SAN ANTONIO -- Tony Parker had 23 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer, Manu Ginobili added 20 points and the San Antonio Spurs capped an emotional NBA championship commemoration with a thrilling 101-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in their season opener Tuesday night.
Tim Duncan had 14 points and 13 rebounds for his 14th double-double in a season opener, the most by any player in NBA history, according to Elias Sports.
Monta Ellis scored 26 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 18 points and Devin Harris had 17 points for Dallas.
Following a video recap of the 2014 season narrated by actor and Spurs fan Samuel L. Jackson, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver presented San Antonio's staff and players with their championship rings. The inscription inside the ring was "Good to Great," which was coach Gregg Popovich's mantra last season.
It was the teams' first meeting since Dallas took San Antonio to seven games in the opening round of the playoffs last season -- the Spurs' toughest test during their run to a fifth NBA championship. The rematch proved just as tense after a sluggish beginning.
After Nowitzki gave Dallas a 100-98 lead with a fade-away jumper over Boris Diaw with 1:37 remaining, Parker drained a 3-pointer in front of the Mavericks' bench off a feed from Diaw for a 101-100 lead. Parker was 4 for 4 on 3-pointers, matching a career high for 3s in a game.
Chandler Parsons, who left the Houston Rockets to sign with the Mavericks, missed a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining that would have won the game. His shot hit the front of the rim (see full recap).
NBA
Randle injured in Lakers loss to Rockets
LOS ANGELES -- James Harden scored 32 points, Dwight Howard added 13 points and 11 rebounds before getting into a shouting match with Kobe Bryant, and the Houston Rockets spoiled Bryant's return to the Lakers with a 108-90 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
Bryant's comeback game got even worse when Lakers rookie forward Julius Randle seriously injured his right leg in the fourth quarter, leaving his NBA debut on a wheeled stretcher. The seventh overall pick out of Kentucky collided with two Rockets under the basket and landed awkwardly.
Bryant scored 19 points in his first game back at Staples Center after missing most of the Lakers' worst season in a half-century with two major injuries.
Trevor Ariza and Terrence Jones scored 16 points apiece for Houston (see full recap).
Davis powers Pelicans past Magic
NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis had 26 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocks, and the New Orleans Pelicans opened the regular season with a 101-84 victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.
Ryan Anderson, coming back from surgery on a herniated disk that cost him more than half of last season, scored 22 points. The Pelicans' new 7-foot center, Omer Asik, had a double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
The tandem of Davis and Asik dominated the interior. They combined for 16 offensive rebounds, and the Pelicans finished with 32 second-chance points. Davis tied a career high for blocked shots, and Asik's five blocks equaled his career best.
Tobias Harris scored 25 points for Orlando, while Nikola Vucevic added 15 points and 23 rebounds.
The Pelicans surged to a 14-point lead late in the third quarter thanks to Anderson. He missed nine of his first 13 shots, but made up for it by scoring 12 points in a span of 1:39.
He started the scoring spree with a three-point play. After Davis hit a 20-footer, Anderson buried three straight 3-pointers, yelling, "That's what I'm talking about," after the second. He didn't hesitate to take the third, which gave New Orleans an 11-0 run to close the quarter and sent the crowd into a frenzy (see full recap).