Francis Is Clutch in Magic’s Win

The new-look Orlando Magic needed some magic Wednesday night to beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 93-92, on Steve Francis’ game-winning layup with two-tenths of a second remaining at Orlando, Fla.

Francis, acquired in an off-season trade, finished with 26 points. Grant Hill scored 20 in his return from a 21-month layoff because of injury. Top draft pick Dwight Howard had 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

“I’ve hit some shots in my career, but I think this one is even more special being that this is my first official game for the organization,” said Francis, part of a seven-player swap that sent disgruntled star Tracy McGrady to Houston.

That trade highlighted the Magic’s overhaul during the summer as it tried to shake off a horrendous 61-loss season. Orlando has only four players remaining from April’s roster.

“The guys in the locker room now don’t have a reference point for what happened last year,” Coach Johnny Davis said. “We don’t even talk about what happened last year. Last year is gone.”

The Bucks took a 92-91 lead on Michael Redd’s banked-in jumper with 3.5 seconds to play in their opener. Redd finished with 19 points.

On the final possession, Hill inbounded from the left side to Francis, who beat Mo Williams on the turn to the basket and got the shot off.

“I know I can get from one end of the court to the other in three seconds, so why can’t I get from the top of the key to the rim in three seconds?” said Francis, who also had nine rebounds and seven assists. “Pat Garrity set a great screen in getting me open, they all spread out and I was able to get the shot.”

San Antonio 101, Sacramento 85 -- Tim Duncan scored 30 points, and Brent Barry made three three-point baskets at San Antonio in his Spur debut.

San Antonio led by 21 in the fourth quarter before the Kings went on an 11-0 run to cut the difference to 93-83 with three minutes remaining.

Manu Ginobili and Barry then made three-pointers, and Tony Massenburg hit a high-arcing turnaround jumper to end the spurt. The Spurs improved to 8-0 in season openers since Duncan joined the team in 1997.

Phoenix 112, Atlanta 82 -- Amare Stoudemire had 18 of his 23 points in the first half for the Suns at Phoenix. Stoudemire also had eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Joe Johnson scored 17, and Steve Nash had 12 points in his Suns’ debut.

Yuta Tabuse entered the game with 10 minutes left to become the first Japanese-born player to play in an NBA game. The 5-foot, 9-inch point guard scored seven points, including a three-pointer that put Phoenix up, 100-64, with 4:58 to play.

Washington 103, Memphis 91 -- Antawn Jamison scored 34 points to hand the Grizzlies a loss in the first regular-season game at the new FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.

Juan Dixon had 28 points and Jarvis Hayes had 20 points for the Wizards, who outscored Memphis 32-11 in the third quarter to take control.

Indiana 109, Cleveland 104 -- Ron Artest scored 31 points, and Jamaal Tinsley had 15 points and 14 assists as the banged-up Pacers opened the season with a double-overtime win at Cleveland. The Pacers were without starters Jermaine O’Neal, Reggie Miller and Jeff Foster.

Dallas 106, New Orleans 91 -- Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Jerry Stackhouse helped the Mavericks ruin Byron Scott’s debut as coach of the Hornets at New Orleans.

All three scored 19 points, and Dallas had three others reach double figures in the Hornets’ first game in the Western Conference.

Minnesota 99, New York 93 -- Kevin Garnett began his quest to repeat as most valuable player with 28 points and 20 rebounds at Minneapolis.

Philadelphia 98, Boston 95 -- Allen Iverson scored 30 points, five of them during an 11-0 fourth-quarter run when the 76ers took the lead and held off the Celtics at Boston.

Toronto 95, Houston 88 -- Chris Bosh had 20 points at Toronto, and the Rockets fell to 0-2 on the season.

Portland 78, Golden State 75 -- Nick Van Exel scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter against his former team at Oakland.

Mike Dunleavy missed two three-pointers in the final seven seconds, including one at the buzzer, spoiling the NBA debut of Warrior Coach Mike Montgomery.