Before their opener with Portland, the Spurs unveiled their 2007 championship banner and handed out rings. The bands are 14-karat gold, inlayed with almost 4.5 carats of diamonds.
Tuesday's star
With Greg Oden lost for the year, LaMarcus Aldridge will be counted on heavily for the Blazers. He delivered in the opener, scoring 27 points and blocking two shots in Portland's loss to the Spurs.
Tim Duncan has agreed to a two-year, $40 million contract extension with the San Antonio Spurs, an official familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday.
The agreement will add to Duncan's existing three-year deal and keep him in San Antonio at least through the 2011-12 season, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to discuss negotiations.
The 31-year-old Duncan has led the Spurs to four NBA titles in the past nine seasons, and he was the finals MVP for the first three. He also won back-to-back league MVP titles in 2002-03.
Duncan, entering his 11th season, was the No. 1 pick in 1997, two years before the Spurs won their first title.
The nine-time All-Star has career averages of 21.8 points and 11.9 rebounds.
The Spurs are seeking their first repeat after failing to defend their titles in 2000, 2004 and 2006.
Foye out several weeks with knee injury
Timberwolves point guard Randy Foye will be out several weeks because of a lingering knee injury.
Tests revealed a stress reaction in his left kneecap, and the team said the second-year player will be out indefinitely.
Foye, an NBA all-rookie team selection last season, averaged 10.1 points, 2.8 assists and 22.9 minutes while playing all 82 games last year.
Pavlovic ends holdout with Cavaliers
Former Jazz player Sasha Pavlovic agreed to a three-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, ending his lengthy holdout.
Pavlovic's agent, Marc Cornstein, confirmed the deal but declined to discuss financial terms.
After a summer-long stalemate extended through the Cavaliers' preseason, Cornstein said talks picked up over the last couple days with major concessions made by both sides.
Juwan Howard back with Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are bringing back Juwan Howard after agreeing to terms with the veteran forward on Tuesday.
Howard played for Dallas during parts of the 2000-01 and '01-02 seasons.
To make room for Howard, the Mavericks waived center D.J. Mbenga.
Tuesday's Games
San Antonio 106, Portland 97
Utah 117, Golden State 96
Houston 95, L.A. Lakers 93
Today's Games
Milwaukee at Orlando, 5 p.m.
Washington at Indiana, 5 p.m.
Philadelphia at Toronto, 5 p.m.
Chicago at New Jersey, 5:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Memphis, 6 p.m.
Dallas at Cleveland, 6 p.m.
Sacramento at New Orleans, 6 p.m.
Seattle at Denver, 8:30 p.m.
FG FT Reb
PORTLAND Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Webster 39:25 9-15 0-0 1-3 1 2 21
Aldridge 36:01 12-19 3-3 1-3 0 3 27
Przybilla 31:22 4-5 5-6 1-10 1 3 13
Jack 27:44 2-6 0-0 1-3 1 1 5
Roy 38:24 2-10 2-4 2-5 6 2 7
Blake 25:06 4-7 0-0 0-6 4 4 9
Outlaw 19:49 4-10 3-4 0-5 2 2 11
Jones 7:06 1-1 0-0 1-3 0 0 2
Rodriguez 5:39 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 2
Frye 9:24 0-3 0-0 1-2 0 2 0
Totals 240:00 39-78 13-17 8-40 15 19 97
Percentages: FG .500, FT .765. Three-Point Goals: 6-13, .462 (Webster 3-6, Jack 1-1, Roy 1-2, Blake 1-3, Rodriguez 0-1). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 16 (11 PTS). Blocked Shots: 4 (Aldridge 2, Przybilla, Webster). Turnovers: 16 (Roy 4, Blake 3, Jack 2, Outlaw 2, Przybilla 2, Aldridge, Jones, Rodriguez). Steals: 1 (Aldridge). Technical Foul: defensive three second.
