LeBron James scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while missing much of the second half with leg cramps, Dwyane Wade scored 29 points and the NBA champion Heat beat the Celtics 120-107 last night in the season opener for both teams.
Ray Allen, in his first game with Miami since leaving Boston over the summer, added 19 points for the Heat, as did Chris Bosh. Miami handed out its championship rings and raised the banner commemorating last season in a pregame ceremony replete with an indoor fireworks show.
Paul Pierce scored 23 points, Rajon Rondo finished with 20 points and 13 assists, and Leandro Barbosa scored 16 for Boston.
Before the game, NBA commissioner David Stern handed Heat owner Micky Arison the first ring of the night, and Arison handed the others out to executives, coaches and players.
James went last, as the crowd roared for the reigning NBA MVP.
“It’s not given,” James said earlier yesterday. “These moments are not given.”
Stern gave brief remarks to the crowd, starting his address by mentioning “those who were affected” by Hurricane Sandy, which struck the East Coast earlier this week. (Stern misspoke and referred to the storm Hurricane Katrina, though his point was clear.) He congratulated Heat executives and coaches, then lauded Miami’s players.
“And congratulations to the Miami Heat fans,” Stern said.
The rings had the words “All In” on one side, and “Family” underneath two images of the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the other. James hugged Stern briefly as the commissioner said a few words, then got a few words from Arison before checking out the box that held his newest bauble.
Players posed for a quick photo as the banner started being raised, then James and others took their rings out to examine the detail. He touched the banner as it rose behind him, then went back to checking out the ring.
Cavaliers 94 Wizards 84
In Cleveland, Kyrie Irving scored 29 points, Anderson Varejao had a career-high 23 rebounds and the Cavaliers opened the season with a 94-84 victory over the short-handed Wizards.
Rookie Dion Waiters added 17 points for the Cavs, who led by 16 in the third quarter but needed big plays from Irving and Varejao in the final minutes to hold off the Wizards, who scored the first 14 points of the fourth. Varejao had a career-high nine assists, two setting up dunks by Tristan Thompson in the last two minutes.
Jordan Crawford scored 11 points to lead the Wizards, who were without star point guard John Wall, power forward Nene and forward Kevin Seraphin. Wall, the former No. 1 overall pick, is expected to be out until late November with a knee injury.
Irving, the NBA’s reigning rookie of the year, began his second season with a strong performance alongside Waiters, a surprising No. 4 overall pick. Waiters didn’t start a game at Syracuse, but Cavs coach Byron Scott has been impressed with his progress and wanted to pair his two young guards together from the outset.
PACERS: Indiana will start the season without star forward Danny Granger, who has been sidelined indefinitely with a sore left knee.
The team said yesterday its top scorer and former All-Star is seeking a second opinion from a doctor as he continues to recover from a knee injury suffered during last spring’s Eastern Conference semifinals.