Kevin Durant has his first professional game-winner. It probably won’t be his last.
Dwyane Wade couldn’t come through on his shot at NBA glory, allowing the Boston Celtics to escape with their perfect record intact.
Durant made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the second overtime, and Damien Wilkins scored a career-high 41 points in the Seattle SuperSonics’ 126-123 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
With rookie Al Horford guarding him at the top of the key, the No. 2 pick in the draft pumped once to get the defender in the air before shooting over his outstretched arm.
“He’ll probably do this many, many times before his career is over,” Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said.
It’s not easy, though. Wade hit the back rim with his jumper in the closing seconds, and Boston pulled out a 92-91 victory to improve to 8-0.
“I’m a gamer, man. Give it to me 10 times and I’ll do it 10 more times,” said Wade, who scored 23 points. “There was a lot of stuff going through my head: Being out six months, my second game back I had an opportunity to win the game against the best team in the league, record-wise, in the Boston Garden.”
In other games, it was: Toronto 110, Indiana 101; Philadelphia 92, Portland 88; Orlando 95, New Jersey 70; Cleveland 99, Utah 94; San Antonio 90, Houston 84; New Orleans 120, Memphis 118 in overtime; Washington 105, Minnesota 89; Sacramento 123, New York 118 in double overtime; the Los Angeles Lakers 103, Detroit 91; and Golden State 122, the Los Angeles Clippers 105.
Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 11 rebounds for Boston, which is off to its best start since the 1972-73 team led by John Havlicek and Dave Cowens won its first 10.
“We’re nowhere near where we want to be,” said Paul Pierce, who made the go-ahead basked with 25 seconds left and scored 12 points despite strained back that almost forced coach Doc Rivers to scratch him from the game. “We’re far from a perfect team. We definitely have weaknesses right now.”
Not as many as Miami, which fell to an NBA-worst 1-8.
Even though Durant had the winner, the Sonics never would have been in that position without the outstanding play of Wilkins – in front of father Gerald and uncle Dominique Wilkins.
Damien Wilkins was one of four 40-point scorers on the night, joining LeBron James (40), David West (40) and Kevin Martin (43). The latter two came in overtime victories for the New Orleans Hornets and Sacramento Kings.
The last time there were four 40-point scorers on the same night was last Dec. 27, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Richard Hamilton scored 51 and Stephon Marbury had 41 – in the same game – and Ben Gordon and Gerald Wallace each finished with 40.
“Playing in front of family certainly made it special for me,” Wilkins said. “The most important thing is that we got the win.”
Cavaliers 99, Jazz 94
At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 40 points – 34 in the second half – and made a crucial block on former teammate Carlos Boozer in the final seconds to help Cleveland end Utah’s five-game winning streak.
James missed another triple-double, finishing with 10 rebounds, nine assists and three blocks.
Boozer led Utah with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Magic 95, Nets 70
At East Rutherford, N.J., Dwight Howard had 21 points, 19 rebounds and became the NBA’s youngest player to reach 3,000 rebounds.
Rashard Lewis added 27 points in the Magic’s franchise record-tying sixth straight road win. Orlando’s 8-2 start is its best since the lockout-shortened 98-99 season.
New Jersey’s Jason Kidd recorded the 89th triple-double of his career with a career-high 19 rebounds, 11 points and 10 assists.
Spurs 90, Rockets 84
At San Antonio, Tim Duncan had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Manu Ginobili added 19 points and Michael Finley had 17.
Luis Scola, whose rights were traded from the Spurs to Houston over the summer, had a breakout game, scoring 20 points. The Rockets played without the injured Tracy McGrady.
Warriors 122, Clippers 105
At Oakland, Calif., Andris Biedrins had a season-high 23 points and a career-best 18 rebounds, Al Harrington scored 27 points and Golden State finally got its first victory of the season.
Baron Davis had 21 points, 12 assists and a career-high five blocked shots for the Warriors, who had been the NBA’s only winless team.
Tim Thomas scored 25 points and Chris Kaman had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who launched 29 3-pointers, three off the 1997 franchise record.
Lakers 103, Pistons 91
At Los Angeles, Lamar Odom had 25 points and 15 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant and Jordan Farmar made key plays down the stretch. Bryant finished with 19 points.
Tayshaun Prince had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons. Richard Hamilton also scored 16 points.
Kings 123, Knicks 118, 2OT
At Sacramento, Calif., Kevin Martin scored a career-high 43 points as the Kings handed New York its fifth consecutive loss.
Eddy Curry had 27 points and nine rebounds, while David Lee contributed 24 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks. Stephon Marbury again came off the bench.
Hornets 120, Grizzlies 118, OT
David West scored a career-high 40 points, including the go-ahead 15-footer with 8.3 seconds left in overtime, and visiting New Orleans improved the best start in franchise history to 8-2.
Chris Paul added 28 points and 13 assists, and Tyson Chandler had 12 points and 17 rebounds.
Juan Carlos Navarro led the Grizzlies with 28 points.
76ers 92, Trail Blazers 88
At Philadelphia, Louis Williams scored all 19 of his points in the second half to help the 76ers overcome a 25-point deficit.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy each scored 25 points for Portland.
Raptors 110, Pacers 101
Chris Bosh scored 22 points, Jose Calderon added 15 points and 10 assists, and Toronto ended a three-game home losing streak.
Troy Murphy and Jamaal Tinsley each scored 20 points for the Pacers (3-6), who lost their sixth straight.
Wizards 105, Timberwolves 89
At Minneapolis, Caron Butler scored a season-high 29 points, and Gilbert Arenas added 27 for Washington.
Rashad McCants led Minnesota with 19 points.
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