Greek Freak (37 points) leads Bucks past Celtics, 108-100

 Giannis Antetokounmpo dribbled into the paint, spun to his left and found his path to the basket blocked by Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum.

Instead, the Greek Freak fed the ball to Matthew Dellavedovabeyond the arc for the 3-pointer that helped seal Milwaukee's 108-100 victory over the Boston Celtics in the Bucks' season opener on Wednesday night.

"I passed the ball to Delly," said Antetokounmpo, who had 16 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter- and the biggest assist of the game, as well. "And that's what Delly does."

One night after a gruesome broken ankle just six minutes into the season cost Boston top free agent Gordon Hayward - perhaps for the entire year - the Celtics fell to 0-2 by giving up an 11-1 run that left Milwaukee with a 97-90 lead and under three minutes to play.

Antetokounmpo added 13 rebounds, Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 points and Khris Middleton had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks. Dellavedova scored 15 points, including the 3-pointer with 45 seconds left after the Celtics cut the lead to two points.

"I thought Giannis made a great play at the end, trusting his teammate," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "Just to trust his teammate down at the end to make a play ... he got off the ball and Delly made a big shot."

Kyrie Irving scored 17 points on 7-for-25 shooting in his Boston debut, and Jaylen Brown had 18 in a subdued home opener for the Celtics, who underwent a near-complete overhaul over the summer even after earning the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last season.

Although Irving and No. 3 draft pick Jayson Tatum appeared in a Celtics home uniform for the first time, Hayward was left to wish them well in a pregame video in his hospital gown from his hospital bed. After cheering Hayward during his scoreboard appearance, the Celtics fans broke into a chant of his name during the first half.

"Like he told us before the game, we got that message - before the whole arena got the message - he's fine," Celtics guard Terry Rozier said. "Personally, it was tough seeing, but I think we'll be fine. We've just got to adjust."

But the team was unable to make up for the absence of the player who was expected to be their key offseason acquisition when he signed a four-year, $128 million contract to rejoin Brad Stevens, his college coach, in Boston.

The Celtics trailed by seven heading into the third quarter before scoring 14 of the next 16 points, taking a 69-64 lead on Irving's 3-pointer from the top of the key. But the Bucks regained the lead with six minutes to play, holding Boston without a basket for about five minutes.

FIGHTING WORDS

Boston's Marcus Smart and Dellavedova traded hard fouls early in the second quarter, leading to some shoving and a technical foul for the Celtics guard. First, Smart went to the floor with a bit of a hip check. Later, Smart seemed to embellish his fall when Dellavedova ran into his screen.

Smart came up and put his chest into the Bucks guard, and Milwaukee's John Henson reached in to try to restrain him. Dellavedova was called for a common foul and Smart was given a technical.

TIP-INS

Bucks: Returned to the road for their season opener. Before opening at home the past two seasons, the Bucks had tipped off on the road for 30 years in a row. ... Greg Monroe went to the locker room in the first quarter with a cut on the side of his head, near his right eye, and said he had "a couple of" stitches. He and finished with 10 points in 17 minutes.... Antetokounmpo's 37 points were the third-most in his career.

Celtics: No. 3 overall draft pick Tatum had eight points and nine rebounds. ... Brown had his left wrist taped after the game and said "sprained it or something."

UP NEXT

Bucks: Host Cleveland on Friday night.

Celtics: Visit Philadelphia on Friday night.

Hayward suffers gruesome injury, Celtics lose opener 102-99

 Gordon Hayward's face was etched in pain and shock.

Of all the juicy subplots for this hyped homecoming and a season opener between heated rivals, a serious injury to Hayward wasn't on the list.

Boston's season changed in a gruesome instant Tuesday night.

Hayward, one of the new Celtics who was going to help them close the gap on Cleveland, broke his left ankle just five minutes into his debut, and Boston was beaten 102-99 on Tuesday night by LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Hayward's horrific injury overshadowed Kyrie Irving's return to Cleveland and re-directed Boston's immediate future and potential.

After the 27-year-old was wheeled from Quicken Loans Arena on a stretcher , offering a thumbs-up on his way to the ambulance, the Celtics rallied but came up short.