FG FT Reb
SAN ANTONIO Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Bowen 26:42 0-5 0-0 0-1 3 2 0
Duncan 35:49 10-15 4-7 6-13 3 2 24
Oberto 18:55 3-4 0-0 1-4 0 6 6
Parker 35:36 7-14 5-6 0-5 2 1 19
Finley 22:58 4-11 0-0 0-1 3 0 9
Bonner 19:05 4-9 0-0 2-5 0 2 8
Ginobili 29:20 4-11 7-8 1-3 8 3 16
Washington 12:24 1-1 0-2 0-1 2 1 3
Barry 17:03 4-8 1-1 1-2 0 1 12
Elson 20:54 4-9 1-2 1-5 0 1 9
Mahinmi 1:14 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 240:00 41-87 18-26 12-40 21 19 106
Percentages: FG .471, FT .692. Three-Point Goals: 6-24, .250 (Barry 3-7, Washington 1-1, Finley 1-5, Ginobili 1-5, Parker 0-1, Bonner 0-2, Bowen 0-3). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 8 (22 PTS). Blocked Shots: 4 (Bowen, Duncan, Ginobili, Oberto). Turnovers: 8 (Parker 3, Ginobili 2, Elson, Oberto, Washington). Steals: 8 (Ginobili 5, Elson, Parker, Washington).
Portland 26 23 28 20 -97
San Antonio 29 30 22 25 -106
A - 19,797 (18,500). T - 2:30. Officials: Jim Clark, James Capers, Tom Nunez.
SAN ANTONIO - If only this one night, exacting San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich would give his players a break.
With their newest championship banner hanging high above the sellout crowd and the players looking like kids in a candy store as they examined their shiny new championship rings, it was understandably a challenge for the team to buckle down for a regular old basketball game.
The Spurs eventually did, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 106-97 Tuesday night. And even Popovich was willing to overlook the occasional lack of concentration.
''I think the ring ceremony is always a little bit emotional and always a lot of fun,'' Popovich said. ''It probably keeps you from being your best as far as focus is concerned.''
But losing focus to the point of losing a game is just not the Spurs' style.
''It's always a special game when you play after a ring ceremony,'' Parker said. ''It's great memories. But we're back to work and ready to defend our title.''
Tim Duncan had 24 points and 13 rebounds as the Spurs got their title defense off to a successful start. Parker added 19 points for the Spurs and Manu Ginobili had 16 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Trail Blazers with 27 points. Martell Webster added 21 and Joel Przybilla contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds for Portland.
''We played a very talented team, a very young team. I think they're going to be pretty good,'' Parker said. ''They played a tough game. They stayed in the game, and we didn't shoot the ball well from outside.''
Aldridge said he's using the Spurs as motivation.
''I was so pumped and I was so excited because I feel one day we are going to be in that position where we're going to win and get our rings one night,'' he said. ''I felt like tonight was our first step in that direction.''
Despite the long-awaited ring ceremony to kick things off, the game didn't have quite the excitement that was anticipated when it was announced the Spurs would open against Portland, which drafted Greg Oden with the No. 1 overall pick. Oden had microfracture knee surgery this summer, ending his first season before practice even began.
Eastern Conference
ATLANTIC W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
Boston 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
New Jersey 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
New York 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Philadelphia 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Toronto 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
SOUTHEAST W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
Atlanta 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Charlotte 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Miami 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Orlando 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Washington 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
CENTRAL W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
Chicago 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Cleveland 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Detroit 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Indiana 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Milwaukee 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Western Conference
SOUTHWEST W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
San Antonio 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 W-1 1-0 0-0 1-0
Dallas 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Houston 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Memphis 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
New Orleans 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
NORTHWEST W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
Utah 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 W-1 0-0 1-0 1-0
Denver 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Minnesota 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Seattle 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Portland 0 1 .000 1 0-1 L-1 0-0 0-1 0-1
PACIFIC W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
L.A. Clippers 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
L.A. Lakers 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Phoenix 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Sacramento 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Golden State 0 1 .000 1/2 0-1 L-1 0-1 0-0 0-1
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Rockets 95, Lakers 93
LOS ANGELES - Shane Battier made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left, and the Houston Rockets withstood a furious rally from Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
Bryant scored 45 points, 18 in the fourth quarter, in a rally that came up just short.
