LeBron James blamed injuries for the lack of cohesion which has characterised the Los Angeles Lakers' inconsistent start to the NBA season after Wednesday's blowout loss to the Houston Rockets.

The Lakers fell to 3-5 for the season, and 0-3 on their current four-game road stretch, at Toyota Center as the Rockets claimed their fourth successive victory, triumphing 128-94.

James managed 18 points, six rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes on court, being rested for the entire fourth quarter with the game already out of reach for the visitors.

Los Angeles has been hamstrung by fitness concerns all season, with Anthony Davis, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes, Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino all sitting out Wednesday's loss.

Those selection issues have made it difficult for the NBA's all-time leading points scorer to assess the Lakers' up-and-down start to 2023-24.

"I don't have an assessment," James said after the game. "I mean, we can't build cohesion if we don't have our unit.

"It's that simple. It's just, we're very depleted on the injury side."

Los Angeles are reportedly hopeful Davis will return for Friday's game against the Phoenix Suns, which will bring the curtain down on the Lakers' difficult road stretch as well as serving as their first group-play game of the new in-season tournament.

Head coach Darvin Ham acknowledged the Lakers are going through a tough period, though he also said the team can't afford to feel sorry for themselves. 

"We're juggling different circumstances, guys being in and out of the lineup," Ham said. "But at the end of the day, no one is going to feel sorry for you, especially when you're a Los Angeles Laker."

Point guard D'Angelo Russell added: "I think we just need to relax and figure out the root of where we're going to start trending in the right direction.

"I think getting healthy is one. Two, just playing for one another. I think that's the start, having that mentality where we're going to play for each other and make things easier for each other."

Nikola Jokić had 35 points and 13 rebounds and Reggie Jackson scored 20 points in place of an injured Jamal Murray to lead the NBA-best Denver Nuggets to a 108-105 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.

Every Denver starter reached double figures, with Michael Porter Jr. scoring 17 points, Aaron Gordon adding 14 and 11 rebounds and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributing 10 points.

The Nuggets won their fourth straight overall and have won all six home games this season.

Stephen Curry scored 23 points with six 3-pointers for the Warriors but missed a runner in the lane with seven seconds left that would’ve tied it at 107-all.

Golden State stayed close behind its bench, which outscored Denver’s 42-12.

Murray missed his second straight game with a strained right hamstring, while the Warriors played without Draymond Green, who was out for personal reasons.

76ers down Celtics to stay hot

Joel Embiid had 27 points and 10 rebounds and Tyrese Maxy added 25 and nine assists as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics 106-103 for their sixth straight victory.

Tobias Harris scored 17 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 14 as the 76ers remained perfect since a season-opening loss to Milwaukee.

Kristaps Porzingis led Boston with 29 points and Derrick White, back after missing two games for the birth of his child, added 19 but the Celtics dropped their second in a row after a 5-0 start.

It was the first meeting between the Atlantic Division rivals since Philadelphia blew a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.

Jaylen Brown hit a 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining to get the Celtics within 106-103 but Porzingis missed a potential tying 3 with six seconds left.

Wembanyama struggles in MSG debut

Victor Wembanyama managed just one basket in the first three quarters in his Madison Square Garden debut and the New York Knicks coasted to a 126-105 rout of the San Antonio Spurs.

The 7-foot-3 rookie missed his first seven shots and was in danger of failing to reach double figures for the first time before scoring eight points in the fourth to finish with 14 on 4-of-14 shooting with nine rebounds.

Jalen Brunson scored 25 points and Julius Randle added 23 with 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who bolted to a 13-0 lead and led 33-16 after one quarter.

Jeremy Sochan had 16 points and six rebounds for San Antonio, which dropped its third straight while allowing 123 points in each contest.

James Harden sees "unlimited possibilities" with the Los Angeles Clippers after making his debut for his new team.

Harden, who joined the Clippers last week in a blockbuster trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, had to wait until Monday to make his bow.

