LOS ANGELES — Minnesota's Ricky Rubio had a career-high 28 points as the Timberwolves rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 112-111 on Wednesday in their opening game of the new NBA season.
It was an emotional win for the Timberwolves, coming three days after longtime coach and team president Flip Saunders died following a battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Among other games, Cleveland dominated a misfiring Memphis in the Grizzlies' home opener, Oklahoma City's Billy Donovan won on his coaching debut against San Antonio, and Miami defeated Charlotte.
Minnesota led by nine points with 2:11 left and seemed to have the game sewn up, but the Lakers finished on a 9-1 run. Lou Williams hit a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left to trim Minnesota's lead to one point. Minnesota's Kevin Martin missed a jumper before Williams missed a leaning 4-footer at the buzzer.
Rubio also had 14 assists and Martin scored 23 points for the Timberwolves, while Kobe Bryant scored 24 points in the first game of his 20th season with the Lakers, breaking John Stockton's NBA record for the most seasons with one team.