NBA scores: Lakers drop to 0-3, Knicks smoke Heat, James Harden pops off (again)

Clippers 105, Lakers 95
That's right: the Los Angeles Lakers are 0-3. In the season's first battle of Los Angeles, the Clippers got a balanced effort and a second straight awesome game from Jamal Crawford (21 points on 5-12 shooting). Chris Paul dropped 15 assists with one turnover. Kobe Bryant had 40 points on 14-23 shooting, but Dwight Howard's line wasn't too notable (13 points, eight rebounds, five blocks) and Steve Nash sat. When will the Lakers' streak end? (Hopefully never.)

Knicks 104, Heat 84
I'm not really sure how to explain this, but the Knicks' starters killed the Heat's starters. Carmelo Anthony scored 30 and the Knicks hit better than 50 percent from three. The Heat had far too many turnovers. I guess maybe they felt bad for the Lakers?

Rockets 109, Hawks 102
So, uh, James Harden dropped 45 in his second game as a Rocket, following up on that 37-point opener. Jeremy Lin added 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Omer Asik didn't score (0-7 from the floor) but had 19 rebounds. Anyone want to chat with Daryl Morey right now?

Bucks 99, Celtics 88
This is a potentially important game: Milwaukee showed they could win on the road, and the Celtics showed they can lose at home to a sub-elite team. Brandon Jennings had 21 points and 13 assists.

Hornets 88, Jazz 86
The Hornets nearly knocked off the Spurs in the opener, and finished the Jazz on Friday. Eric Gordon might want to come back now. Paul Millsap thought he'd sent the game to overtime with a three-pointer late, but Emperor Greivis Vasquez changed that fate with a game-winning baseline jumper. Hornets win!

Bobcats 90, Pacers 88
Wait ... the Bobcats won too? That's right! Kemba Walker went bonkers with 30 points and Charlotte carried a big third quarter to sweet victory. This league is upside-down!

Magic 102, Nuggets 89
OK, what the Hades. The Nuggets were expected to be one of the better teams in the West; the Magic were widely picked at or near the bottom of the league. And the Magic killed Denver from the tip, and held on in the second half. Big Baby Davis had 29 and 10.

Thunder 106, Blazers 92
Russell Westbrook bounced back with a 32-point night (but it wasn't 45!), and Kevin Durant had 17 rebounds and seven assists. Damian Lillard dropped 20 points (21, actually) again. Monitoring.

Grizzlies 104, Warriors 94
Memphis won this game at the free throw line (28 makes vs. 12 for Golden State). And no, Mark Jackson did not institute the Zark The Marc strat.

Bulls 115, Cavaliers 86
The Bulls are 2-0. Nate Robinson had 12 assists. Anderson Varejao had five rebounds. The world is not, however, on fire.

Timberwolves 92, Kings 80
The Kings have been nothing less than depressing through two games. Thank goodness there's the Lakers.

Suns 92, Pistons 89
Detroit nearly pulled off the road win, but Greg Monroe had a poor night and Phoenix's starting five built up a nice cushion. The Suns won't go 0-82!

Check out our blog recaps at SBNation.com/nba-scores.