LeBron James scored 24 points to lead the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 104-87, for their first victory of the season.

James took most of the fourth quarter off, finishing with nine rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes and avoiding his first 0-3 start in five years. He shot 10 for 18 from the field while the Cavaliers used the renovated Timberwolves to revive their defense, which allowed an average of 98 points in losses to Boston and Toronto.

The Cavaliers were better offensively, too. Mo Williams added 20 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskus had 11 of his 15 points in the first half to help make up for some early lulls, and Daniel Gibson made three 3-pointers in a 3-minute stretch of the fourth quarter to end any hope the Timberwolves had of rallying.

Jonny Flynn had 17 points for the Timberwolves, who again missed Kevin Love's rebounding ability. They overcame that deficiency to turn a 16-point deficit against New Jersey into a buzzer-beating victory.

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown discussed his team's "bunker mentality" before the game, touting the importance of blocking out external expectations and criticism and joking that some of his relatives are afraid to call him because he's so focused on the job.

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

n Bobcats 102, Knicks 100: D.J. Augustin made two free throws with 2.5 seconds left in the second overtime and host Charlotte recovered from blowing an 18-point, fourth-quarter lead to beat New York.

n Hawks 100, Wizards 89: Josh Smith, 23, scored 20 points and became the quickest player to 900 blocks in host Atlanta's win.

n 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 of Orlando's win. Center Dwight Howard had 20 points and 22 rebounds

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

n Grizzlies 115, Raptors 107: Zach Randolph scored 30 points and was one of six Memphis players in double figures in a win against visiting Toronto.

n Hornets 97, Kings 92: Chris Paul scored 31 points and Emeka Okafor blocked Kevin Martin's tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds to help host New Orleans beat Sacramento.

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

n Heat 96, Pacers 83: Jermaine O'Neal had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Dwyane Wade scored 32 as visiting Miami beat Indiana.

n The Boston Celtics elected not to suspend forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis after an early morning fight with a childhood friend the day before the season opener left him out for at least five weeks with a broken right thumb. Davis was fined an undisclosed amount. In his first meeting with the media since the incident, Davis said he apologized to his teammates and had a lot of growing up to do. ... Detroit Pistons guard Richard Hamilton will miss at least two games because of a sprained right ankle.

Jim Mone/Associated Press

The Timberwolves' Damien Wilkins defends against the Cavaliers' LeBron James in the second half last night in Minneapolis.

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