National Basketball Association

Howard, Lin make winning debuts, Pacers roll to 2-0

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:32 p.m. ET

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NEW YORK (AP) Dwight Howard and Jeremy Lin got off to winning starts with their new teams.

Change is also working perfectly for the Indiana Pacers, who are delivering the type of offense Larry Bird wants.

Howard had six points and seven rebounds in about 18 minutes of his Atlanta debut, helping the Hawks to a 104-83 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.

Howard is now playing for his hometown team, while Lin is back in the city where he was a breakout star with the New York Knicks. Now playing for the crosstown Nets, he scored 21 points in 17 minutes of Brooklyn's 101-94 victory over Detroit.

The Pacers became the first team to start 2-0 by beating Chicago 115-108. Bird sought a higher-scoring, faster-playing team when he fired coach Frank Vogel and replaced him with Nate McMillan, and Indiana is averaging 114 points thus far.

HAWKS 104, GRIZZLIES 93

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Walter Tavares had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta, going 7 for 8 from the field.

Troy Williams led Memphis with 15 points.

HAWKS: Howard was 3 for 7 from the field. ... Rookie DeAndre Bembry scored 12 points in his debut. ... With Al Horford gone and Paul Millsap recovering from knee surgery, Howard and Mike Muscala started in the frontcourt with Kent Bazemore.

GRIZZLIES: Zach Randolph, now coming off the bench, had 10 points in 16 minutes. ... Marc Gasol finished with seven points and one rebound in 15 minutes of his second game since returning from a broken foot. ... DJ Stephen scored 13 points.

UP NEXT: Atlanta (1-0) visits San Antonio on Saturday. Memphis (1-1) hosts Philadelphia on Tuesday.

NETS 101, PISTONS 94

NEW YORK - Lin made five 3-pointers and shot 7 for 11 from the field as the Nets won their opener under new coach Kenny Atkinson.

Andre Drummond finished with 17 points and 21 rebounds in Detroit's opener.

PISTONS: Ish Smith had four points starting for injured point guard Reggie Jackson, who has left knee tendinitis. The Pistons hope there will be a treatment plan for Jackson in the coming days, after which they could determine how long he will be sidelined. ... Marcus Morris scored 17 points and Tobias Harris had 15. ... Drummond played 24 minutes, likely keeping him from a 20-point, 20-rebound game. He led the NBA with five last season. Nobody else had more than two.

NETS: Joe Harris scored 12 points and Luis Scola had 10, making his first three 3-point attempts. ... The Nets made 10 of their first 14 shots. ... Sean Kilpatrick shot 0 for 7. ... The Nets will visit the New York Knicks on Saturday and host them on Oct. 20 in their exhibition finale. It's the first time the city rivals have played in the preseason since Oct. 24, 2012, when they met at the Nassau Coliseum.

UP NEXT: Detroit (0-1) hosts San Antonio on Monday. Brooklyn (1-0) visits New York on Saturday.

PACERS 115, BULLS 108

INDIANPOLIS - Rodney Stuckey came off the bench for 20 points and seven assists to lead Indiana.

Al Jefferson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, also coming off the bench.

Rajon Rondo had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, adding five rebounds and five assists.

BULLS: Dwyane Wade shot 3 for 9, finishing with 10 points. ... Nikola Mirotic was 1 for 7 for the second straight game, missing all five 3-point attempts. He was 0 for 3 behind the arc in the opener against Milwaukee. ... Spencer Dinwiddie led the Bulls with 19 points.

PACERS: Thaddeus Young scored 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting and added eight rebounds and four assists. ... Paul George was just 3 for 11, finishing with seven points and six rebounds. ... The Pacers beat New Orleans 113-96 in their opener.

UP NEXT: Chicago (0-2) and Indiana (2-0) meet again Saturday in Chicago.

CELTICS 107, HORNETS 92

GREENBORO, N.C. - All-Star Isaiah Thomas scored 15 points and Al Horford had 13 as the Celtics got their first preseason victory.

Avery Bradley and Terry Rozier both scored 14 points in the first of two straight neutral-site games between the teams.

Kemba Walker scored four points in 9 minutes of his preseason debut.

CELTICS: No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown scored 12 points. ... Thomas and Bradley had five assists each.

HORNETS: Jeremy Lamb led Charlotte with 16 points and 10 rebounds, going 7 for 11 from the field. ... Nicolas Batum was just 3 for 11 from the field. ... Frank Kaminsky had 10 points and six rebounds.

UP NEXT: Charlotte (0-2) and Boston (1-1) meet Saturday in Uncasville, Connecticut.

WIZARDS 125, 76ERS 119, 2 OT

PHILADELPHIA - Kelly Oubre scored 24 points as Washington outlasted Philadelphia for its first preseason victory under Scott Brooks.

Dario Saric had 14 points for Philadelphia and fellow rookie Joel Embiid had five points and three rebounds.

WIZARDS: Sheldon McClellan had 20 points and Marcin Gortat scored 17. ... Bradley Beal missed nine of his 12 shots.

76ERS: Richaun Holmes led Philadelphia with 20 points and 12 rebounds. ... Jerami Grant scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. ... Hollis Thompson scored 15.

UP NEXT: Washington (1-1) visits New York on Monday. Philadelphia (1-1) visits Cleveland on Saturday.

WARRIORS 105, KINGS 96

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Kevin Durant scored 25 points on 8-for-11 shooting and Golden State pulled way to the victory over its Northern California rival.

The Warriors have won two straight since dropping their first preseason game after Durant left Oklahoma City to sign with them.

DeMarcus Cousins had 20 points for Sacramento, which has dropped both games under new coach Dave Joerger.

KINGS: Cousins was 8 for 11 from the field and grabbed six rebounds and had four steals. ... Matt Barnes had 12 points and eight rebounds but struggled with his shooting (4 for 12), as did Rudy Gay (1 for 7).

WARRIORS: Stephen Curry had 13 points, five assists and four steals. ... Ian Clark scored 16 points, making four 3-pointers. Durant also made four. ... Golden State is off for more than a week before traveling to Denver for a game on Oct. 14.

UP NEXT: Sacramento (0-2) hosts Maccabi Haifa on Monday. Golden State (2-1) visits Denver on Oct. 14.