The outcome, though, hardly mattered.

"You hurt for him," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of Hayward, his former star at Butler. "It's a tough, tough deal, but I guess that's part of the risk of injury. I really feel for him."

James scored 29 points - 13 in the fourth quarter - in his most extensive action in three weeks because of a sprained left ankle. The superstar also fed Kevin Love for a critical 3-pointer with 46.3 seconds left to put the Cavs up 102-98.

Irving, who asked to be traded this summer after six seasons in Cleveland, had a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer at the horn but his shot was short. As the crowd exhaled, Irving shared a warm handshake and embrace with James, his teammate for three seasons and the one he wanted to get away from by demanding a trade this summer.

Jaylen Brown scored 25 and Irving 22 and 10 assists for the Celtics, who overcame an 18-point deficit in the third and led with 2:04 left.

Hayward, who signed a four-year, $128 million free agent contract with the Celtics this summer, was bumped by James while trying to catch an alley-oop pass with 6:45 left in the first quarter. The forward's leg got twisted underneath him as he came back to the floor and snapped his ankle grotesquely, his foot pointing awkwardly to one side.

The 27-year-old sat up, looked at his foot and yelled while some players covered their mouths and others turned their heads.

James said seeing Hayward get hurt reminded him of grisly injuries to Paul George, Shaun Livingston and Louisville's Kevin Ware.

"My thoughts and prayers go out to Gordon's family. Hope for a speedy recovery, a healthy recovery," James said. "Those are the injuries that you never see coming, you never want to happen, no matter who it is, no matter what the stature, no matter how much competitive nature that you have. It's just very unfortunate."

Hayward's injury changed the tenor of the highly anticipated matchup, and will alter the direction of Boston's season. Hayward will require surgery and need months to recover. Stevens said Hayward will be taken directly to the hospital in Boston once the Celtics' plane lands

The Celtics were understandably shaken at halftime, and went to the locker room down 16.

However, they battled back and were still leading 98-97 when James, who only played in one exhibition after spraining his ankle on Sept. 27, spun in the lane and made a layup to put Cleveland up by one. On Boston's next possession, James cut off Marcus Smart and deflected the ball off the guard's leg and out of bounds.

James then made a crosscourt pass to a wide-open Love, who drained his 3 to give the Cavs a four-point cushion.

"I just found a familiar face and Kevin was in the right place at the right time," James said.

Irving's free throw made it 102-99, and the Celtics had two late chances but both Brown and Irving missed late 3s.

Love had 15 and Derrick Rose 14 in his debut for the Cavs, who are trying to blend new faces and big egos quickly.

"We've got some things we need to figure out," James said. "It's a work in progress, for sure."

After the final horn, James and Irving, who spent part of the summer making subtle jabs at each other following the blockbuster trade, completed their signature handshake and the All-Star point guard greeted several former teammates.

He may still have a ways to go with Cleveland's crowd, which booed him every time he touched the ball.

Irving heard it from the moment he took the floor as Cleveland fans got their first chance to voice their displeasure toward him for demanding to be traded this summer despite three consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and one title.

"It's a really hard game for a guy to play, especially the first game of the season with all the emotion you have to go through," Stevens said. "How he can play at that level is beyond me."

PEP TALK

At halftime, Stevens tried to calm his players.

"I don't have any magic words for that," he said. "We're all feeling for him. I'm not going to try to take the human element out of it."

NEW GUYS

In his Cleveland debut, Dwyane Wade scored eight points on 3 of 10 shooting in 28 minutes.

Boston rookie Jayson Tatum had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

TIP-INS

Celtics: Stevens has been impressed with Irving's basketball acumen and how quickly he has picked up Boston's system. "He's spent a lot of time watching film, a lot of extra time talking about it. He has good insights," Stevens said. "Guys like that can fit in anywhere. It's about how do we all put our strengths together." ... Marcus Morris (sore right knee) took part in pregame drills but is out for a week or more.

