Rubio fires 28 pts in Timberwolves win over Lakers

LOS ANGELES – Ricky Rubio had a career-high 28 points and 14 assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 112-111 Wednesday night in their first game since Flip Saunders’ death.

Kevin Martin scored 23 points. The Timberwolves played with heavy hearts three days after they lost Saunders, the longtime coach and team president who battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Minnesota led 111-102 with 2:11 left, 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. Martin missed a jumper before Williams missed a leaning 4-footer at the buzzer.

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.

In other results, Chicago, which edged Cleveland in opener, picked up its second win by thumping Brooklyn, 115-110; Washington shaded Orlando, 88-87; Boston ripped Philadelphia, 112-95; Detroit also moved to 2-0 with a 92-87 win over Utah after upending Atlanta; Miami smothered Charlotte, 104-94; Toronto trounced Indiana, 106-99; Denver routed Houston, 105-85; Cleveland bounced back with a 106-76 demolition of Memphis; New York clobbered Milwaukee, 122-97; the Los Angeles Clippers downed the Sacramento Kings, 111-104; Portland dealt New Orleans its second straight loss, 112-94; Dallas got past Phoenix, 111-95; and Oklahoma outlasted San Antonio, 112-106.

Bryant largely appeared to be his usual spry and aggressive self in his first game since January after his third straight season ended early due to injury, but he missed his final eight shots down the stretch as Minnesota rallied.

No. 1 draft choice Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 12 rebounds in his NBA debut for Minnesota, and No. 2 pick D’Angelo Russell had four points and three turnovers in his own debut for the Lakers.

Saunders’ recent death and a pregame moment of silence put both teams in a somber mood in their season opener.

Kevin Garnett had four points and seven rebounds to begin his 21st NBA season, becoming just the third player in league history to last that long.

Extremes of youth and experience met at Staples Center: The top two picks faced off in their regular-season debuts for the first time in the 50-year common draft era, while two players with at least 20 seasons of experience faced each other for the first time in NBA history.