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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, October 29, 2009

Rockets up to challenge, rally to defeat Warriors


Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Golden State's Monta Ellis shoots over Houston's Trevor Ariza in last night's season opener for both in Oakland.

BEN MARGOT | Associated Press

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OAKLAND, Calif. — Rick Adelman called his team out for being selfish and impatient. Then something clicked in the second half.

The Houston Rockets are trying to find themselves without sidelined stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, and Adelman realizes that will be a work in progress.

Luis Scola scored 15 of his 21 points in the third quarter and grabbed 11 rebounds, Aaron Brooks had 18 points and 12 assists, and the Rockets spoiled the Golden State Warriors' season opener with a 108-107 victory last night.

"We were upset at halftime," Adelman said. "The last two minutes of that second quarter we gave up four baskets for no reason. We just were not thinking. It was big for us because we're not the same team. We're trying to find out who we are. We're trying to find out how we're going to win. To come back and have a great third quarter, hopefully our team learned a lot."

Anthony Morrow missed a would-be tying 3-pointer under pressure in the waning seconds and Stephen Curry's putback at the buzzer left the Warriors a point short.

Trevor Ariza scored 14 of his 25 points in the first quarter and Houston beat the Warriors for the seventh straight time, rebounding from a season-opening loss a night earlier at Portland.

The Rockets took a ferry from San Francisco, where they stayed across the bay, to Oakland. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is temporarily closed for emergency repairs after a cable on the bridge's upper deck snapped Tuesday.

"I hear the bridge was messed up," Warriors forward Stephen Jackson said. "That says a lot about them that they had travel problems and still came in and got a win."

RAPTORS 101, CAVALIERS 91

Andrea Bargnani scored 28 points, Chris Bosh had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and host Toronto overcame LeBron James' 25th career triple-double (23 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds) to hand Cleveland its second straight loss.

HAWKS 120, PACERS 109

Joe Johnson scored 25 points, Al Horford had 24 and host Atlanta turned 25 turnovers into 32 points to defeat Indiana, which trailed just 95-94 entering the fourth quarter.

CELTICS 92, BOBCATS 59

Kevin Garnett scored 10 points with seven rebounds over 26 easy minutes as host Boston held Charlotte to a franchise-low in scoring.

MAGIC 120, 76ERS 106

Dwight Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Vince Carter scored 15 points and host Orlando opened a 23-point halftime cushion in cruising past Philadelphia.

HEAT 115, KNICKS 93

Dwyane Wade began defense of his NBA scoring title with 26 points and Jermaine O'Neal finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds as host Miami romped past New York.

THUNDER 102, KINGS 89

Kevin Durant had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Jeff Green added 24 points and host Oklahoma City led from start to finish to defeat Sacramento and spoil Paul Westphal's debut as coach.

SPURS 113, HORNETS 96

Tony Parker scored 17 points before leaving the game after a hard fall in the third quarter and host San Antonio took an 88-68 lead into the fourth quarter.

TIMBERWOLVES 95, NETS 93

Jonny Flynn scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to help host Minnesota erase a 19-point deficit and Damien Wilkins hit a putback at the buzzer to beat New Jersey.

PISTONS 96, GRIZZLIES 74

Richard Hamilton scored 25 points, Ben Gordon added 22, and visiting Detroit never trailed after Kwame Brown's dunk broke a 20-all tie with 1:10 left in the first quarter in beating Memphis.

SUNS 109, CLIPPERS 107

Steve Nash scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, including a layup for a 109-107 lead with five seconds remaining, as visiting Phoenix rallied to hand Los Angeles its second straight loss.

NUGGETS 114, JAZZ 105

Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 30 points and rookie Ty Lawson scored seven of his 17 points in a pivotal fourth quarter when host Denver opened with a 9-0 run for a 91-80 lead in beating Utah.

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