Kawhi Leonard is finally back on the court and the Toronto Raptors should be happy with the results.
Leonard scored 12 points in his first game with his new team and the Raptors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 122-104 on Saturday night in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the preseason opener for both teams.
Leonard played 19 minutes and didn’t shoot particularly well, missing all four 3-pointers and going just 6 for 11 from the free throw line. But he played aggressively and moved well after being limited to just nine games last season for San Antonio because of a thigh injury. The 2014 NBA Finals MVP hadn’t played in a game since January.
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum each played the first quarter for Portland. Lillard scored 12 points and McCollum had nine.
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RAPTORS 122, TRAIL BLAZERS 104
Danny Green, who came from San Antonio with Leonard, was 1 for 6 and finished with five points in Toronto’s first game under new coach Nick Nurse.
Meyers Leonard led Portland with 16 points.
TRAIL BLAZERS: Rookie Gary Trent Jr. scored eight points in 20 minutes. … Portland led 33-32 after the only quarter it played with its starting backcourt.
RAPTORS: Longtime starting center Jonas Valanciunas came off the bench to lead Toronto with 17 points. … Kyle Lowry scored 15 points, playing the same 19:21 as Leonard.
UP NEXT: Portland (0-1) visits Phoenix on Friday. Toronto (1-0) visits Utah on Tuesday.
MAVERICKS 116, BEIJING DUCKS 63
No. 3 overall pick Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr. scored 16 points apiece for Dallas. Doncic, a 19-year-old who was named EuroLeague MVP and EuroLeague Final Four MVP while leading Real Madrid to the title, made 5 of 7 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, while grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots.
Smith was 6-of-10 shooting and had six assists with no turnovers. Maxi Kleber added 15 points for the Mavericks (1-0).
Justin Hamilton, who appeared in 113 games and started 21 across three seasons in the NBA, led Beijing with 29 points and 13 rebounds. He shot 6 of 19 from the field but made 15 of 17 from the free throw line.
MAVERICKS: DeAndre Jordan, who signed a one-year contract with Dallas as a free agent this summer, had nine points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 18 minutes. … Jalen Brunson, a second-round pick out of Villanova, hit two 3-pointers and finished with eight points and four assists. … Harrison Barnes, who led the team in scoring last season (18.9 per game), Dirk Nowitzki, J.J. Barea and Dwight Powell missed the game due to injuries.
BEIJING: The Ducks shot just 23.9 percent (17 of 71) from the field and committed 17 turnovers.
TIMBERWOLVES 114, WARRIORS 110
Jeff Teague scored 17 points and Derrick Rose added 16 for Minnesota, which was without All-Star Jimmy Butler, who requested a trade from the team last week.
Anthony Tolliver scored 15 points, hitting 5 of 10 from 3-point range. Karl-Anthony Towns had 12 points, Andrew Wiggins scored 11 and rookie Josh Okogie 10 for the Timberwolves (1-0).
Stephen Curry made 5-of-9 3-pointers and finished with 21 points in 19 minutes for Golden State (0-1). Klay Thompson scored 17, including three 3-pointers, and Kevin Durant added 16 points.
TIMBERWOLVES: Butler, who was acquired from Chicago for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and a draft pick that became Lauri Markkanen a year ago, led Minnesota in scoring (22.2 per game) and was an All-NBA third-team selection last season. … Towns was 5-of-8 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and had two blocks. … Keita Bates-Diop, a second-round pick, shot just 1 of 9 from the field and finished with six points and six boards.
WARRIORS: Curry, Thompson and Durant combined to shoot 20 of 33 from the field, including 10 of 16 from behind the arc. … Rookie Marcus Derrickson and Jordan Bell scored 10 points apiece. … Golden State finished with 33 assists on 44 made field goals, including 12 3s. … Draymond Green had eight assists.
JAZZ 130, PERTH WILDCATS 72
Rookie Grayson Allen hit five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points and Alec Burks scored 18 for Utah (1-0). Burks made 4 of 6 from 3-point range, grabbed five boards and had four assists in 21 minutes.
Rudy Gobert had 14 points, on 6-of-7 shooting, and nine rebounds for the Jazz.
Bryce Cotton led Perth (0-1) with 14 points, Terrico White scored 11 and Nick Kay 10. The trio combined to shoot just 10 of 43 (23.3 percent) from the field, including 1 of 11 from 3-point range.
JAZZ: Allen, picked 21st overall in June’s draft, was 7-of-14 shooting. … Donovan Mitchell, who scored 20.5 points per game and led Utah to the second round of the playoffs as a rookie last season, had nine points, four rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes. … Raul Neto (hamstring) and Joe Ingles (leg soreness) missed the game. … Dante Exum, a 23-year-old Australian who missed the first 68 games last season, had six assists.
WILDCATS: Cotton appeared in 15 games, averaging 5.3 points in 10.6 minutes per game, for Utah during the 2014-15 season.
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