A few rookies showed big-name veterans Shawn Kemp, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley just how good they're eventually going to be.
In Detroit, Pistons rookie Theo Ratliff had 21 points and 15 rebounds in a 94-87 victory over Kemp and the Seattle SuperSonics. In Boston, Eric Williams scored 13 straight points for the Celtics in a fourth-quarter duel with Malone, finishing with 17 in a 102-90 loss to Boston.In Phoenix, Denver's Antonio McDyess had a big game against Phoenix's Charles Barkley, getting 17 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots. Suns rookie Michael Finley did even better, scoring 27 as Phoenix beat the Nuggets 137-127 in triple overtime.
Other rookies made their mark Wednesday night, too. Minnesota's 19-year-old Kevin Garnett had the best game in his young pro career, scoring 19 against the San Antonio Spurs, and Toronto's Damon Stoudamire had another strong night with 20 points in a 96-93 loss to Houston.
Pistons 94, SuperSonics 87
Ratliff, who hadn't had more than eight points or eight rebounds in Detroit's previous five games, came off the bench to help the Pistons to their third straight win despite just four points from Joe Dumars.
Otis Thorpe had 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Lindsey Hunter scored 19 points. Kemp had 23 points and 21 rebounds for Seattle, and Schrempf had 19, 16 in the first half.
Nuggets 137, Suns 127, 3 OT
Denver won its first game of the season after six losses, but needed three overtimes to do it.
Dale Ellis, Don MacLean and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf made 3-pointers in the first 2:42 of the third overtime.
Abdul-Rauf had 30 points and 20 assists as the Nuggets snapped a 14-game losing streak in Phoenix, where they last won on April 11, 1988.
Spurs 105, Timberwolves 96
Vinny Del Negro scored 10 points in San Antonio's decisive 16-4 burst to start the second half.
David Robinson scored 30 points in just 29 minutes and Avery Johnson had 13 assists for the Spurs, who improved their overall record against Minnesota to 28-3.
Rockets 96, Raptors 93
Robert Horry's buzzer-beating 3-pointer sent Toronto to its seventh straight defeat.
Hakeem Olajuwon, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, hit one of two foul shots to make it 93-93 with just under 40 seconds remaining. A Raptors turnover gave the Rockets posession with 19.9 seconds to play, and Clyde Drexler set up Horry's winning basket.
Nets 90, Hornets 79
Kevin Edwards scored 14 of his 21 points in the third quarter to help New Jersey overcome a 14-point deficit and defeat Charlotte.
Armon Gilliam added 16 points for New Jersey, and Jayson Williams had 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Bullets 127, 76ers 95
Washington cruised to its most lopsided victory in two seasons, getting 26 points and 10 assists from Robert Pack in a rout of Philadelphia.
Juwan Howard scored 21 points for the Bullets, who didn't trail after the opening two minutes. It was Washington's largest victory margin since a 42-point win over Boston in April 1994.
Pacers 103, Heat 97
Indiana only had eight players, but one of them was Reggie Miller, and that made the difference.
Miller scored 10 consecutive Indiana points in the final 6:10. The Pacers were without injured center Rik Smits, forward Derrick McKey and four players suspended following a bench-clearing fight with Sacramento last Friday - Dale Davis, Adrian Caldwell, Duane Ferrell and Travis Best.
Bulls 113, Cavaliers 94
Scottie Pippen scored 27 points and Michael Jordan 20 as Chicago kept Cleveland the league's only winless team.
Terrell Brandon scored 22 points for the visiting Cavaliers, who tied a club record with eight 3-pointers in a half. Cleveland's 10 3s in the game tied the most ever against the Bulls, who were 8-for-12 from 3-point range.
Lakers 114, Mavericks 97
Cedric Ceballos had 31 points and 13 rebounds to help Los Angeles remain undefeated at home.
Jamal Mashburn led the Mavericks with 32 points and nearly brought them all the way back from a 20-point halftime deficit with 15 points in a five-minute span of the third period.