New York (AFP) – In their first game since guard Terry Rozier was arrested in an FBI sports gambling probe, his Miami Heat teammates unleashed a scoring barrage in a 146-114 NBA win at Memphis on Friday. Bam Adebayo scored 24 points and reserve Nikola Jovic added 20 to lead eight double-digit scorers as the Heat (1-1) produced the third-highest one-game point total in team history. Miami also scored a one-half team record 86 points in the first two quarters in taking a 86-47 halftime lead, the largest in Heat history dating to 1988.
As the scandal swirled around the league on the fourth day of the 2025-26 campaign, Adebayo made it clear Rozier has Heat players’ backing. “We stand behind him. Full support,” Adebayo said. “You support him through and through. That’s our brother at the end of the day.” Rozier and Portland head coach Chauncey Billups were placed on indefinite leave by the NBA after being arrested Thursday in the gambling investigation. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the hectic NBA schedule leaves the team no choice but to move ahead quickly without Rozier, who didn’t play in a season-opening loss on Wednesday. “Terry is somebody who is very dear to all of us,” Spoelstra said. “He’s had a real positive impact on our locker room… We send our thoughts and our care for him as he goes through this.”
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Portland routed visiting Golden State 139-119 in the first Trail Blazers contest since Billups was arrested, with Brazilian Tiago Splitter guiding the effort as Portland’s interim head coach. “We all had great experiences with Chauncey and how he coached,” Splitter said. “We’re thinking of him and his family but we have a job to do.” Israeli forward Deni Avdija’s 26 points led eight Trail Blazers scorers in double figures. “It’s a tough moment but I got to do my job,” Splitter said. “I’m looking forward to showing my skills and leading a team… I wasn’t expecting this but I have to be ready.”
At Los Angeles, Luka Doncic scored 49 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and passed off eight assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over Minnesota 128-110. Doncic, who scored 43 points in a season-opening loss to Golden State, became the first Laker to open a season with back-to-back 40-point efforts. The 26-year-old Slovenian guard scored 23 points in the first quarter to match a team record shared by Kobe Bryant and Kyle Kuzma. “They didn’t have much when I was attacking the paint in the first half,” Doncic said. “In the second half, we had energy.”
Donovan Mitchell’s 35 points powered Cleveland to a 131-124 victory at Brooklyn. Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and passed off seven assists while Cole Anthony added 23 points off the bench to lead Milwaukee’s 122-116 victory at Toronto. Jalen Brunson’s 31 points plus 26 points and 13 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns led New York over visiting Boston 105-95. Frenchman Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked nine shots to spark San Antonio’s 120-116 overtime triumph at New Orleans. Detroit’s Cade Cunningham had 21 points and Ausar Thompson added 19 to power the Pistons’ 115-111 victory at Houston, which had 37 points from Kevin Durant.
Kyshawn George had 34 points and 11 rebounds to spark Washington to a 117-107 victory at Dallas, where Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said he hopes the scandal does not diminish attention to players. “Hopefully that doesn’t overshadow what these young men are doing because it’s a beautiful game. They’re playing the game at a high level… Hopefully they can get that fixed.” Kidd said the scandal might reinforce NBA instruction about gambling issues. “The league does an incredible job of talking about that. There’s a lot of literature that goes out,” Kidd said. “The league has done a great job of teaching and showing and now we have real life examples. We’ll learn from this and be better.”
Domantas Sabonis sank the winning jumper with 6.4 seconds remaining to give Sacramento a 105-104 home win over Utah. Zach LaVine led the Kings with 31 points. Sabonis had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
© 2024 AFP