The 10-time All-Star played 31 minutes, finishing with 17 points and six assists, though he could not help the Clippers avoid a 111-97 defeat to the New York Knicks.

Harden is joining an elite lineup of experienced NBA stars at the Clippers, with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook looking to propel the team towards success this season.

"Unlimited possibilities," Harden said when asked what he sees coming from his move to the Clippers.

It was not an easy debut for Harden, with the 34-year-old conceding it was tough to get up to speed having not had a full preseason following his fallout with the Sixers.

"I feel kind of weird out there, but just not really having a preseason game or an opportunity to participate in the full training camp or none of that," he added.

"It was just [being] out there and just basically winging it. Try to go off my basketball instincts and what I've been doing for the last few years or whatnot. I just went out there and playing and thinking the game and trying to make the game easier for everybody else."

Team-mate Leonard, though, was impressed with what he saw.

"He did a good job his first game in a while," Leonard said of Harden.

"It takes time to get his legs under him as far as conditioning. But he did a great job to me, got everybody involved running pick-and-roll very well."

The sentiment was echoed by Clippers coach Ty Lue, who said: "I thought overall just orchestrating, making the right play, making the right pass and pick-and-rolls, he was really good.

"It's going to take him a little time to get in game shape. We understand that, but his presence on the floor was definitely felt."

Harden is set to make his second Clippers appearance on Wednesday when Los Angeles take on his former team the Brooklyn Nets.

LeBron James believes he would have become one of the all-time NBA greats regardless of his spell with the Miami Heat.

James spent four years with the Heat between 2010 and 2014.

During that time, he became a two-time NBA champion, two-time league MVP and two-time Finals MVP.

The 38-year-old credits his time in Miami with introducing him to a new culture, but he feels he would have been the same player regardless.

"I think I would still be at this level no matter if I would've came here or not," James told ESPN ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers' clash with the Heat on Monday.

"Let's not get it twisted. The four years I was here, it was amazing. I loved everything about it. Loved this franchise, this franchise is top tier, it's one of the best franchises in the world.

"But as far as my career, my career was going to be my career as far as individually, because I know how much I put into the game and I know how much I strived to be as great as I can be. [But] as far as what I was able to learn here was second to none, that's for sure.

"I came here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to win championships. That was my only goal. That was the only reason I teamed up with [Dwyane] Wade and [Chris] Bosh.

"Because I felt like I couldn't do it in Cleveland. So I had an opportunity to be a free agent so I did what I thought was best, not only for my career but for me at that point in time."

So, what did James learn in south Florida?

"It was a culture change for me," James said. "People talk about 'Heat Culture'. It was a culture change, period.

"I was changing everything about my life for the first time in my life. To be able to be here and be able to learn and be alongside D-Wade, UD [Udonis Haslem] and Spo [Erik Spoelstra], those guys who had won it already, it definitely was great to be a part of, for sure."

James scored a game-high 30 points on Monday against the Heat, but he could not guide the Lakers to victory, with Bam Adebayo's triple-double and Jimmy Butler's 28 helping Miami win 108-107.

James Harden's anticipated first game as a Los Angeles Clipper ended in a loss, as the New York Knicks spoiled the former NBA MVP's debut with his new team with Monday's 111-97 win.

Julius Randle had 27 points and 10 rebounds and RJ Barrett added 26 points in his return from injury as the Knicks handed the star-studded Clippers their second straight defeat following a 3-1 start to the season.

Harden took the court for the first time since being traded to Los Angeles by the Philadelphia 76ers last week. The 10-time All-Star had 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting along with six assists as a part of a starting lineup that included three other accomplished veterans in Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.

The dynamic guard scored five straight points late in the third quarter to give the Clippers a 76-73 lead, but the Knicks countered with a 16-3 run to take an 89-79 advantage with under 9 1/2 minutes left and never trailed thereafter.

Barrett scored 11 points in the fourth quarter after missing New York's previous two games with a sore left knee, while Mitchell Robinson finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds to help the Knicks snap a two-game losing streak.

