Damian Lillard scored 30 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 25 as the Milwaukee Bucks rolled to a 124-109 victory over the injury-depleted Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday in the NBA season-opener for both teams.
The Sixers, without Joel Embiid and off-season acquisition Paul George, couldn’t keep pace with the Bucks, who had 16 points from Taurean Prince and 16 off the bench from Bobby Portis.
Embiid, the Cameroon-born big man who helped the United States to Olympic gold in Paris, missed all of the pre-season as part of the management plan for his surgically repaired left knee.
The Sixers said Tuesday he will miss the first week of the regular season while George, a nine-time All-Star, had his Philadelphia debut delayed by a pre-season bone bruise in his left knee.
A strong start from Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey and an energetic attack of the offensive glass saw the Sixers take a one-point lead after the opening quarter.
But Lillard and the Bucks found their groove, Lillard’s three-pointer midway through the second quarter giving Milwaukee a 36-33 lead and his driving finger-roll layup pushing the advantage to 58-45 with 33.4 seconds left in the first half.
Milwaukee led 58-47 at halftime and pushed the advantage to as many as 22 after the break.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo showed no sign of the knee tendinitis that’s been troubling him, adding 14 rebounds and seven assists.
In other games on Wednesday, Kevin Durant scored 25 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 116-113 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers were playing their first regular season fixture in their new state-of-the-art Intuit Dome arena.
But the buoyant mood amongst the home fans was spoiled after a late rally by Phoenix sent the game to overtime.
Clippers star James Harden missed a free throw with four seconds of overtime remaining that would have tied the scores, allowing Phoenix to snatch a slender win.
“This is just one game — we want to keep building,” Durant told ESPN after the victory. “We just have a system that we can rely on for four quarters.”
Elsewhere, No. 1 overall draft pick Zaccharie Risacher of France got his rookie season off to a promising start in the Atlanta Hawks’ 120-116 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
The French 19-year-old came off the bench late in the first quarter and drained a three-pointer on his first attempt from the floor. He finished with seven points for Atlanta, who were led by 30 from Trae Young.
Young also handed out 12 assists and Onyeka Okongwu scored a career-high 28 points off the bench for the Hawks.
Cam Thomas scored 36 points to lead the Nets, but it was a defeat for Spain’s Jordi Fernandez in his first game as an NBA head coach.
– Pacers top Pistons –
A new season brought a familiar sinking feeling for the Detroit Pistons, who took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter against Indiana only for the Pacers to fight back for a 115-109 victory.
Myles Turner scored 20 points and Bennedict Mathurin scored 14 of his 19 points in the final period, when the Pacers out-scored the Pistons 33-19 to take control.
It was a dream return for Mathurin, whose 2023-24 season was cut short by a shoulder injury that required surgery in March.
“Stepping away from the game for seven months makes you realize how blessed I am,” Mathurin said. “I’m just really excited we got the win tonight.”
The Pistons are hoping to turn the page on a league-worst 14-68 campaign last season. But new coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s tenure started with another defeat.
“I thought our guys did a really good job, they competed their tails off,” Bickerstaff said.
In Portland meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors launched the post-Klay Thompson era with a blowout victory over the Trail Blazers, romping to a 139-104 win.
Buddy Hield led the scoring with 22 points off the bench for Golden State, while Steph Curry added 17.
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