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 Jason Terry came off the bench to score 24 points, including six 3-pointers, and the visiting Mavericks crushed the defending Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers, 92-74 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.

   The Mavericks held foul-troubled "King James" scoreless in the decisive first half, before the All-Star forward finished with 10 points on 2-of-11 field goal shooting.

 "Defensively, we tried to get the ball out of LeBron's hands and make somebody else beat us," reigning league Most Valuable Player Dirk Nowitzki said. "Obviously, it helps when you make a lot of shots. Jet (Terry) was on fire and everybody else spread the court. It was a great way to start, and now we move on."

   Jerry Stackhouse had 17 points and Nowitzki added 15 points for Dallas, which played without All-Star forward Josh Howard, serving a two-game suspension for his role in a pre-season altercation with Sacramento's Brad Miller.

 Last season, the Mavericks finished with the league's best regular season record, (67-15), but were stunned by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. However, after a summer to lick their wounds and regroup, head coach Avery Johnson's troops looked impressive from the start.

 The Mavericks built a 54-34 halftime cushion, that grew to 25, before cruising to the easy victory.

 Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 17 points and 18 rebounds for the Cavs, who were handed their worst home loss since April 5, 2005.

 "It's the first game, hopefully we can put it behind us," James said. "We didn't play well at all. We didn't do anything right. We didn't play hard. We didn't execute."

   Elsewhere:

   San Antonio Spurs 104, Memphis Grizzlies 101

   Argentine Manu Ginobili scored 30 points, including two clutch free throws with three seconds left, as the defending NBA champions handed the host Grizzlies their eighth consecutive season opening loss.

 Tim Duncan and Frenchman Tony Parker had 17 points apiece for San Antonio, which beat Portland in their season opener on Tuesday night.

 Spain's Pau Gasol led the Grizzlies with 22 points, Damon Stoudamire had 18 and Rudy Gay finished with 16, but missed a potential game-tying 3-point try at the final buzzer.

 New Orleans Hornets 104, Sacramento Kings 90

   Chris Paul collected 22 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds as the Hornets celebrated their full-time return to New Orleans by spoiling Reggie Theus' coaching debut with the Kings.

 Peja Stojakovic added 19 points, David West had 17 points, while Tyson Chandler finished 15 points and 13 rebounds for New Orleans, which was forced to play the majority of its home games in Oklahoma City, after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

 Kevin Martin scored 26 points and John Salmons finished with 22 for the Kings, who were without starters Mike Bibby (thumb surgery) and Ron Artest (suspension).

 Orlando Magic 102, Milwaukee Bucks 83

   Newcomer Rashard Lewis scored 26 points, Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu had 24 and the Magic made 12 three-pointers to bounce the visiting Bucks.

 Michael Redd led the Bucks with 25 points, while Chinese rookie forward Yi Jianlian scored nine points in his NBA debut.

 Indiana Pacers 119, Washington Wizards 110 (OT)

   Jamaal Tinsley scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists, giving Jim O'Brien the victory in his Pacers coaching debut.

 Mike Dunleavy had 25 points and 12 rebounds while Danny Granger added 20 points and 13 boards for the Pacers, who were without injured Jermaine O'Neal and Troy Murphy.

 Gilbert Arenas led the Wizards with 34 points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that forced overtime. Antawn Jamison had 27 points and 16 rebounds.

 Toronto Raptors 106, Philadelphia 76ers 97

   Italy's Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points, including a rare four-point play down the stretch, while Chris Bosh had 16 as the Raptors opened defence of their Atlantic Division crown.

 Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with a game-high 23 points and Kyle Korver finished with 20.

 New Jersey Nets 112, Chicago Bulls 103 (OT)

   Antoine Wright scored 14 of his career-high 21 points in the final quarter and overtime, as the Nets regrouped to beat the Bulls in New Jersey for the 12th consecutive time.

 Richard Jefferson led the Nets with 29 points and 10 rebounds while Vince Carter had 24 points.

 Ben Gordon had 27 points and Luol Deng added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who fell short after erasing a 17-point second half deficit.

 Denver Nuggets 120, Seattle SuperSonics 103

   Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points, while Allen Iverson had 25 points, 14 assists and seven steals, helping the Nuggets spoil the NBA debut of Sonics rookie phenom Kevin Durant in the season opener for both teams.

 Durant finished with 18 points on 7-of-22 shooting for Seattle.

DPA