Edwards sparks overtime win as Wolves hand Celtics first loss

Anthony Edwards scored eight of his 38 points in overtime as the Minnesota TImberwolves handed the Boston Celtics their first loss of the season with a 114-109 victory.

Edwards added nine rebounds and seven assists to help Minnesota overcome an off night from fellow star player Karl-Anthony Towns, who managed just seven points in 28 minutes before fouling out in overtime.

Jaden McDaniels hit a game-tying 3-pointer late in regulation and finished with 20 points for Minnesota, which also received 14 points and 12 rebounds from Rudy Gobert en route to its third straight win.

Boston entered the game as the NBA's lone remaining unbeaten team following a 5-0 start. The Celtics got 32 points and five steals from Jayson Tatum and 26 points from Jaylen Brown, but shot just 28.2 per cent from 3-point range as well as a season-low 39.1 per cent overall. 

The Celtics held a 105-103 lead after Tatum hit two free throws with 3:56 left in overtime, but Minnesota's Mike Conley buried a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession before Edwards capped a pivotal 9-0 run with three consecutive baskets that put the Timberwolves up for good at 112-105 with 1:30 remaining in the extra session.

Adebayo's triple-double propels Heat past Lakers

Bam Adebayo delivered a massive performance with 22 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Miami Heat overcame a late scoring drought to hold on for a 108-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Adebayo became the first Heat player to record a triple-double with at least 20 rebounds, and Miami received 28 points from Jimmy Butler and 22 from Tyler Herro to record its second straight win following a four-game losing streak.

The Heat prevailed despite nearly blowing a 10-point lead with four minutes to play and not making a field goal over the final 4:15 of the contest.

The Lakers scored the game's final nine points and had a chance to win in the final seconds, but Cam Reddish was off the mark with a jumper and Butler grabbed the rebound right before time expired.

LeBron James finished with 30 points on 13-of-23 points to pace the Lakers, while Austin Reaves just missed a triple-double after compiling 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Los Angeles has now dropped the first two outings of its current four-game road trip and played the entire fourth quarter without star forward Anthony Davis, who sustained a groin spasm during the game and was limited to nine points in 25 minutes. 

A 30-point triple-double from LaMelo Ball was not enough to get the Charlotte Hornets across the line against the Dallas Mavericks.

Ball scored 23 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter of Charlotte’s 124-118 defeat, to go along with 10 rebounds and 13 assists.

A quiet start from Luka Doncic allowed the Hornets to gain an early advantage, but the Slovenian eventually found his groove to lead the Mavericks’ second-half comeback.

He finished with 23 points, while Kyrie Irving added 18.

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 112-100 on the back of Desmond Bane’s 30-point effort.

The visitors left it until late, launching a 24-point comeback in the final quarter to pick up their first win of the season.

Jerami Grant top-scored for Portland with 27.

The Phoenix Suns snapped a three-game losing streak with a 120-106 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Kevin Durant stepped up in the absence of injured starting duo Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, scoring a season-high 41 points in the 14-point victory.

The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised the Golden State Warriors 115-104, while Scottie Barnes scored 30 points to lead the Toronto Raptors over the San Antonio Spurs 123-116.

Donovan Mitchell led the way with 31 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers earned their first regular-season victory over the Golden State Warriors in nearly seven years with Sunday's 115-104 win.

Mitchell finished 11 of 19 from the field and added seven assists to help Cleveland snap a 16-game losing streak in the series, which included five losses to the Warriors in the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers' first regular-season win over Golden State since Christmas Day of 2016 also snapped the Warriors' run of five straight victories since a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Darius Garland added 24 points and Evan Mobley compiled 13 points and 16 rebounds in the Cavs' second win in three games following a 1-3 start to the season.

Mitchell recorded 17 points in the first half and Garland had 13 by the break as Cleveland took a 57-45 lead into the intermission, then never trailed in the second half.

Stephen Curry went 7 of 11 from 3-point range and amassed 28 points in the Warriors' first defeat in five road games this season. 

