BOSTON - The post-Red Auerbach era began Wednesday night with a ceremony honoring the late Celtics icon and a loss by the Boston team that has plummeted from the heady days of his leadership.

Boston Celtics players applaud legendary Boston Celtics leader Arnold "Red" Auerbach after a moment of silence before the Celtics game against the New Orleans Hornets in Boston, Massachusetts, November 1, 2006. Auerbach, who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships in the 1950s and 1960s, died October 28, 2006 at the age of 89. [Reuters]

Despite several second-half comebacks, the Celtics couldn't overcome New Orleans point guard Chris Paul's 20 points and 10 assists or Peja Stojakovic's two baskets in the final two minutes as the Hornets won 91-87.

Auerbach, who had seen all 56 previous Celtics season openers, died Saturday of a heart attack near his Washington home at the age of 89. He had planned to attend.

The Hornets also added key components, picking up Stojakovic, Tyson Chandler and Bobby Jackson after finishing six games out of a playoffs spot last season.

But Paul and David West, who had 18 points, remain their leaders. It was West whose tip-in with 12 seconds remaining made it 91-85 and secured the victory.

Paul Pierce, coming off his best season, led Boston with 29 points and 19 rebounds, but missed eight of his 15 free throws, including four in the fourth quarter. Wally Szczerbiak added 21 points. Bucks 105, Pistons 97.

At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Michael Redd scored 37 points, Charlie Villanueva had 16 points and 12 rebounds in his Milwaukee debut, and the new-look Bucks got their season off to a much better start than Detroit.

The Pistons were without Ben Wallace for the first time in seven years, and it was obvious how much they missed him after the four-time Defensive Player of the Year signed a four-year contract with Chicago in the offseason for $60 million.

Detroit signed center Nazr Mohammed a day after losing Wallace in July, and the lumbering center had a decent Pistons debut with eight points, 12 rebounds and a block before fouling out.

Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups each scored 25 points for the Pistons, who lost All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace midway through the third quarter when he was called for a second technical for bickering with officials. They taught him an early lesson that the NBA is serious about its goal of eliminating complaining and demonstrative reactions toward them.

Wallace was scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting and had three rebounds.

Andrew Bogut scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Milwaukee, a strong showing after the No. 1 pick from the 2005 NBA draft missed the preseason with a left leg injury. Magic 109, Bulls 94=

At Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Jameer Nelson scored 21 points as Orlando surprised Chicago to win its season opener.

The Bulls beat the defending champion Miami Heat by 42 points the night before, but couldn't find their stroke Wednesday.

Ben Gordon flashed a dazzling array of reverse layups, drives and fadeaway jumpers on his way to 24 points that kept Chicago in the game barely.

Grant Hill had 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting and Hedo Turkoglu had 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. 76ers 88, Hawks 75.

At Philadelphia, Allen Iverson scored 32 points and Andre Iguodala had 15 to lead Philadelphia over Atlanta.

Samuel Dalembert had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Chris Webber grabbed 13 rebounds for the Sixers, who improved their mark on opening night to 39-19.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 25 points, and Zaza Pachulia and Josh Childress each had 15. Atlanta lost its eighth straight opener. Nets 102, Raptors 92.

At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Jason Kidd had 14 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his 76th career triple-double, Vince Carter added 25 points and 11 rebounds, and New Jersey beat Toronto.

Kidd stole the show in the final quarter with eight points, four assists and four rebounds. The point guard had four points and three assists in a quarter-opening, 18-8 spurt that gave New Jersey a 92-78 lead in what had been a closely contested contest.

Richard Jefferson, the other member of the Nets' big three, added 16 points, while Nenad Krstic and Bostjan Nachbar had 14 points apiece.

Anthony Parker, the free agent signed after playing in Israel, had 22 points to lead the Raptors. T.J. Ford, acquired in a trade with Milwaukee, added 19 points and seven assists. Pacers 106, Bobcats 99.

At Charlotte, North Carolina, Jermaine O'Neal and Sarunas Jasikevicius scored 20 points apiece and Indiana pulled away from Charlotte in the fourth quarter to win its season opener.

Stephen Jackson added 18 points to help the Pacers spoil the NBA debut of Bobcats rookie Adam Morrison, who scored 14.

Emeka Okafor had 19 points, 13 rebounds and a team record-tying six blocks for the Bobcats, who lost Gerald Wallace in the second quarter to dizziness, neck and back injuries after he hit his head on the floor following a flagrant foul by Danny Granger.

It marked the first game for the Bobcats since Michael Jordan became a part owner with the final say on all personnel decisions. But Jordan spent the entire game in a suite and was never introduced to the crowd. Knicks 118, Grizzlies 117.

At Memphis, Quentin Richardson hit two free throws with 12 seconds left in the third overtime and New York outlasted Memphis.