Cavaliers: James (28,816) passed numerous Hall of Famers while jumping to No. 7 on the career scoring list last season. He came in nearly 1,500 points behind Dirk Nowitzki at No. 6. ... Although it may take some time for the Cavs to find their on-court chemistry, coach Tyronn Lue said that doesn't change his early expectations. "We still expect to win," he said. "We still expect to play hard and play the right way."

UP NEXT

Celtics: Host Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Cavaliers: At Milwaukee on Friday.

Thank You Paul Pierce

February 5th, 1999 a legend made his debut in a Celtics uniform.  A legend who debuted with 19 points.

Paul Pierce played 15 seasons with the Celtics.  In those 15 seasons he would make 10 All Star games, he totaled 24,000 points, and he won an NBA Title.

He may have been a visitor in Boston yesterday, but it was like home again one last time.  Before the game he would kiss the Celtics logo at half court and with 11 seconds to go he would drain a three.  The fans in Boston gave him a huge standing ovation when they introduced him before the game and after the game the fans gave him another standing ovation.  During a time out during the first quarter there was a tribute to say thanks to a legend who would wear a Celtics uniform.

Moments like this is what makes sports so great.  Yea, the competition is there, but to go out in another team's uniform after playing for one team for 15 years and still get the respect he got was heart felt.

Wade scores 22 in Chicago debut, Bulls beat Celtics 105-99

Dwyane Wade got the ball in the corner, took a dribble to his left and stepped back for the dagger 3-pointer.

He made a throat slashing gesture with his right hand after the ball swished through the net and started jumping around as the crowd roared.

Wade scored 22 points in a triumphant Chicago debut,Jimmy Butler had 24 and the Bulls won their season opener, beating the Boston Celtics 105-99 on Thursday night.

Wade hit the clinching 3 with 26.3 seconds left. Taj Gibsonadded 18 points and 10 rebounds, and the new-look Bulls got off to a winning start after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 2008.

"To be able to make a shot like that and helps us get this win, it's like the perfect storm," Wade said.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 25 points. Avery Bradley had 16, and Jae Crowder 14 points, but the Celtics came up short after opening with a win over Brooklyn the previous night.

"We lost the game in a fashion we didn't want to lose," Crowder said. "I feel like we got punked all night."

The Bulls remade their roster in the offseason, jettisoning one hometown superstar and welcoming another when they traded Derrick Rose to New York and signed Wade to a two-year deal worth about $47 million in a move that stunned Miami.

The three-time NBA champion and 12-time All-Star is off to a good start with the Bulls after 13 seasons with the Heat. Wade hit 4 of 6 3-pointers in this game after making just 7 of 44 all of last season.

Rajon Rondo, signed by Chicago after a resurgent season with Sacramento, added nine assists. Butler had seven rebounds, and the Bulls pounded the Celtics on the glass 55-36.

They showed a scrappiness and edge that was missing last season. They were unselfish, passing the ball around, and hit 11 of 25 3-pointers.

"I think everybody's having fun out there," Butler said.

HANGING ON

The Bulls were leading 95-81 midway through the fourth quarter after newcomer Michael Carter-Williams buried a 3 and a floater and Butler hit a floater of his own.

The Celtics scored 11 straight to get back into it, a driving layup by Thomas cutting it to 95-92.

It was 101-99 when Boston's Jaylen Brown got called for a travel. Wade then nailed that 3 over Bradley to make it a five-point game with 26.3 seconds left, sealing the win for Chicago.

"We're learning each other," Wade said. "We're learning what we have in those types of moments at the end of ballgames and those types of moments."

TEMPERS FLARE

Butler had some heated words with college teammate Crowder late in the first half.

Crowder rebounded a miss by Wade - another Marquette product - and charged into Butler, leading to a heated exchange.

Rondo also got into it with Isaiah Thomas, and all four players got called for technicals.

"Jae's my guy," Butler said. "It's the heat of the moment. That's what's supposed to happen."

TIP-INS

Celtics: Boston coach Brad Stevens said Rondo made a good impression on him during their time together in Boston. "I thought he was very bright obviously, he understood the game, he can make passes in small areas that I have never seen before," Stevens said. "And I tried to coach him like I would coach anybody else. The only thing I would say that you have to be yourself so I coached him like I would coach anybody else."

