1:32 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN PHILADELPHIA — Just months removed from a season plagued by a much-scrutinized missing jumper, 76ers guard Markelle Fultz checked one box Thursday on the path back to regaining the scoring touch he showed in college: He drained his first career 3. Ben Simmons had a triple-double with 13 points, 13

12:35 AM ET PORTLAND, Ore. — A single red rose was placed on the courtside seat that used to be occupied by Paul Allen, as the Portland Trail Blazers opened up a season for the first time in 30 years without their longtime owner, who died this week. No one is providing many details yet

8:03 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Dwight Howard sat out the Washington Wizards‘ season opener Thursday night with what the team said is a sore buttocks. Washington’s new starting center missed all of training camp and the entire exhibition schedule. He did not participate in any practices at all until Monday. Coach Scott Brooks

11:37 AM ET In a move that could challenge the NCAA’s monopoly on elite talent, the NBA’s G League is creating a new venture as an alternative to the one-and-done route for the best American basketball prospects, league president Malcolm Turner told ESPN. As part of a newly formed “professional path” starting in the summer

4:12 AM ET Marc J. Spears Paul George revealed to ESPN’s The Undefeated that he “would have been in a Lakers uniform” if he had never been traded from the Indiana Pacers. But after the Pacers dealt the five-time All-Star to the Oklahoma City Thunder instead last year, he fell in love with his new

9:12 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons honored Aretha Franklin before their season opener Wednesday night by playing a recording of her singing the national anthem. Former Pistons star Isiah Thomas spoke briefly, asking for a moment of silence for Franklin, who died in August. After the moment of silence, and with

8:03 AM ET In a recent interview with Houston Rockets power forward Carmelo Anthony, ESPN’s Rachel Nichols asked him about his arrival in Houston, his departure from Oklahoma City and how he will approach the upcoming season playing for the Rockets. An edited transcript of the interview follows: Rachel Nichols: OK, so it took an

1:19 AM ET The exclamation point on the Celtics’ 105-87 season opening win over division rival Philadelphia came midway through the fourth quarter, when Jaylen Brown put his head down and drove hard to the basket. Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returned to the court for the Celtics on Tuesday, combining to shoot 6-for-26 from

7:53 PM ET Jimmy Butler will be “a regular team player” until the Minnesota Timberwolves are able to trade him, owner Glen Taylor said in an interview with the Star Tribune published on Tuesday. Taylor told the newspaper that he met with Butler this week and that, going forward, the four-time All-Star will practice daily

1:23 PM ET Brooklyn Nets forward DeMarre Carroll will undergo surgery on his right ankle Tuesday and will be out indefinitely, coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters Tuesday. Atkinson did not provide a timetable for Carroll’s return but told reporters that he did not consider the injury to be serious. Atkinson also announced that guards Allen