Stephen Curry racks up 40 points in opener

NBA MVP Stephen Curry showed in a hurry he hasn’t lost a step or his swagger, scoring 40 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 111-95 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night in Oakland to open their title defense.

Curry put on a familiar shooting clinic from all over the court, knocking down seven of his first nine shots with four three-pointers for 24 first-quarter points. He finished 14 for 26 with seven assists and six rebounds in a rematch of the first round of the playoffs that Golden State swept 4-0.

Curry and the Warriors raised the championship banner and received their rings in a pregame ceremony. Coach Steve Kerr attended, then left for the locker room to rest his surgically repaired back as interim Coach Luke Walton led the team.

Anthony Davis of the Pelicans scored 18 points but made only four of 20 shots from the field.

at Chicago 97, Cleveland 95: Nikola Mirotic scored 19 points and Derrick Rose added 18 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a season-opening 97-95 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers with President Barack Obama watching on Tuesday night at Chicago.

Pau Gasol blocked a potential tying layup by James in the closing seconds. Jimmy Butler then broke up an inbounds pass intended for James as time expired.

The president sat courtside for most of the game as his beloved Bulls knocked off the defending Eastern Conference champions and gave Coach Fred Hoiberg a narrow win in his first game.

James scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Cleveland, but the Cavaliers came up short against the team they knocked out in the conference semifinals last season.

Detroit 106, at Atlanta 94: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 21 points to lead all five Detroit starters in double figures, ruining the home opener of the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference last season.

The Pistons, who haven’t had a winning season since 2008 and finished 28 games behind the Hawks a year ago, began to pull away just before halftime. They led by double figures through most of the final two quarters and held on despite missing 20 of their last 22 shots from the field.

Atlanta was looking to build on last season’s franchise-best record of 60-22 and run to the conference final. Instead, the Hawks picked up where they left off in a sweep by the Cavaliers.

The Pistons had a 59-40 edge on the boards.