Spen cer Hawes had 16 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the 76ers to an 84-75 win over the Nuggets last night in Philadelphia.
Hawes was set to start at power forward alongside Andrew Bynum until the All-Star center’s knee injury forced third-year coach Doug Collins to shuffle his lineup. Hawes accepted the shift to sixth man without complaint and proved how valuable he will be around the basket with Bynum absent.
Hawes and Jrue Holiday turned away a Nuggets team late in the fourth that whittled a 13-point deficit down to one off a Ty Lawson jumper.
Holiday (14 points, 11 assists), stating his case for a max money contract extension, was fouled on a fallaway jumper and made the free throw for a 74-70 lead. Hawes then stuffed a driving Lawson, was fouled, and made two free throws to stretch it back to six in a matter of seconds.
Hawes buried a jumper to make it 78-70 and the crowd went wild with “MVP” chants.
Andre Iguodala scored 11 points in his first game since the Sixers traded him to Denver in the four-team deal that netted them Bynum.
Blazers 116, Lakers 106
In Porltland, Dwight Howard’s 33 points and 14 rebounds were not enough for the Lakers, who lost their second straight game. Nicolas Batum led Portland with 26 points. Steve Nash left the game in the first half with a knee injury.
Pacers 90, Raptors 88
In Toronto, George Hill scored the go-ahead basket with two seconds left, completing the Pacers’ rally.
David West scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and Paul George had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Pacers, who trailed 84-74 with just under six minutes left.
Spurs 99, Hornets 95
In New Orleans, Tim Duncan scored 24 points, Tony Parker hit a huge 3-pointer, and the Spurs opened the season with a victory over the Hornets in the debut for top draft pick Anthony Davis, who had 21 points and seven rebounds.
Warriors 87, Suns 85
In Phoenix, Carl Landry scored 14 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and the Warriors overcame an awful post-contract night by Stephen Curry to beat the Suns.
Curry, who earlier in the day agreed to a four-year, $44 million extension with the Warriors, missed his first 10 shots from the field and wound up 2 of 14 with five points. He missed two free throws with 4.4 seconds left to allow the Suns a chance at a game-winning shot, but Sebastian Telfair misfired at a 3-point attempt that came after the buzzer.
Jazz 113, Mavericks 94
In Salt Lake City, Mo Williams and Marvin Williams each scored 21 points to lead the Jazz over Dallas.
Bulls 93, Kings 87
In Chicago, Joakim Noah scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Bulls got off to a good start without Derrick Rose.
Clippers 101, Grizzlies 92
In Los Angeles, Jamal Crawford scored 29 points in 30 minutes in his first official game with his new team, and the Clippers converted 21 turnovers into 29 points.
Rudy Gay led Memphis with 25 points.