Tracy McGrady scored 30 points and Yao Ming had 25 points and 12 rebounds.
FG FT Reb
HOUSTON Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Battier 37:10 4-11 1-2 3-5 0 6 11
Hayes 26:07 2-2 0-1 2-8 0 3 4
Ming 40:32 9-16 7-8 4-12 3 5 25
Alston 28:50 1-6 2-2 0-7 8 1 5
McGrady 40:04 10-20 10-12 0-6 4 4 30
James 26:03 5-10 0-4 1-2 2 2 13
Scola 8:57 0-0 0-0 0-3 0 3 0
Wells 18:56 3-7 1-2 2-6 2 3 7
Head 6:43 0-2 0-0 0-0 3 1 0
Mutombo 6:38 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 0
Totals 240:00 34-74 21-31 12-49 23 30 95
Percentages: FG .459, FT .677. Three-Point Goals: 6-22, .273 (James 3-5, Battier 2-6, Alston 1-5, Head 0-1, Wells 0-1, McGrady 0-4). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 19 (20 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Ming 3, Battier, Wells). Turnovers: 18 (Alston 4, Ming 4, James 3, McGrady 3, Wells 2, Battier, Scola). Steals: 10 (James 3, Wells 3, Battier 2, Alston, Ming). Technical Fouls: None.
FG FT Reb
L.A. Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Walton 39:08 3-8 2-4 1-5 4 2 8
Turiaf 24:23 3-5 2-3 0-5 1 5 8
Brown 27:50 2-3 0-4 4-8 1 3 4
Fisher 34:03 6-9 4-4 0-1 2 0 17
Bryant 42:40 13-32 18-27 0-8 4 4 45
Farmar 20:29 2-5 0-0 0-1 1 2 4
Bynum 19:27 2-6 0-0 2-4 2 3 4
Evans 14:12 0-3 0-0 2-2 2 2 0
Cook 8:45 0-2 0-0 0-1 1 0 0
Karl 0:37 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Mihm 8:27 1-3 1-3 2-2 0 1 3
Totals 240:01 32-76 27-45 11-37 18 22 93
Percentages: FG .421, FT .600. Three-Point Goals: 2-8, .250 (Bryant 1-3, Fisher 1-3, Evans 0-1, Walton 0-1). Team Rebounds: 18. Team Turnovers: 12 (16 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Bryant, Bynum, Turiaf). Turnovers: 12 (Bryant 5, Turiaf 2, Brown, Cook, Farmar, Fisher, Walton). Steals: 16 (Bryant 4, Fisher 4, Bynum 3, Brown, Cook, Evans, Turiaf, Walton). Technical Fouls: None.
Houston 16 27 27 25 -95
L.A. Lakers 25 18 19 31 -93
A - 18,997 (19,282). T - 2:46. Officials: Rodney Mott, Jack Nies, Bennie Adams.
Eastern Conference
ATLANTIC W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
Boston 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
New Jersey 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
New York 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Philadelphia 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Toronto 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
SOUTHEAST W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
Atlanta 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Charlotte 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Miami 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Orlando 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Washington 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
CENTRAL W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
Chicago 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Cleveland 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Detroit 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Indiana 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Milwaukee 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Western Conference
SOUTHWEST W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
Houston 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 W-1 0-0 1-0 1-0
San Antonio 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 W-1 1-0 0-0 1-0
Dallas 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Memphis 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
New Orleans 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
NORTHWEST W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
Utah 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 W-1 0-0 1-0 1-0
Denver 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Minnesota 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Seattle 0 0 .000 1/2 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Portland 0 1 .000 1 0-1 L-1 0-0 0-1 0-1
PACIFIC W L Pct GB Lst10 Str Home Away Conf
L.A. Clippers 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Phoenix 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Sacramento 0 0 .000 - 0-0 W-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Golden State 0 1 .000 1/2 0-1 L-1 0-1 0-0 0-1
L.A. Lakers 0 1 .000 1/2 0-1 L-1 0-1 0-0 0-1
