Cats edge Knicks

Charlotte coach Larry Brown noted that at 3 hours, 1 minute, it "was about as long as a baseball game."

And the Bobcats weren't apologizing after being able to overcome blowing the equivalent of a big ninth-inning lead -- even if it was hardly a World Series-caliber performance.

D.J. Augustin's two free throws with 2.5 seconds left in the second overtime snapped a tie, and the host Bobcats persevered after squandering an 18-point, fourth-quarter lead for a 102-100 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

"We couldn't have lost this one," said guard Raymond Felton, who fought through cramps to finish with 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. "That would've hurt. But we got it done."

The ugly way they did it was perhaps fitting in a matchup of teams coming off losses by a combined 55 points in their openers. The Knicks missed 20 of their first 25 shots, then the Bobcats overcame a 51/2-minute scoring drought bridging regulation and the first overtime.

Also late Friday

Celtics 118, Bulls 90: Paul Pierce scored 20 of his 22 points in the third quarter, and the Boston Celtics rolled.

Cavaliers 104, Timberwolves 87: LeBron James scored 24 points and had nine rebounds and six assists to avoid his first 0-3 start in five years for the visiting Cavaliers.

Mavericks 94, Lakers 80: Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points, and Dallas was 25-of-32 from the free-throw line in routing host Los Angeles for its first win of the season.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 20 points.

Thunder 91, Pistons 83: Kevin Durant scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for visiting Oklahoma City.

Heat 96, Pacers 83: Jermaine O'Neal had 22 points and 12 rebounds against his former team.

Magic 95, Nets 85: Vince Carter returned to New Jersey and scored 16 points before leaving the game against his former teammates in the second quarter with a sprained left ankle.

Hawks 100, Wizards 89: Josh Smith scored 20 points and reached a blocked shots milestone, and host Atlanta held off Gilbert Arenas and Washington.

Grizzlies 115, Raptors 107: Zach Randolph scored 30 points to lead host Memphis to its first victory.

Hornets 97, Kings 92: Chris Paul scored 31 points and Emeka Okafor capped another strong performance by blocking Kevin Martin's tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds.

Jazz 111, Clippers 98: Paul Millsap scored 17 of his 23 of his points in the second half, and host Utah used a 15-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to beat Los Angeles.

Suns 123, Warriors 101: Steve Nash scored 18 points and had the sixth 20-assist game of his career in host Phoenix's rout of Golden State in its home opener.

76ers 99, Bucks 86: Andre Iguodala scored 19 points, Elton Brand had 17, and host Philadelphia bounced back from a dismal opener.

Notes

Nets' Harris out for week: New Jersey Nets point guard Devin Harris says he's out at least a week because of a sore right groin.

Wizards' Butler has bruised kneecap: Washington Wizards coach Flip Saunders expects forward Caron Butler to return Tuesday night against Cleveland. He sat out Saturday night's game against New Jersey because of a bruised left kneecap.

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