CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gordon Hayward had 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets handed the Brooklyn Nets their first loss of the season, 106-104 on Sunday night.

Terry Rozier added 19 points, including two clutch free throws, and P.J. Washington finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who limited the Nets to 42.7% shooting from the floor.

Kevin Durant led the Nets with 29 points, and Kyrie Irving chipped in with 25 points.

Hayward, acquired in a sign-and-trade this offseason with Boston, contributed in all phases — making 12 of 20 shots, setting up his teammates for good scoring opportunities with his playmaking ability and helping the Hornets escape from some potentially bad possessions.

The Hornets appeared to break open the game early in the fourth quarter behind seven quick points from Hayward.

But the 16-point lead nearly evaporated as Durant and Irving began to play with a sense of urgency and helped cut the lead to 101-99 with less than two minutes to play.

But with a chance to tie or take the lead, Irving’s driving layup was blocked and Devonte Graham knocked down a corner 3 at the other end to give Charlotte a cushion.

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot answered with a 3 for the Nets, and after P.J. Washington missed two free throws, Brooklyn had a chance. But Durant missed an open pull-up jumper with 7.4 seconds left and Rozier made two free throws to make it a two-possession game and seal the win.

MAVERICKS 124, CLIPPERS 73: Luka Doncic scored 24 points and Dallas led by a NBA-record 50 points at halftime in a rout of host Los Angeles.

Josh Richardson added 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 18 points for the Mavs, who kept up their dominance in the second half, too.

The Clippers trailed 77-27 at halftime, with their 50-point deficit being the largest at the break in the shot-clock era, which began in 1954-55.

Paul George led the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers with 15 points before sitting out the second half. Serge Ibaka added 13 points and nine rebounds over three quarters of the team’s first loss. The Clippers began with victories over the defending NBA champion Lakers and Denver.

PELICANS 98, SPURS 95: Brandon Ingram had 28 points and 11 rebounds and New Orleans held on for a home victory over San Antonio.

The Spurs had a chance to tie it after Steven Adams, whose put-back dunk put New Orleans up 97-91 with two minutes left, missed a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to go.

But Eric Bledsoe blocked DeMar DeRozan’s 3-point attempt from behind in the final seconds to preserve the victory for New Orleans.

Zion Williamson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, scoring about half of his points on dunks. Lonzo Ball had 16 points and five steals, and Josh Hart had 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

MAGIC 120, WIZARDS 113: Markelle Fultz and Terrence Ross each scored 26 points as Orlando mounted a big fourth quarter comeback and won in Washington to start a season 3-0 for the first time since 2009-10.

Nikola Vučević scored in the post to give Orlando a 114-113 lead with 25.1 seconds as the Magic scored the final 10 points of the game in defeating the Wizards for the sixth straight game.

Vučević finished with 15 points and eight rebounds while Evan Fournier added 19.

KNICKS 130, BUCKS 110: Tom Thibodeau’s first victory as Knicks coach came surprisingly easy against a top opponent, as New York routed Milwaukee in New York.

Julius Randle had 29 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, Elfrid Payton scored 27 points in his best game as a Knick, and New York led by as much as 28 against the team that had the best record in the NBA the previous two seasons.

The Knicks were among the NBA’s worst during that time but are hoping for a turnaround under Thibodeau, the former Coach of the Year who engineered comebacks in Chicago and Minnesota. The Knicks opened his tenure by hanging with Indiana and Philadelphia for a half before those teams pulled away in the final two quarters.

This time, they used a 16-2 run late in the first half to open a 61-43 lead, then got 12 points apiece from Randle and Payton in the third to make it a 21-point lead heading to the fourth. The Knicks opened the final period with seven straight points for a 103-75 bulge.

CAVALIERS 118, 76ERS 94: Andre Drummond scored 24 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and made three steals as Cleveland won its third straight game to start the season, beating Philadelphia in Cleveland.

Collin Sexton added 22 points and Darius Garland had 14 points and seven assists for Cleveland, which finished with the second-worst record in the NBA last season at 19-46. The Cavaliers are 3-0 for the first time since winning six in a row to begin 2016-2017.

Tobias Harris had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Philadelphia, which fell to 2-1 and played without center Joel Embiid (back tightness). Ben Simmons scored 15 points and Dwight Howard had nine points and four fouls filling in for Embiid.

WARRIORS 129, BULLS 128: Damion Lee hit a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining and Stephen Curry scored 36 points, sending Golden State to a victory in Chicago for its first win of the season.

With the Chicago defense focused on the sharp-shooting Curry, Lee took a handoff after Golden State inbounded the ball with 5 seconds left and fired from a few feet beyond the top of the 3-point arc.

Lee finished with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting on 3s.

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