NBA: Pacers, 76ers get early wins

The Indiana Pacers and the Philadelphia 76ers got their years off on the right foot, as they beat separate foes on Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time), in their NBA season openers. The Pacers managed a gutsy 90-88 win over the Toronto Raptors, while the 76ers defeated former star Andre Iguodala's new team, the Denver Nuggets, 84-75. At the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, the hometown 76ers lead by as much as 14 points as they held off the visiting Denver Nuggets. Though they were without center Andrew Bynum (knee injury_, whom they acquired in the multiple-team trade that saw Andre Iguodala, their former marquee player, head to Denver, Philly's revamped line-up was still able to triumph comfortably. Up by three at the end of the first period, 25-22, a three-pointer by Ty Lawson managed to knot things at 38-all at the 1:36 mark of the second, before Philly closed out the half with an 8-0 run. Back-to-back hits by Lawson made it a one-point game, 71-70, with 4:41 left in the final quarter, but the 76ers got scores from Jrue Holiday and Spencer Hawes to close out the game with a 9-1 run. Hawes pulled off a double-double coming off the bench with 16 points and 12 rebounds, plus five blocked shots, while Holiday and offseason signing Dorell Wright added 14 each. Jason Richardson, also acquired in that trade, poured in 10 points. Iguodala was limited to 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in his first game as a Nuggget. Lawson led all scorers with 16 points, while also chiming in five boards, seven dimes and two swipes. The Nuggets fell despite a 48-26 advantage in points in the paint. Over in Toronto, the Pacers stormed back from an 11-point deficit, as they outscored the Raptors 27-17 in the final period to win the game. Down by eight after a Kyle Lowry finger roll, 86-78 with 4:31 left, David West and George Hill scored seven unanswered to get within a point, 86-85, with 2:37 remaining. Lowry gave his side a brief respite with two charities, but a jumper by West and a split at the line by Hill knotted things at 88-all, a little under a minute left to play. On the next possession, newly-extended DeMar DeRozan (four years, $42 million) missed a point-blank shot, which opened the door for Hill to connect on a go-ahead hook that made it 90-88 in the Pacers' favor, with 2.1 seconds left. Toronto sued for time, and went to their star Andrea Bargnani, but the Italian big man missed a 16-footer with 0.3 seconds left, to give Indiana the victory. David West led all players with 25 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Roy Hibbert added 14 markers and five swats, while Paul George pulled off a massive double-double, 14 points, 15 rebounds, plus five assists. Lowry, signed in the offseason to take the lead point guard role for Toronto, had 21 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Bargnani scored 16, while Jose Calderon came off the bench for 15 points on 50 percent shooting. - AMD, GMA News