Raptors come back from 22 points down to stun Spurs in overtime

Scottie Barnes scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter to lead a furious second-half rally that catapulted the Toronto Raptors to a 123-116 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Toronto trailed by 22 points late in the first half and faced an 86-71 deficit after three quarters, but outscored the Spurs by a 23-10 margin to begin the fourth. Barnes later tied the contest at 108-108 with a 3-pointer with 37.9 seconds left in regulation, though Keldon Johnson put San Antonio back ahead with two free throws on the ensuing possession before the Raptors' OG Anunoby forced overtime with a putback with just 1.2 seconds remaining.

The Raptors then opened overtime with an 8-2 run to take the lead for good.

Anunoby and Dennis Schröder each finished with 24 points for Toronto, with Anunoby going 7 of 13 on 3-point tries. Barnes finished 5 of 10 from beyond the arc to go along with 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks.

Rookie sensation VIctor Wembanyama had 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocks for San Antonio, which also received 26 points from Johnson and 21 points and 11 rebounds from Zach Collins.

Grizzlies rally past Trail Blazers for elusive first win

Desmond Bane scored 30 points and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to earn a 112-100 win over the Portland Trail Blazers for their first victory of the season.

Memphis, which posted the second-best record in the Western Conference last season at 51-31, opened the 2023-24 campaign with six straight losses and looked on the way towards a seventh with Portland owning a 98-86 lead with eight minutes remaining.

The Grizzlies held the Blazers without a field goal the rest of the way, however, as they closed the game on a 26-2 run. Bane had nine points and Jaren Jackson Jr. totalled seven during the game-ending spurt.

Jackson finished with 27 points and seven rebounds and Luke Kennard contributed 15 points off the bench for Memphis.

Jerami Grant led Portland with 27 points and both Malcolm Brogdon and Shaedon Sharpe had 18 in the loss. Brogdon added 11 assists and seven rebounds.

LeBron James urged the Los Angeles Lakers to improve as his injury-hit side were blasted away by the Orlando Magic, who were inspired by Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.

The Lakers' seven-game winning streak against the Magic came to an abrupt end as Los Angeles were outclassed in a 120-101 road defeat on Saturday.

Wagner led the Orlando charge with 26 points, one more than the impressive Banchero, while rookie Anthony Black scored 10 on his first Magic start.

Hosts Orlando were without injured guards Markelle Fultz (knee) and Gary Harris (groin), yet it was Los Angeles' James who bemoaned fitness issues hampering his team.

"That's definitely been our trend – offensive rebounds and points off turnovers," said James, who finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

"We'll do a good job of getting a stop and then an offensive rebound allows them to score.

"It definitely helps when you have bigger bodies. We have three of our bigger bodies out right now with injuries.

"It would help, but that's definitely one of the ways we have to look at to get better."

Anthony Davis was a rare bright spark, managing 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks for the Lakers, who were without five injured players for the road game.

Los Angeles played without Rui Hachimura (concussion protocol), Taurean Prince (knee), Gabe Vincent (knee), Jalen Hood-Schifino (knee) and Jarred Vanderbilt (knee).

However, injuries were no excuse for Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham.

"They're down bodies, we're down bodies and so the game basically comes down to mental approach," added Ham. "Their energy, their effort, they outworked us."

Just five days after a 106-103 reverse in Los Angeles, Banchero suggested the victory shows his Magic side can compete with any side in NBA.

"We don't look at any other team and think we can't match up," said last season's NBA Rookie of the Year Banchero, who went on to laud the performance of Black.

"Plus-32 for my dawg right here. Plus-32 is nuts. He just stepped up right away."

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley echoed Banchero's sentiment on Black, adding: "He wasn't afraid. He embraces moments, and he's willing to make the easy play, the easy pass and the right decision."

Jayson Tatum found it "hard to process" the achievement of becoming the Boston Celtics' youngest player to 10,000 points in NBA history after Saturday's win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Tatum was one of five Boston players to finish with double-figure scores as the Celtics improved to 5-0 for the new season with a 124-114 win over the Nets.

