NBA ROUNDUP : Kidd’s Debut Is a Winning One as Mavericks Overwhelm Nets

Jason Kidd was all the Dallas Mavericks expected and more in his NBA debut Saturday night.

Kidd came within one rebound of a triple double and Jim Jackson tied a career high with 37 points as the Mavericks celebrated Coach Dick Mota’s return with a 112-103 victory over the New Jersey Nets in Dallas.

“This is just the first game in a long career,” Kidd said. “To me, it was just an average performance.”

Kidd, the rookie from California who signed for $54 million, had 11 assists from his point guard position, scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He had three steals and committed only three turnovers as the Mavericks overwhelmed the Nets.

Jamal Mashburn scored 30 points as Kidd’s presence seemed to energize a Dallas team that won only six home games last year.

“It’s just exciting being out on the court with Jason,” Jackson said. “You have to be on your guard for some of his passes. But you know he’s going to find some way to get you the ball. It’s great to have somebody on the court who is a true point guard.”

Motta was equally impressed with the play of his rookie.

“I would have expected Jason to be uptight, but he was loose and free,” Motta said. “Every time we got a rebound, we pushed the ball up the court.”

The Nets were led by Kenny Anderson, who had 30 points, and Derrick Coleman, who scored 18.

Golden State 108, Denver 104--Ricky Pierce hit a jump shot and Latrell Sprewell sank two free throws in the final 43 seconds to lift the Warriors over the Nuggets in Denver.

Pierce broke a 102-102 tie with a shot just inside the three-point line. Robert Pack missed a layup, and Sprewell followed with two free throws.

Tim Hardaway led the Warriors with 28 points. Pierce and Sprewell scored 25 and 24 points, respectively.

Rodney Rogers had 22 for the Nuggets.

Washington 100, Chicago 99--Rex Chapman, whose last-second 20-footer gave Washington an opening-night upset of Orlando, followed up by scoring seven of his 26 points in overtime and leading the Bullets over the Bulls in Chicago.

The Bullets, off to their first 2-0 start in nine seasons, had been 0-15 against the Bulls since last beating them Nov. 3, 1990. Tom Gugliotta scored 19 points for Washington.

Chicago’s Scottie Pippen scored 23 of his 29 points after halftime. But he missed the Bulls’ final two shots--a 15-footer with about 30 seconds left and a driving layup in the closing moments. After the latter, he argued that he had been fouled by Kevin Duckworth.

Toni Kukoc scored a career-high 25 points for the Bulls but missed two free throws in overtime.

Detroit 114, Atlanta 109--Terry Mills put Detroit ahead, then got a key steal in the final seconds of overtime as the Pistons beat the Hawks in Atlanta.

After Mills’ short jumper with 37 seconds left gave the Pistons a 110-109 lead, the Hawks’ Andrew Lang missed a 15-footer and, with 10 seconds remaining, Joe Dumars made two free throws to make it 112-109.

Mills picked off Mookie Blaylock’s inbound pass near midcourt with only five seconds left to kill Atlanta’s chances for a tie and drove for a layup for the final margin.

Mills finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Dumars scored 18, seven of them in overtime.

Atlanta got 30 points from Ken Norman.

Orlando 122, Philadelphia 107--Shaquille O’Neal scored 30 points and had nine rebounds as the Magic defeated the 76ers in Orlando for their first victory of the season.

Nick Anderson had 22 points and eight assists for the Magic; Anfernee Hardaway scored 19 points and had seven assists.

Clarence Weatherspoon led the 76ers with 27 points, and rookie Sharone Wright had 23 points and 15 rebounds.

Indiana 112, Boston 103--Reggie Miller led six Pacers in double figures with 24 points as Indiana defeated the Celtics in Indianapolis, making 11 of 11 free throws down the stretch.

Byron Scott scored 19 points off the bench for the Pacers. Dee Brown led the Celtics with 28 points, and Dominique Wilkins finished with 25.

Cleveland 115, Charlotte 107--Tyrone Hill scored 14 of his 20 points in the third period as the Cavaliers broke a five-game losing streak in season openers with the victory in Charlotte, N.C.

The last time Cleveland won a season-opening game was on Nov. 4, 1988, in a 133-93 victory in Charlotte, the Hornets’ inaugural game.

Mark Price scored 27 points, many from long range, for the Cavaliers. Scott Burrell led Charlotte with 21.

Houston 115, Minnesota 85--Hakeem Olajuwon scored 23 points as the Rockets turned the home debut of Minnesota Coach Bill Blair into a disaster with the Timberwolves’ worst-ever home loss.

Olajuwon finished nine short of becoming Houston’s all-time leading scorer, and Otis Thorpe had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the defending NBA champion.

Too tall and too fast for the hapless Timberwolves, the Rockets dominated inside. Houston led by as many as 38 in the fourth, and the 30-point final margin topped Minnesota’s previous worst home loss, a 26-point defeat to New Jersey on Dec. 30, 1992.

Seattle 110, Utah 103--Detlef Schrempf scored 26 points and Gary Payton 24 to lead SuperSonics over the Jazz in Seattle’s season opener at Tacoma, Wash.

A sellout crowd of 16,324 watched the SuperSonics come back in the third quarter after trailing by as many as 11 points in the third quarter. Karl Malone and John Stockton each scored 27 for the Jazz.