Ja Morant scored a game-high 49 points as the Memphis Grizzlies won 129-122 at the Houston Rockets on Friday.
Memphis trailed by 16 in the second quarter before taking the lead in the third, during which Morant scored 19 points, making eight of his nine shots.
He added a game-high eight assists and blocked two shots in the fourth quarter as Houston kept things close.
Meanwhile, defending champions Golden State Warriors had their first loss of the season against the Denver Nuggets.
Last season’s Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 26 points as part of a triple-double as Denver rebounded from their opening-game loss to beat the Warriors 128-123.
NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry put up a game-high 34 points for the Warriors, who beat the Nuggets in the first round of last season’s Western Conference play-offs.
Kevin Durant hit a tiebreaking three-pointer with 56 seconds left as the Brooklyn Nets held on for a 109-105 win over the Toronto Raptors.
The Nets, who had a 22-point loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in their season opener, almost let the game slip as they led 100-88 with five minutes remaining.
Durant finished with 27 points but Kyrie Irving led the Nets with 30 points and added seven assists.
Friday’s other games also saw Trae Young score 23 of his 25 points in the second half and finish with 13 assists to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 108-98 win at home to the Orlando Magic.