Victory marked a memorable outing for 25-year-old Tatum, too, as he brought up the points landmark for the Celtics – surpassing previous record holder Antoine Walker, who was 26.

"It's kind of hard to process," Tatum said. "In the moment, it's a huge accomplishment. I'm extremely blessed to be part of such a great franchise.

"I've just been fortunate to be on some really good teams; have some really, really good coaches and obviously have some great teammates that have helped contribute to 10,000 points along the way."

Tatum is the 10th player in NBA history to reach 10,000 career points before his 26th birthday.

The Celtics star joined an illustrious list that includes LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, Devin Booker, Bob McAdoo, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dwight Howard.

However, his record-breaking efforts came as no surprise to Boston coach Joe Mazzulla.

"He shows up to work every single day," Mazzulla said. "He puts in the work and he dedicates his life to it.

"He doesn't miss days. He doesn't miss practices, games. And just his open-mindedness and wanting to be coached and wanting to be held to a high standard.

"When you have guys like that – that you can coach – it also allows you to bring the best out of everybody else and so he's one of the guys that sets the tone for us."

The four-time All Star finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds against the Nets before acknowledging he could not have foreseen his achievements after being the number three pick in 2017.

"I was ignorant when I got drafted," added Tatum. "First of all, I didn't even want to come [to Boston] because I didn't think I was going to play.

"They had Gordon [Hayward], and JB [Jaylen Brown], and IT [Isaiah Thomas], and [Marcus] Smart; I didn't think I was good enough to be on that team.

"It's been a long process. I've had to learn through the ups and downs, through my mistakes of late-game decisions or whatever it may be; just growing pains and playing enough games, being in enough playoff series, you learn from those things."

The Boston Celtics improved their unbeaten start to eight games courtesy of a 124-114 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Despite trailing by 12 points at half-time, the Nets were able to draw back within one possession halfway through the fourth quarter.

But the Celtics were able to steady the ship late, lifted by double-doubles from Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday.

Cam Thomas top-scored for Brooklyn with 27, as the Nets dropped to three wins and three losses on the season.

A 31-point effort from Kevin Durant was not enough for the Phoenix Suns to topple the Philadelphia 76ers.

Joel Embiid and Kelly Oubre Jr combined for 51 points as the Sixers held on for a 112-100 victory – their fourth in a row.

Phoenix missed injured starters Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, with Durant the only Sun to score more than 13 points.

The Orlando Magic continued their surprise start to the season with a dominant 120-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Franz Wagner led the way for Orlando with 26 points, followed closely by Paolo Banchero with 25.

The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Indiana Pacers 125-124 to snap a three-game losing streak.

Indiana had the chance to send the game into overtime late, but Buddy Hield missed a potential game-tying free throw.

Nikola Jokic finished one assist shy of a triple-double as he led the Denver Nuggets to a 123-101 demolition of the Chicago Bulls.

There were also big wins for the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Jayson Tatum had 32 points and reached a milestone as the Boston Celtics kept their perfect record intact with a 124-114 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

Tatum grabbed 11 rebounds and was 6 of 10 from 3-point range. He was one of five players to finish in double figures as the Celtics improved to 5-0 to remain the league’s only unbeaten team.

Tatum scored his 10,000th career point in the second quarter, becoming the youngest player in franchise history to reach that milestone.

Jaylen Brown had 23 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 22 and Jrue Holiday tallied 18 points and 10 assists for Boston, which is off to its best start since opening 6-0 in 2009-10.

The Nets cut the deficit to 96-95 on Dennis Smith Jr.’s 3-pointer with 7:47 left, but the Celtics responded with a 14-4 spurt over a two-minute span with Tatum scoring nine points in that stretch.

Cam Thomas led Brooklyn with 27 points and Spencer Dinwiddie and Mikal Bridges added 19 apiece. The Nets played without starting center Nic Claxton (sprained right ankle), starting forward Cam Johnson (strained left calf) and starting guard Ben Simmons, who sat out with back injury maintenance.

