Chicago guard Jimmy Butler helped the Bulls withstand some shaky moments by scoring 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter during a wire-to-wire 115-100 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday. After getting 17 in the season opener against Cleveland, Butler led six players in double figures, shooting 9-of-11 and making his final five shots. "A lot," Butler said when asked how much more energy he had after shadowing LeBron James for 36 minutes in Tuesday's opener. "But we were making shots tonight so it made it a lot easier to drive to the rim and everybody's taking and making threes, we're hard to guard." Besides Butler, forward Nikola Mirotic knocked down four of Chicago's 14 three-pointers and added 18 points. Center Pau Gasol nearly had a double-double with 16 and nine while point guard Derrick Rose consistently attacked the rim and contributed 15 as the Bulls shot 53.8 percent (42-of-78) and made 14-of-28 shots from behind the arc. While Chicago's offense was flowing, the Nets struggled offensively and dropped their first home opener since moving to Brooklyn in 2012. Center Brook Lopez led Brooklyn with 26 points but was 1-for-6 in the third quarter when the Nets shot 19 percent. Wizards 88, Magic 87 John Wall scored 22 points, including the winning basket with 12 seconds remaining, to lead the Washington Wizards to an 88-87 victory over the Orlando Magic. Bradley Beal had 24 points and six rebounds for the opening night victory while the Magic were led by Victor Oladipo, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Celtics 112, 76ers 95 The Boston Celtics overcame an early nine-point deficit and cruised to a 112-95 victory over the young Philadelphia 76ers in the opener for both teams. The loss spoiled the NBA debut of Jahlil Okafor, the third pick of the 2015 NBA draft. The Duke product sparkled early and late, scoring 10 points in his first 5 1/2 minutes and finishing a strong debut impressively. Pistons 92, Jazz 87 Reggie Jackson led a balanced attack with 19 points and scored the go-ahead basket with 17 seconds left as the Detroit Pistons beat the Utah Jazz 92-87 in the home opener at The Palace. Heat 104, Hornets 94 The Miami Heat, with power forward Chris Bosh back in their lineup for the first since just before the 2015 All Star Game, defeated the Charlotte Hornets 104-94 Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. Bosh, who was hospitalized last year due to blood clots in his lungs, had a game-high 21 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in his return. He helped the Heat win their 12th straight home game in their series against Charlotte. Cavaliers 106, Grizzlies 76 Kevin Love had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Richard Jefferson added 14 points to lead the defending Eastern Conference champions Cleveland Cavaliers to a 106-76 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Cavaliers, who lost their season opener Tuesday in Chicago, built an early lead by taking advantage of poor Memphis shooting and were never threatened. They led by 16 points at the end of the first quarter, by 21 at halftime and by 24 after three quarters. Nuggets 105, Rockets 85 Danilo Gallinari scored a game-high 23 points, and Kenneth Faried and Emmanuel Mudiay flirted with double-doubles, as the Denver Nuggets stunned the Houston Rockets 105-85 at Toyota Center. In other games it was: Raptors 106, Pacers 99; Thunder 112, Spurs 106; Knicks 122, Bucks 97; Trail Blazers 112, Pelicans 94; Clippers 111, Kings 104; Mavericks 111, Suns 95; Timberwolves 112, Lakers 111. — Agencies
