AP National Sports

By The Associated Press Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros got the jump on the New York Yankees. Now they’ll try to take a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series when All-Star lefty Framber Valdez pitches against Yankees right-hander Luis Severino on Thursday night in Houston. It’s a day off in the NLCS, with

By W.G. RAMIREZ Associated Press HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams stepped to the lectern for his weekly news conference with five minutes to spare before team meetings. He used about four of them and had nothing more than Sunday’s opponent, the Houston Texans, on his mind. Speaking to reporters

By JOSH DUBOW AP Sports Writer SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jerami Grant converted a three-point play with 50.4 seconds to play to give Portland the lead and the Trail Blazers spoiled Mike Brown’s coaching debut in Sacramento with a 113-108 win over the Kings. Grant scored 23 points to lead Portland and Anfernee Simons added

By CHRIS TALBOTT Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Justin Faulk scored his second goal of the game at 2:50 of overtime and the St. Louis Blues beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Wednesday night. Vladimir Tarasenko took advantage of a defensive miscue behind the net and found Faulk in front of the net for his

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 28 points, Damion Lee made a go-ahead baseline jumper with 9.7 seconds left and the Phoenix Suns rallied from 22 points down in the third quarter to beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-105 on Wednesday in the season opener for both teams. Lee hit

By The Associated Press American forward Ricardo Pepi got his fifth goal in six games for Groningen, scoring in the 90th minute of a 3-0 win at Dordrecht in the first round of the Dutch Cup. Pepi tapped the ball past goalkeeper Trevor Doornbusch from 6 yards following a cross from Florian Krüger, capping a

TORONTO (AP) — Cavaliers All-Star point guard Darius Garland left Wednesday’s season-opening loss at Toronto in the second quarter after injuring his left eye in a collision with Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Garland was bleeding from a cut inside the left eyelid after Trent accidentally poked Garland in the

By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer HOUSTON (AP) — When Justin Verlander was laboring and needed 45 pitches to get through two innings, Astros manager Dusty Baker was worried he’d have to go to his bullpen early. Instead, the veteran ace buckled down and found a groove, striking out 11 in six strong innings to

By MATTHEW COLES Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Collin Sexton scored 20 points, Lauri Markkanen added 17 and the new-look Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 123-102 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams. New Jazz coach Will Hardy, a former assistant with the Boston Celtics, won his first game.

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — Neal Pionk scored his second goal of the game 31 seconds into overtime and the Winnipeg Jets regrouped after squandering a two-goal lead to beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-3. Pionk’s slap shot from the right side froze Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev as he scored his first

By CLAY BAILEY Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant had 34 points and nine assists, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the New York Knicks 115-112 in overtime in the season opener for both teams. Santi Aldama had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, and Desmond Bane finished with 16 points. Julius Randle

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rudy Gobert had 23 points and 16 rebounds in his Minnesota debut as the Timberwolves recovered to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-108 in the season opener. D’Angelo Russell had 20 points and Jaden McDaniels added 19 points for the Timberwolves. They turned a 16-point lead

By LARRY LAGE AP Sports Writer DETROIT (AP) — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 24 points in his debut with Detroit, helping the Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 113-109 on Wednesday night. Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick last summer, had 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists in an impressive NBA debut. Cade Cunningham,

By RAUL DOMINGUEZ Associated Press SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Terry Rozier had 24 points and six others scored in double figures as the Charlotte Hornets routed the San Antonio Spurs 129-102.  The Spurs opened their 50th season in San Antonio inauspiciously, losing its season opener for only the third time under Gregg Popovich.  P.J. Washington

By GEORGE RICHARDS Associated Press SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe scored twice, Rudolfs Balcers and Josh Mahura each had third-period goals and the Florida Panthers held on to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 on Wednesday night. Balcers’ goal, his first with Florida after signing in the offseason, put the Panthers on top for good.

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 23 points and Kyle Kuzma added 20 as the Washington Wizards led from wire to wire, beating the rebuilding Indiana Pacers 114-107. Kristaps Porzingis added 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Wizards won consecutive season openers for the first time since 2004-05.

By IAN HARRISON Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out, O.G. Anunoby scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and the Toronto Raptors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-105. Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points, and Scottie Barnes and Fred Van Vleet each had

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 28 of his 37 points in the second half, Ayo Dosunmu added 17 and the short-handed Chicago Bulls topped the Miami Heat 116-108 in the season-opener for both teams on Wednesday night. Nikola Vucevic scored 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for the

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — The scrappy San Diego Padres, largely rebuilt at the trade deadline, are finding their identity at just the right time. In danger of heading to Philadelphia down 0-2 in the NL Championship Series, the Padres produced another huge rally in front of their rowdy fans