Hornets overcome Haliburton’s 43 points

Mark Williams scored 27 points and the Charlotte Hornets overcame Tyrese Haliburton’s career high-tying 43 points in a 125-124 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Gordon Hayward had 23 points and Terry Rozier added 20 before leaving in the fourth quarter with a left groin strain.

Charlotte snapped a three-game losing streak despite allowing Indiana to score 50 third-quarter points.

Williams scored on a layup with 63 seconds remaining to put the Hornets up 125-122 but Buddy Hield’s basket made it a one-point game. Hield was fouled but missed the potential game-tying free throw.

Haliburton had a chance for the winning basket but LaMelo Ball, who had 11 assists, forced a turnover before he could get a shot off.

Haliburton, who added 12 assists, tied a franchise record with 25 points in the third quarter as the Pacers erased a 54-46 halftime deficit for a 96-92 lead.

Embiid, Oubre help 76ers stay hot

Joel Embiid had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 25 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to their fourth straight win, 112-100 over the Phoenix Suns.

Tyrese Maxey shook off a slow start to finish with 22 points and 10 assists, and Tobias Harris had 18 with 10 rebounds as the 76ers won their fourth in a row since a season-opening loss to Milwaukee.

Kevin Durant kept the Suns close with 31 points, but no teammate had more than 13 points.

Phoenix played without Devin Booker (sprained left ankle) and Bradley Beal (back spasms) in its third straight loss.

Draymond Green congratulated the NBA on a "job well done" following the start of the league's inaugural in-season tournament.

The new competition started on Friday, with seven group-stage games played. The other pool games will be played on six other days across the month of November.

Green finished with 15 points as he helped the Golden State Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 141-139.

And the four-time NBA champion believes the tournament is a great idea.

"We talk about this in-season tournament and it's a playoff game," Green said.

"It was a fun game to play in. The intensity level was there.

"It's a job well done to the NBA, adding this type of excitement in November, because there'll be some dark days in November, but you get games like this, you can appreciate them. It was great."

The Warriors won in contentious circumstances, with Stephen Curry's layup with less than a second to go allowed to stand after a video review.

Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic starred for the Denver Nuggets, with 33 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists while shooting 14-for-16 from the field in a win over the Dallas Mavericks.

"What I marvel at is just the consistency," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of Jokic.

"I mean, the guy is just great every night. He's just a great player. I just love how he impacts the game in every way, shape and form. It's really the definition of greatness."

Elsewhere, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks, the Indiana Pacers saw off the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat overcame the Washington Wizards.

There were also wins for the Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers.

The Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets were among the victors as the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament began.

A last-second layup from Steph Curry was the difference for Golden State in their 141-139 group stage win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Curry finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Lu Dort top-scored for the Thunder with 29.

It also went down to the wire in Portland, where the Trail Blazers eclipsed the Memphis Grizzlies 115-113 in overtime.

After a back-and-forth first half, neither side was able to gain much of an advantage through the final two quarters.

Shaedon Sharpe’s clutch free throws drew the Trail Blazers level with eight seconds left on the clock before he blocked Luke Kennard’s attempt from the corner on the other end to force overtime.

Both teams continued to trade baskets until Jerami Grant’s late three proved enough to get Portland across the line.

A late flurry from Damian Lillard lifted the Milwaukee Bucks over the New York Knicks 110-105.

He finished with 30 points, including two clutch threes in the dying minutes, while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 22 points and eight rebounds.

The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Chicago Bulls 109-107 on the back of 41 combined points from Dorian Finney-Smith and Mikal Bridges.

Elsewhere, the Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards by seven points, Myles Turner scored 27 to lead the Indiana Pacers over the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-116, and the Denver Nuggets cruised past the Dallas Mavericks 125-114.

The in-season tournament sees each NBA team play a four-game group stage in November, with the group winners advancing to knockout rounds.

