INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Bradley Beal added 24 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Clippers 116-113 in overtime Wednesday night, spoiling Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome debut in the opener for both teams. James Harden had 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers. He had a chance to send it to double overtime, but missed the second of two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining. Jusuf Nurkic gave the Suns a three-point advantage with a pair of free throws. The Clippers had one last chance to send it to another extra session, but Grayson Allen forced a turnover near midcourt after the inbounds pass. Ivica Zubac had 21 points for the Clippers, but fouled out with 2:15 remaining in overtime.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bryce Young is back in as Carolina’s starting quarterback. Panthers coach Dave Caneles said Young would start Sunday against the Denver Broncos after Andy Dalton was diagnosed with a sprained thumb on his right throwing hand sustained during a car crash on Tuesday in Charlotte. Dalton did not practice Wednesday and is listed as day to day. There is a chance he could be the No. 2 quarterback this week depending on his recovery. “Bryce has been an absolute stud through this whole process. He has been engaged,” Canales said. “He has been involved in what we were doing and is excited about the opportunity.” Young said Canales has not told him who will be the team’s starting QB moving forward if he plays well this week.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Connor McMichael scored twice, Alex Ovechkin got an empty-netter for the 855th goal of his NHL career and the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 Wednesday night for their fifth consecutive victory. The Flyers clawed back from a four-goal deficit to make things interesting, but they still lost their sixth in a row since winning their season opener. They have been outscored 29-14 during this skid that have continued to snowball thanks to a mix of turnovers, bad goaltending and not enough offense to compensate. Washington was undisciplined in almost blowing a big lead but kept rolling after getting 26 saves from Logan Thompson and production from up and down the lineup. In addition to McMichael’s second and third goals of the season, fourth-line forwards Taylor Raddysh and Nic Dowd also scored for the Capitals, and Pierre-Luc Dubois also had an empty-net goal.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Stephen Curry had 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds before sitting for the fourth quarter, and the Golden State Warriors opened the season Wednesday night with a 139-104 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers. Buddy Hield had 22 points off the bench for the Warriors, who missed out on the playoffs last year. Portland led by as many as nine points in the opening quarter, but the Warriors pulled ahead and led 62-50 at the break. Curry had a 3-pointer to open the second half and Golden State led by as many as 37 points the rest of the way. Portland was led by Scoot Henderson with 22 points off the bench. Shaedon Sharpe didn’t play because of a shoulder injury.
WEDNESDAY SCORES
National Basketball Association
Indiana 115, Detroit 109
Orlando 116, Miami 97
Cleveland 136, Toronto 106
Atlanta 120, Brooklyn 116
Charlotte 110, Houston 105
Milwaukee 124, Philadelphia 109
Memphis 126, Utah 124
New Orleans 123, Chicago 111
Phoenix 116, LA Clippers 113
Golden State 139, Portland 104