Jimmy Butler carries Bulls past Nets, Westbrook helps Thunder beat Spurs

Round-up: Chicago guard Jimmy Butler helped the Bulls withstand some shaky moments by scoring 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter during a wire-to-wire 115-100 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

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Image credit: TNT Sports

After getting 17 in the season opener against Cleveland, Butler led six players in double figures, shooting 9-of-11 and making his final five shots.

"A lot," Butler said when asked how much more energy he had after shadowing LeBron James for 36 minutes in Tuesday's opener.

"But we were making shots tonight so it made it a lot easier to drive to the rim and everybody's taking and making threes, we're hard to guard."

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Besides Butler, forward Nikola Mirotic knocked down four of Chicago's 14 three-pointers and added 18 points.

Center Pau Gasol nearly had a double-double with 16 and nine while point guard Derrick Rose consistently attacked the rim and contributed 15 as the Bulls shot 53.8 percent (42-of-78) and made 14-of-28 shots from behind the arc.

While Chicago's offense was flowing, the Nets struggled offensively and dropped their first home opener since moving to Brooklyn in 2012.

Center Brook Lopez led Brooklyn with 26 points but was 1-for-6 in the third quarter when the Nets shot 19 percent.

"I'm very disappointed in myself in the first and third quarter," Lopez said. "I don't feel like I played well and it hurt us."

Elsewhere, Kevin Love had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Richard Jefferson added 14 points to lead the defending Eastern Conference champions Cleveland Cavaliers to a 106-76 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Cavaliers, who lost their season opener on Tuesday in Chicago, built an early lead by taking advantage of poor Memphis shooting and were never threatened.

They led by 16 points at the end of the first quarter, by 21 at halftime and by 24 after three quarters.

There was also a win for the Oklahoma City Thunder, as Russell Westbrook scored 33 points to lead them to an 112-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Westbrook made 12 of 23 shots from the field and collected 10 assists. Forward Kevin Durant added 22 points and six rebounds in the Thunder's season opener.

There were also victories for the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, against the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets respectively

The Los Angeles Lakers were one of a number of teams to lose narrow contests - falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who picked up the victory in their first game of the season just days after losing their coach.

Flip Saunders, the Timberwolves coach and president, passed on Sunday after battling Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Ricky Rubio scored 28 points and handed out 14 assists as the Timberwolves held on for a 112-111 victory at Staples Center. Lakers guard Lou Williams missed a potential game-winning shot just before the final horn.

Wednesday night's other results:

Wizards 88, Magic 87

Pistons 92, Jazz 87

Nuggets 105, Rockets 85

Raptors 106, Pacers 99

Trail Blazers 112, Pelicans 94

Clippers 111, Kings 104

Mavericks 111, Suns 95

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