Rookie Cameron Boozer recorded 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his first career triple-double as the Memphis Grizzlies remained unbeaten with a solid 124-103 road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.
Reserve Isaiah Stewart posted 18 points and Cedric Coward registered 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals as Memphis improved to 5-0. The Grizzlies and Houston Rockets are the last two remaining unbeaten teams after Memphis handed Portland its first loss.
Deni Avdija had 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to pace the Trail Blazers, who were outscored 66-45 in the second half.
Portland’s Ja Morant had 14 points and three assists in 23 minutes before departing in the fourth quarter due to a left hamstring injury. Morant was playing against the Grizzlies for the first time since being traded in June. He spent seven seasons with Memphis.
Hawks 114, Cavaliers 111
Onyeka Okongwu scored a season-high 29 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker sank two crucial free throws with 15.3 seconds remaining as host Atlanta downed Cleveland.
Alexander-Walker put up 25 points while Aaron Wiggins added a season-high 20 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Hawks, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Cavaliers, whose three-game winning streak ended, got a season-high 24 points from James Harden. Donovan Mitchell, who logged 22 points, missed two potential tying 3-point attempts in the final seconds.
Pelicans 132, Kings 120
Jeremiah Fears flirted with his first career triple-double and New Orleans broke into the win column for the first time this season with a win over visiting Sacramento in a battle of teams who entered the evening winless.
Fears and Zion Williamson each scored 22 points for New Orleans, which was playing 24 hours after taking a fourth straight season-opening defeat, 104-91 at home against the Denver Nuggets.
Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. poured in a season-best 34 points for Sacramento, the first team in the league to lose five games this campaign.
