NBA Wrap: Knicks spoil LeBron's homecoming

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CLEVELAND -- LeBron James struggled from the start in his first game with Cleveland in four years, and the New York Knicks ruined the megastar's emotional homecoming with a 95-90 victory over the Cavaliers on Thursday night.

James, who returned to the Cavs and his native Ohio this summer after winning two NBA titles in Miami, finished with 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting. He also committed eight turnovers and never looked comfortable on a night when the entire city -- and a star-studded crowd -- celebrated his comeback.

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and buried a jumper with James in his face with 25 seconds left to give the Knicks a 92-87 lead.

Kyrie Irving scored 22 and Kevin Love added 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs, who have some work to before they can start thinking about any titles (see full recap).

Clippers narrowly beat shorthanded Thunder
LOS ANGELES -- Blake Griffin scored 23 points, making two free throws with five seconds left, Chris Paul added 22 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 93-90 in their season opener on Thursday night to usher in a new era under owner Steve Ballmer.

Los Angeles hardly resembled its new ad campaign of "Be Relentless" early on, when the Thunder scored the game's first eight points as Ballmer cupped his hands and yelled to his team from his baseline seat near their bench.

Already without injured Kevin Durant, the Thunder lost Russell Westbrook to a hand injury in the second quarter. Perry Jones scored a career-high 32 points, making 9 of 11 free throws. The Thunder are 0-2, having dropped their opener a night earlier at Portland (see full recap).

Wall, Wizards hold off Magic
ORLANDO, Fla. -- John Wall had 30 points and 12 assists, and the Washington Wizards held off a late surge to beat the Orlando Magic 105-98 on Thursday night.

Marcin Gortat added 20 points and 12 rebounds. All five starters scored in double figures as Washington earned its fifth straight victory over its division rival.

The Magic trailed by three at the half, only to be outscored 28-15 in the third quarter. Orlando recovered in the fourth and rallied to trim what had been a 17-point Washington lead to two with less than a minute to play. But Wall got free for a driving layup to help preserve the victory.

Nik Vucevic led the Magic with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Orlando finished with 18 turnovers, matching its total from its season opener (see full recap).

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