boards for the Magic (0-2), who held Edwards largely in check throughout the game.

Fresh off a 45-point effort at Miami Wednesday, Edwards nailed a 3 for his first points but then missed his next 10 field goals. He finished just 5 of 23 from the floor, including 2 for 9 from 3-point range.

But the Timberwolves didn’t need him. They hammered the Magic on the glass, outrebounding Orlando 60-43. Minnesota posted a 21-8 advantage on the offensive boards, which led to 17 second-chance points, and held the Magic without an offensive rebound over the game’s first 19 minutes.

Minnesota, which never trailed, put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring the Magic 29-15 to build a 26-point lead. As a result, head coach Chris Finch was able to rest most of his starters, including guard LaMelo Ball, over the bulk of the fourth quarter.

PISTONS 128, HEAT 111

MIAMI (AP) — John Collins scored 23 points, Paul Reed added 19 off the bench and Detroit added to Miami’s season-opening defensive misery by beating the Heat.

Former Heat guard Duncan Robinson scored 17 and Cade Cunningham finished with 16 for the Pistons, who led wire-to-wire and are 2-0 for the first time since 2018-19.

The Pistons lost Ausar Thompson in the third quarter after taking an awkward fall, and Jalen Duren played only 10 first-half minutes before leaving with a right thigh issue. Both will be further evaluated Saturday, and there was no update on their conditions after the game.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, while Davion Mitchell scored 18 points. Bobby Portis Jr. added 11 off the bench for Miami, which has allowed a franchise-worst 259 points through the season’s first two games and been outscored by a combined 42 points in those contests.

The Heat are 0-2 for only the eighth time in their 39-year history. It’s also the first time Antetokounmpo played in the season’s first two games and his team went 0-2; Milwaukee started 0-2 in 2015-16, but Antetokounmpo was suspended for the opener that season.

JAZZ 120, PELICANS 119

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr. had 24 points and 10 rebounds, rookie Darryn Peterson made the go-ahead free throws with 50.5 second left, and Utah outlasted New Orleans.

Keyonte George tallied 19 points and 10 assists and Jaxson Hayes added 17 points for Utah (1-1).

Zion Williamson scored 23 and Saddiq Bey had 20 points for the Pelicans (0-2) who gave up second-half leads in both of their games this season.

In a frantic final minute as the Pelicans tried to regain the lead they had for much of the fourth quarter, the officials upheld a charging foul on Williamson and Dejounte Murray missed a pull-up jumper just before the final buzzer.

New Orleans starting center Yves Missi injured his left knee in the second quarter and had to be helped to the locker room. He missed the rest of the game and will be re-evaluated Saturday.

With 6:30 left in the second quarter, a driving shot attempt by Williamson was blocked by Hayes and then Williamson fell into Missi’s leg.

After a scoreless first half, Murray scored his first 12 points during a 31-13 burst that erased a 15-point Jazz lead. Murray had three of the Pelicans’ eight steals in the third quarter that ended with a 90-86 Pelicans advantage.

LAKERS 125, CLIPPERS 117

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Austin Reaves had 28 points and nine assists, Walker Kessler added 22 points and six blocked shots, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers for their second win to start the season.

Luka Doncic scored 23 points and committed a career-high 11 turnovers on a rough night for last season’s NBA scoring leader. The Lakers’ healthy second-half lead dwindled to six points down the stretch, but Reaves and Kessler made big players to seal the Lakers’ ninth win in the last 13 meetings with their crosstown rivals.

Darius Garland had 26 points and six assists on another encouraging night for the Clippers, who routed Sacramento in the opener of their rebuilding season.

Brook Lopez, their 38-year-old backup center, scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half for the Clips, who couldn’t overcome 26 turnovers.

Rui Hachimura had 16 points and six rebounds in his first trip back up the I-110 freeway to face the Lakers, his team for the previous 3 1/2 seasons.

ROCKETS 114, SPURS 110

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Amen Thompson blocked Victor Wembanyama’s game-tying layup attempt with less than a second remaining and Houston held on to beat San Antonio.

Fred VanVleet made two free throws for the final points after Thompson turned away the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama in the lane as the Rockets started their season with two victories.

Kevin Durant had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a homecoming game for the former University of Texas star. Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Wembanyama had 25 points and 13 rebounds but San Antonio fell to 0-2. He banked in a long 3-pointer on the possession before the 6-7 Thompson’s block, but it didn’t count because Spurs coach Mitch Johnson had called timeout with 5 seconds left before Wembanyama released the ball.

Alperen Sengun scored 29 points, including eight straight in the fourth quarter, for the Rockets. The 6-11, 243-pound Sengun muscled his way inside to create layups and free throws.

The Spurs consider Austin part of a mega region that they’ve cultivated for several years. They have played games here every season since 2022-23, a total of nine. Two more are scheduled for February.

News from © The Associated Press, 2026