TORONTO, 3 November 2005 — Tony Parker scored 26 points and Tim Duncan added 19 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday as the San Antonio Spurs opened their defense of the NBA title with a 102-91 win over Denver Nuggets.
The Spurs opened the new season by celebrating last year’s title, raising the championship banner to the rafters of the SBC Center and receiving their commemorative rings.
“I’d like to thank you for your continued support year in and year out,” Duncan told the home crowd. “We’ve had some good times and we’d like to bring another championship back to San Antonio.”
The Spurs got quickly down to business with newcomer Michael Finley scoring 16 points in his San Antonio debut.
Manu Ginobili chipped in with 10 points while Robert Horry had seven points and eight rebounds.
Carmelo Anthony had 23 points and eight rebounds in a losing cause for the Nuggets while Kenyon Martin contributed 19 points.
San Antonio led 27-21 after the first quarter before trailing 48-46 at the half.
It was not until the final quarter that the Spurs finally stamped their authority on the contest, Finley hitting a three-pointer with just under nine minutes to play, putting the home side in front to stay 79-78.
In Philadelphia, Michael Redd scored 30 points, including a clutch three-pointer to force overtime and Andrew Bogut had 13 points and nine rebounds in his NBA debut to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 117-108 win over the 76ers.
Bobby Simmons contributed 22 points and 12 rebounds to the Bucks’ total while T.J. Ford narrowly missed out on a triple-double, finishing with 16 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds to give Terry Stotts a win on his Milwaukee coaching debut.
Bogut, the first overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft, proved a solid addition to the Bucks’ starting lineup going 6-of-9 from the floor and 1-1 at the free-throw line.
Allen Iverson had 35 points and nine assists and Chris Webber added 32 points and 14 rebounds for Philadelphia.
In Oklahoma City, P.J. Brown scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the New Orleans Hornets who stormed to a 93-67 season-opening win over the Sacramento Kings in front of a capacity crowd at their temporary home.
J.R. Smith had 10 points and Chris Paul, the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft, had 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists in his debut.
The Hornets were playing the first of 35 home games at the Ford Center after being relocated to Oklahoma City because of Hurricane Katrina.
In Phoenix, Dirk Nowitzki poured in 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Dallas Mavericks who rallied for a 111-108 double overtime win over the Suns.