Rondo was working his way back from a torn ACL in his right knee and played in 30 games during Stevens' first season - 2013-14. He started 22 games the following year for Boston before being dealt to Dallas.

Bulls: The Bulls signed former Celtics first-round draft pick R.J. Hunter. The guard from Georgia State was let go by Boston this week in what Stevens called a numbers crunch. "We had more than 15 NBA players so it was just a matter of time who he was going to get picked up by," Stevens said. "I think the way that he plays fits with how they like to play."

UP NEXT

Celtics: At Charlotte on Saturday.

Bulls: Host Indiana on Saturday.

Thomas scores 25, Celtics fight off Nets 122-117

With 2:31 left to play, Brooklyn's Trevor Booker made a layup to cut the Celtics' lead to 10 points and Boston coach Brad Stevens pointed at his resting starters and told them to get back on the floor.

The Nets had erased most of a 23-point deficit against the Boston backups, and they would make it an eight-point game before Stevens got his first team back in.

"It's a reminder of how quickly things can turn in this league," Stevens said after his starters preserved a 122-117 victory in the season opener on Wednesday night. "I probably will be less likely to leave them in that long if we're in a similar scenario. Hopefully we learn from it, and we're not."

Isaiah Thomas had 25 points and nine assists, Jae Crowderadded 21 points and Al Horford pitched in 11 in his Boston debut for the Celtics.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 for Brooklyn, including a 3-pointer to make it 120-117 with 47 seconds left. But he missed another 3 with a chance to tie it after Joe Harrisintercepted Thomas' cross-court pass, and the Celtics were able to hold on.

Justin Hamilton came off the bench to score a career-high 19 points and grab 10 rebounds for the Nets.

"Very pleased that we didn't give up and we kept on fighting," coach Kenny Atkinson said after his debut.

The Celtics led 112-89 with 8 minutes to play, and they led by 19 with 5:28 left when Avery Bradley went to the bench to join the rest of the first teamers, who started the quarter there. Brooklyn scored 11 straight points before Stevens decided he'd seen enough.

Thomas, Crowder, Horford, Bradley and Amir Johnson re-entered the game with an eight-point lead and 2:07 left and did just enough to protect it. Bradley had nine rebounds, the biggest after Hamilton's missed 3-point shot with 15 seconds left on another attempt to tie it.

Hamilton gave the credit to the Nets bench for closing the gap.

"They came in with the energy that we needed to have the whole game," he said.

MONEY WELL SPENT

Horford added five rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who signed him during the NBA's offseason spending spree to a four-year, $113 million deal.

The Celtics are hoping he will help lead them to an Atlantic Division title this season, one year after they finished eight games behind Toronto with the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

"He's the same the same old Al," Atkinson said, "doing the stuff and hitting the big shots."

NEWCOMERS

Celtics No. 3 overall draft pick Jaylen Brown was pleased to hear that he didn't seem to have any nerves in his NBA debut. Brown scored nine points on 3-for-4 shooting, and he added two blocked shots in 19-plus minutes.

How nervous was he?

"On a scale of 1-10, I was a seven or eight," he said with a smile. "You want to have a lot of energy, and it's hard to suppress your energy."

FIRING AWAY

The Nets shot 44 3-point attempts, making 15. Atkinson said he wanted them to shoot more this season, but that number may be a little more than he planned.

"Yeah, 44 is a lot, but we'll look at them," he said. "We said we want to take them, but they have to be open 3s."

TIP-INS

Nets: Earlier in the day, Jeremy Lin donated $1 million to Harvard, where he graduated in 2010. The money will be used for undergraduate financial aid and to help renovate the school's basketball arena.

Celtics: Injured guard Marcus Smart gave the traditional season-opening thanks to the crowd for the Celtics.

UP NEXT

Nets: Thursday host Indiana. The Nets open their fifth season in Brooklyn.

Celtics: Thursday visit Chicago. The Bulls will try to hold onto the city's attention on an off-night for the World Series, where the Cubs are trying to win their first championship since 1908.