The Knicks built a 19-point lead in team president Isiah Thomas' debut as coach, but blew it and needed three overtimes to finish off the Grizzlies.

Richardson led the Knicks with 31 points, and Jamal Crawford had 21. Stephon Marbury had 19 and Eddy Curry had 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Richardson had 10 points in the overtimes, while Marbury had seven before fouling out.

Chucky Atkins scored 10 of his 25 points in overtime for the Grizzlies. Memphis got 22 points and 12 rebounds from Hakim Warrick and 21 points from rookie Rudy Gray. Mike Miller had 18. Timberwolves 92, Kings 83=

At Minneapolis, Mike Bibby made an inspiring return to Sacramento, then a costly exit from the court.

Bibby picked up two technical fouls at a critical juncture of the fourth quarter and Minnesota's Kevin Garnett finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds to lift the Timberwolves over the Kings.

Bibby was expected to miss the first two weeks of the season with an injured thumb. But new Kings coach Eric Musselman said Bibby's wrist was actually causing him more pain than the thumb, and Sacramento's leading scorer from a year ago said he was good to go after Wednesday morning's shootaround.

Bibby had 16 points and five assists, but the veteran point guard and his teammates came unraveled in the fourth.

Troy Hudson, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth, sealed the victory with a 3-pointer with 43 seconds to play, and Minnesota overcame 21 turnovers by holding Sacramento to 36 percent shooting.

Kevin Martin scored 23 points and Ron Artest had 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals for the Kings, who were playing their first game under Musselman, the former Golden State coach. Cavaliers 97, Wizards 94.

At Cleveland, Larry Hughes scored 27 points, LeBron James added 26 and Cleveland opened a season its fans and players believe can end with an NBA championship by beating Washington.

In last season's playoffs, the Cavaliers and Wizards went down to the final seconds nearly every time they hooked up. Cleveland defeated Washington in a tense six-game opening-round series, winning three games by one point, including Games 5 and 6 in overtime.

Hughes added nine rebounds and five assists. As usual, James stuffed the box score with 10 rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes.

Caron Butler scored 23 points and Jamison had 20 for the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas had just seven points on 2-of-12 shooting but added 11 assists. Jazz 107, Rockets 97=

At Salt Lake City, Derek Fisher had 13 points and six assists in his Utah debut and led a decisive run down the stretch as the Jazz beat Houston.

Carlos Boozer had 24 points and 19 rebounds and Deron Williams also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists for Utah, which let a 20-point lead fall to five before regaining control with an 8-0 run in the final few minutes.

Mehmet Okur scored 17 points and Ronnie Brewer, Utah's first-round draft pick last summer, had nine in his NBA debut.

Tracy McGrady led the Rockets with 25 points. Yao Ming added 22 points and nine rebounds. Trail Blazers 110, SuperSonics 106.

At Seattle, Zach Randolph scored 30 points to help Portland rally past Seattle and spoil the 40th and potentially final season opener the Supersonics.

New Sonics owner Clay Bennett has said he could move the team if he doesn't have a commitment by next summer for a new arena in the Seattle area.

He saw Rashard Lewis score 25 points and Luke Ridnour add 22 points and 13 assists for Seattle, which controlled all but two stretches, early in the second quarter and the end of the game.

Brandon Roy had 20 points on 10-for-16 shooting in his NBA debut while running most of Portland's offense in the second half as his teammates repeatedly set screens for him.

Sonics All-Star Ray Allen finished with 22 points. Suns 112, Clippers 104.

At Phoenix, Shawn Marion had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Steve Nash added 20 points and 11 assists, and Phoenix beat Los Angeles in its home opener.

Nash had 17 points and eight assists in the second half for a Suns team that last faced the Clippers in winning a seven-game series in the Western Conference semifinals.

Amare Stoudemire, looking strong after missing virtually all of last season following knee surgery, had 15 points in 24 minutes. Marcus Banks scored 13 and Leandro Barbosa 11.

Elton Brand scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Clippers in their season opener. Cuttino Mobley and Sam Cassell added 17 points apiece. Lakers 110, Warriors 98.

At Oakland, California, Ronny Turiaf had career highs of 23 points and nine rebounds, Lamar Odom scored 22 points and Los Angeles beat Golden State for its second victory in two days without Kobe Bryant.

Odom added nine rebounds and nine assists, and Luke Walton scored 15 points as the Lakers followed up their surprising 114-106 victory over Phoenix on Tuesday night with a thorough thumping of the Warriors in coach Don Nelson's inauspicious debut.

Bryant stayed home to rest his surgically repaired right knee, and coach Phil Jackson also remained in Los Angeles while he's recovering from hip replacement surgery four weeks ago.

Monta Ellis scored 22 points, Baron Davis had 18 and Jason Richardson added 15 in his first appearance for the Warriors since undergoing cleanup surgery on his right knee late in the summer.