Cavaliers 96, Bobcats 79

Cleveland – LeBron James scored 22 points, Daniel Gibson had 20 of his 25 in the first half, and Cleveland won its home opener against Charlotte, spoiling well traveled coach Larry Brown’s debut with the Bobcats.

James just missed a triple-double, adding nine rebounds and nine assists in only 30 minutes for the Cavs, who bounced back from a sloppy season-opening loss at Boston with a much crisper performance. Mo Williams finished with 17 points.

Jason Richardson scored 24 and Gerald Wallace 13 for the Bobcats.

Gibson made three three-pointers and eight of 10 shots in the first half, when the Cavs opened a 17-point lead. He is Cleveland’s best outside-shooting threat, and the Cavs missed him last year in the final two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston after he separated his shoulder in Game 5.

Gibson’s shooting stroke looked as good as ever in the first half, and Cleveland pushed its lead to 19 in the third and appeared to be on its way to a rout.

But the young Bobcats, who went 0-8 in the preseason, rallied and cut it to 62-57 on Richardson’s layup late in the third.

The Cavs, though, responded while James was resting on the bench.

Rockets 112, Mavericks 102

Dallas – Yao Ming and Ron Artest powered a 16-2 run late in the fourth quarter, carrying Houston past Dallas in the debut of new Mavs coach Rick Carlisle.

Yao finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds, and Artest scored 29 points. He had seven points in the decisive run, which began with the game tied at 92.

Hornets 108, Suns 95

Phoenix – Chris Paul had 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and New Orleans held off a rally, then pulled away to beat Phoenix and spoil the home debut of new Suns coach Terry Porter. Peja Stojakovic added 20 points before leaving the game due to a sprained right ankle.