The winning team claims the NBA Cup, and its players earn 500,000dollars each, with the final to be played in Las Vegas on December 9.

Nikola Jokic scored 33 points and fell an assist shy of a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets sent the Dallas Mavericks to their first loss of the season, 125-114 on Friday in the inaugural In-Season Tournament.

Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and nine rebounds and Jamal Murray added 18 points and 13 assists to help Denver bounce back from its first loss of the season.

Jokic shot 14 of 16 and grabbed a season-high 14 boards, coming up an assist short of his 108th career triple-double.

Luka Doncic also just missed a triple-double with 34 points, 10 boards and eight assists and Kyrie Irving scored 22 points for Dallas, which opened the season 4-0.

The Mavericks were without coach Jason Kidd, who didn’t make the trip due to a non-COVID-19 illness. Top assistant Sean Sweeney took his spot on the bench.

Dallas' loss leaves 4-0 Boston as the league’s lone remaining unbeaten team.

Curry’s last-second layup lifts Warriors

Stephen Curry scored 30 points and made the winning layup with 0.2 seconds left to propel the Golden State Warriors to a 141-139 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the teams’ first In-Season Tournament game.

Curry’s basket was initially waved off because of offensive goaltending, but it was overturned, and the Warriors notched their second straight last-second win. Klay Thompson hit a jumper with less than a second remaining in Wednesday’s win over Sacramento.

Dario Saric had 20 points and Andrew Wiggins added 17 to help Golden State win its fifth straight since a season-opening loss to Phoenix.

Lu Dort led the Thunder with 29 points – including 6 of 6 from 3-point range - and Chet Holmgren had a career-high 24 on 7-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists.

Oklahoma City played without leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who sat out with a sprained knee.

Bucks overcome Brunson, Knicks

Damian Lillard scored six straight points down the stretch on his way to 30 points and the Milwaukee Bucks got past the New York Knicks, 110-105 to open the inaugural In-Season Tournament.

Milwaukee survived Jalen Brunson’s 45 points and blew a 14-point lead before Lillard sank a 3-pointer to give the Bucks a 104-103 lead with 1:03 left.

Lillard converted a three-point play 25 seconds later to make it 107-103 and sealed the win with two free throws in the waning seconds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Milwaukee, which has alternated wins and losses in each of its five games this season.

Brunson was 17 of 30 from the field and fell three points shy of his career high, set against Cleveland on March 31.

Phoenix Suns star duo Kevin Durant and Devin Booker had nothing but praise for San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama.

The Spurs beat the Suns 132-121 on Thursday, with the number one overall pick Wembanyama marking his arrival in the NBA with a 38-point performance.

Ten of those points came in the final 4:15 as the French teenager took the game away from the Suns down the stretch.

It marked the Suns' second defeat on the spin to the Spurs, and Durant and Booker, who combined for 59 points, were not afraid to pile the plaudits onto the 19-year-old swiftly emerging as San Antonio's talisman.

"He's an unbelievable talent," said Booker. "Everyone knows that. We're just trying to figure what he is because we've never seem him before.

"We got him early in the season. Hopefully, next time we play him we can make some adjustments to make it tougher. But he has an advantage being 7-4 and being able to shoot over everybody."

Two-time NBA champion Durant added: "I don't see anyone else like him in this game.

"We're both skinny and I know he watched me growing up, but he's his own player.

"His enthusiasm for the game – you can tell that through the TV and playing against him.

"He's his own player, own person. He's going to create his own lane and is much different than anyone else who has played."

Wembanyama has averaged 20.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists across his first five NBA games.

"He's a multi-faceted player – he’ll pass to the open guy," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

"He's got confidence in himself. He made some plays that were unbelievable. That combination is pretty good."

Wembanyama, though, pointed out that it remains a team game.

"Every game is different," he said. "We got our third win. Every game we try to find the spots that we need to hurt them.

"Today, it might have been in this way. Tomorrow, it will be someone else. That is how great teams work. If we want to be great, we need to play with everyone."