Top Stories

• Jimmy, Heat bounce back against Charlotte

• Boston holds off Detroit to stay undefeated

• Are the Denver Nuggets in trouble?

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Games of the day

Last Night’s Top Games! (link to the box scores of every game from yesterday)

Jimmy Butler scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Tyler Herro added five 3-pointers and 22 points and the Miami Heat ruined the Charlotte Hornets’ home opener with 114-106 victory. Terry Rozier had 19 points and Bam Adebayo finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Miami. Butler added eight assists and eight rebounds. LaMelo Ball had 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Hornets. After struggling in their season opener, the Heat began to put things together, shutting down three different runss by the Hornets with Butler, Herro and Duncan Robinson all hitting big 3s.

Jayson Tatum scored six of his 37 points in the final minute and the Boston Celtics held on for a 124-118 victory over the Detroit Pistons. The Celtics led by as many as 23 points in the first half, but trailed for much of the third quarter. Jrue Holiday tied the game with back-to-back 3-pointers, and Tatum put the Celtics up 116-114 by hitting a pair of free throws with 1:05 left. The Pistons missed two shots on the ensuing possession and Tatum's jumper made it 118-114 with 29 seconds left. Malik Beasley's 3-pointer pulled Detroit within one, but Derrick White hit two free throws and Boston clinched the game from the line. Jaylen Brown had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Boston. Jaden Ivey had 26 points for Detroit while Cade Cunningham finished with 21 points and 10 assists.

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League News

Around the League

• James Harden had 23 points and 16 assists, Norman Powell scored 26 of his 37 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame Nikola Jokic's 41 points to beat the Denver Nuggets 109-104. Jokic made a career-high seven 3-pointers but missed a free throw with 20 seconds left that would have tied the game. Harden made four from the line in the final 30 seconds. The Clippers trailed 103-100 when Powell hit a 3-pointer. Jamal Murray, who had 22 points, missed a layup and Harden then made two free throws. After Jokic split a pair from the line, Harden made two more foul shots to make it 107-104 and Jokic missed an off-balance 3-pointer. This loss dropped Denver to 0-2 on the season, with quite a few concerns. After losing KCP, who was their only 40% 3PT shooter, in the offseason, Denver has been abysmal from 3. Their defense has been horrible as well, with opposing guards and big men going for monster games. Russ off the bench hasn’t been a success so far either, with him going 0-6 from the field last night. Not all of that blame can be put on him though, as Denver’s bench might be the worst in the league. This year Nikola Jokic might not be able to do it alone. 2 games into the season isn’t a point to panic, but it is time to look at some changes.

• Injury Updates: Joel Embiid (conditioning) will miss some time, at least 3 games according to the Sixers. Paul George (knee) hyperextended it during the preseason, and will be re-evaluated later this week. Kawhi Leonard (knee) is out indefinitely, and his recovery might “take longer than expected” according to the team. Kristaps Porzingis (foot) is still recovering from offseason surgery and will miss some games. Khris Middleton (ankle) will miss a few games. Isaiah Hartenstein (hand) will be re-evaluated in 5-6 weeks with a fracture. Dejounte Murray (hand) is confirmed to have fractured it and will miss a few weeks. James Wiseman tore his achilles and will be out indefinitely. Brandon Miller (hamstring) will be re-evaluated in 1 week. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

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Fantasy Leaders

Sabonis puts up great numbers, but loses to AD for the first time in his career

Overtime Thoughts