Shaq’s debut a success

Shaquille O’Neal caught the ball deep in the low post, used his oversized posterior to bump Alonzo Mourning out of the way, and dropped in a layup with no one else around.

Miami’s new center had his way against a familiar face from the Heat’s recent past, shooting 7 for 9 from the field and scoring 16 points in a 100-77 victory Wednesday night over the New Jersey Nets at East Rutherford, N.J.

O’Neal’s night was a success because of the victory; Mourning’s an accomplishment simply because the former Miami center was able to play less than a year after undergoing a kidney transplant.

Mourning finished with seven points, five rebounds and four fouls in 14 minutes for a gutted Nets team that’s a shadow of the squad that reached the NBA Finals two of the past three years.

Richard Jefferson had 19 points to lead New Jersey, while Dwyane Wade had 21 points with six assists and five rebounds for Miami.

Raptors 95, Rockets 88: At Toronto, Chris Bosh had 20 points and Toronto handed Tracy McGrady and Houston its second consecutive loss.

76ers 98, Celtics 95: At Boston, Allen Iverson scored 30 points, five of them during an 11-0, fourth-quarter run when Philadelphia took the lead and held off Boston.

Pacers 109, Cavaliers 104 (2OT): At Cleveland, Ron Artest scored 31 points and Jamal Tinsley added 15 points and 14 assists as banged-up Indiana opened the season with a double-overtime win against Cleveland.

Magic 93, Bucks 92: At Orlando, Fla., Steve Francis hit the game-winning basket with two-tenths of a second remaining and finished with 26 points in his Orlando debut to lead the new-look Magic to a victory over Milwaukee. Orlando’s Grant Hill, in his first regular-season action since Jan. 16, 2003, scored 20 points.

Timberwolves 99, Knicks 93: At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett began his quest to repeat as league MVP with 28 points and 20 rebounds, and Minnesota beat New York.

Mavericks 106, Hornets 91: At New Orleans, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Jerry Stackhouse helped Dallas ruin Byron Scott’s debut as coach of New Orleans.

Wizards 103, Grizzlies 91: At Memphis, Tenn., Antawn Jamison scored 34 points to help Washington hand Memphis a loss in the first regular-season game at the new FedExForum.

Spurs 101, Kings 85: At San Antonio, Tim Duncan scored 30 points and Brent Barry made three 3-pointers in his Spurs debut, leading San Antonio over Sacramento.

Suns 112, Hawks 82: At Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire scored 18 of his 23 points in the first half and Phoenix raced past Atlanta.

Trail Blazers 78, Warriors 75: At Oakland, Calif., Nick Van Exel scored 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter against his former team, leading Portland past Golden State.

Jazz 104, Lakers 78: At Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer had 27 points and 11 rebounds in his Utah debut, Andrei Kirilenko added 16 points and eight blocks and the Jazz opened the season with a victory over Los Angeles.

Brown has hip surgery

Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown had surgery on his left hip and is expected to be away from the team for seven to 10 days.

Assistant coach Gar Heard will run the NBA champions during Brown’s absence. Heard coached the Dallas Mavericks in 1993 and the Washington Wizards in 2000. The 64-year-old Brown could return in time for Detroit’s home game against Minnesota on Nov. 17.

Brown had his hip replaced 15 years ago, and this latest operation was the result of wear on the artificial joint. It had recently caused him severe pain, the team said.

Stern says teams must adjust

NBA commissioner David Stern insisted that players and coaches must adapt to tighter officiating this season or more players will foul out.

Stern said teams that expect officials to eventually slack off on league directives regarding defense are mistaken.

“If that’s the way we’re going to do it, then we will have a lot of 31/2-hour games, and a lot of players fouling out,” said Stern, in Memphis for the opening of the Grizzlies new FedExForum.

“And it’s not going to be the referees’ fault. Ever. It will be the coaches and the players. Do I make myself clear?”

Around the league

Detroit forward Antonio McDyess was fined $5,000 by the NBA, a day after being ejected for kicking a basketball into the stands during the Pistons’ season-opening 87-79 win over Houston. … Denver shooting guard Voshon Lenard will have surgery Monday after tearing his Achilles’ tendon in the Nuggets’ season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday. … Howard Eisley returned to the Utah Jazz, signing a one-year deal with his former team. Eisley was waived by Phoenix last week.