Nba Season Opener | featured news

Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points as the Knicks defeated the Celtics, 106-104, in the N.B.A.’s belated return after a long, strange off-season.

LeBron James scored a game-high 31 points for the Miami Heat, but neither Dwyane Wade nor Chris Bosh were in All-Star form in the loss to the Boston Celtics.

There was no championship hangover for these Lakers. Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and Andrew Bynum added 26 on his 22nd birthday as the reigning NBA champions opened defense of their title Tuesday night with a 99-92 victory over the Clippers, their Staples Center co-tenants who played without injured No. 1 overall draft pick Blake Griffin.

Paul Pierce scored 23 points, Ray Allen 16 and Kevin Garnett 13 in his first regular-season game since last March as the Celtics, overlooked by some this preseason, ended an 11-game losing streak in Cleveland and snapped a 16-game skid by visiting teams in games between the Eastern powers who figure to meet again sometime in May or June.