NBA scores: Lakers open with a thud, Heat stave off Celtics

Welcome to NBA Scores, a daily SB Nation feature in which I'll give you a quick, snappy rundown of the league's action and curate the best recaps from our team blogs. This is the piece to look at if you need a quick read on what happened. To dig in, check the recaps. You can always find NBA Scores at sbnation.com/nba-scores. (Pretty simple, right?)

Let's dig in, starting with marvelous, sweet Cosmic Justice.

Mavericks 99, Lakers 91
Oh man. The Lakers, with four Hall-of-Famers in the starting lineup, lost on opening night to a team missing Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman, forced to start Brandan Wright and offer heavy minutes to Eddy Curry. Dallas played exceptionally tough -- this is not a team that will back down from the superpowers, no matter the talent disparity. Pau Gasol, the forgotten man, was L.A.'s best player (23 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists -- all game highs) but the Lakers went a stunning 12-31 from the free throw line (Dwight Howard was 3-14) and got embarrassed. New Mavs point guard Darren Collison had 17 on 8-12 shooting. The world is just. Great job hating, everyone.

Heat 120, Celtics 107
The post-positional apocalypse is upon us, and I forget to pick up more Top Ramen. Miami started LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Shane Battier up front, and were pretty much unstoppable when those guys were in the game. Miami broke it open in the third (winning the quarter 31-22) and staved off the Boston comeback as LeBron dealt with cramps. You'll hear more about Rajon Rondo's hard foul on Dwyane Wade than you will about Kevin Garnett's dismissal of Ray Allen. But you'll hear plenty about both.

Cavaliers 94, Wizards 84
Yes, there was a third game on Tuesday! It actually tipped off the NBA season. Anderson Varejao racked up 23 rebounds (12 offensive) -- but he had plenty of opportunities as the 'Zards shot 35 percent. It's amazing, frankly, that Washington was in the game in the second half given that abysmal shooting. But the Wizards collected 18 of their own misses on the glass and won the turnover war 20-12. In the end, the awful shooting night was too much to overcame and the Irving-Waiters backcourt is 1-0.

Remember: check out our bloggers' recaps at sbnation.com/nba-scores.