A hectic second night of the new NBA season saw 28 of the 30 teams in action as the 2015-16 campaign got well and truly underway.
The standout fixture of evening saw two of the favourites to win the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, do battle at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Billy Donovan's first game in charge of the Thunder.
The Spurs led going into the final quarter, but OKC won the fourth frame by 10 points to come out on top. Russell Westbrook top-scored with 33 points and also had 10 assists, while Kawhi Leonard scored a career-high 32 points in defeat and also impressed with his defence of Kevin Durant (6-19 for 22 points).
The Cleveland Cavaliers recovered from their opening-night defeat by cruising to victory away at the Memphis Grizzlies.
Memphis put up just 10 points in the opening quarter and Cleveland ended up winning by 30, with Kevin Love scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans are 0-2 after starting slowly in last night's match at the Portland Trail Blazers.
Portland put up 70 points to the Pelicans' 43 in the first half, with Davis scoring 25 points as CJ McCollum starred for the new-look Blazers with a career-high 37.
At Sleep Train Arena, DeMarcus Cousins and Blake Griffin went head to head and it was Griffin's Los Angeles Clippers that got the win over the Sacramento Kings.
Cousins put up 32 points and 13 points, but Griffin top-scored with 33 as the Clippers hung on in the closing stages after surrendering a 15-point lead.
After a steely win on the opening night over the Cavs, the Chicago Bulls went 2-0 with a 15-point victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Jimmy Butler led the way with 24 points as all five Bulls starters posted double-figure totals at Barclays Center.
Another team now 2-0 are the Detroit Pistons, who, after surprising the Atlanta Hawks on opening night, won their first home match of the season over the Utah Jazz.
Center Andre Drummond again impressed with 18 points and 10 rebounds and appears to have improved his shooting from the free-throw line, going eight of 11 from the stripe last night.
Chris Bosh starred on his return to action after missing the end of last season with a blood clot and pneumonia, leading the Miami Heat to victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Bosh had 21 points to lead all scorers as Miami made it 14 straight wins at home over Charlotte since January 2010.
The New York Knicks impressed in their opener with a 25-point triumph away at the Milwaukee Bucks.
A 15-0 run between the first and second quarters helped the Knicks pull away, with Derrick Williams (24 points) and rookie Kristaps Porzingis (16 points) standing out.
The Denver Nuggets caused an upset, hammering the Houston Rockets by a 20-point margin on the road to get their season off to a winning start.
Danilo Gallinari led all scorers with 23 points for the visitors, while rookie Emmanuel Mudiay also impressed for Denver with 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
It was an emotional night for the Minnesota Timberwolves as they played their first match since the death of coach and general manager Flip Saunders.
Ricky Rubio led the Wolves to a rousing late victory, scoring a career-high 28 points and providing 14 assists as Minnesota rallied from behind to edge a close game 112-111 at Staples Center.
There was late drama at Amway Center as the Orlando Magic lost out to the Washington Wizards in another one-point affair.
John Wall had given Washington the lead with 12 seconds to go but then Orlando went close to snatching back the lead as the ball rested on the rim before dropping away.
The Toronto Raptors won their fifth straight match against the Indiana Pacers with a 106-99 victory at Air Canada Centre.
DeMar DeRozan's 25 points helped the hosts, while Paul George did a bit of everything for Indiana with 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
The Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 112-95 at TD Garden, with Isaiah Thomas leading a strong bench performance by the home side with 27 points and seven assists.
Sixers rookie Jahlil Okafor, selected third in this year's Draft, impressed on his debut with 26 points on 10-16 shooting.
A balanced performance in which eight players got into double figures helped the Dallas Mavericks overcome the Phoenix Suns.
Raymond Felton led the way with 18 as Rick Carlisle's side won by 15 points at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Results in full: Washington Wizards 88-87 Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers 95-112 Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls 115-100 Brooklyn Nets, Utah Jazz 87-92 Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets 94-104 Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers 99-106 Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets 105-85 Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers 106-76 Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks 122-97 Milwaukee Bucks, San Antonio Spurs 106-112 Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks 111-95 Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans 94-112 Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers 111-104 Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves 112-111 Los Angeles Lakers
Pascal Lemesre
