Bucks ride Redd to victory

Michael Redd thought for sure his tying 3-pointer would clang off the back of the rim.

Instead, the ball went through, capped a scrappy comeback and propelled Milwaukee to a fantastic start to the season.

Redd hit the game-tying 3-pointer in regulation and scored 30 points to lead the Bucks to a 117-108 overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night in the season opener in Philadelphia.

“That’s a shot that all NBA players love to have, that last second shot,” Redd said.

The Bucks loved that he took it. Redd’s 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left tied the game at 102-all, brought the Bucks back from seven points down with 3 minutes left and helped make Terry Stotts a winner in his Milwaukee coaching debut.

“For a young team, a team that’s coming together, to get the first one on the road is a good sign,” Stotts said.

T.J. Ford had 16 points, 14 assists, and nine rebounds in his first game after cervical spine surgery cost him all of last season. Andrew Bogut, the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick who was college player of the year at Utah last season, started for the Bucks and added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Allen Iverson scored 35 points and had nine assists, and Chris Webber added 32 points and 14 rebounds for the Sixers.

The loss spoiled the return of Maurice Cheeks in his Philadelphia coaching debut. One of the most popular players in franchise history, Cheeks has a retired No. 10 jersey and a 1983 championship banner hanging in the rafters.

Now, he has his first loss as coach.

“All the emotion is gone now,” Cheeks said. “This was not the way I wanted get the season started.”

Spurs 102, Nuggets 91: At San Antonio, the Spurs celebrated last season’s success and started their title defense.

Tony Parker scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and newcomer Michael Finley added 11 points in the period for the Spurs, who defeated Denver.

Before the game, San Antonio unveiled its third championship banner in the rafters of the SBC Center, and Commissioner David Stern was on hand for the team’s returning players to receive their diamond-studded title rings.

Tim Duncan had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs.

Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 23 points, while Kenyon Martin added 19. The Nuggets lost key reserve Nene in the first quarter to a leg injury.

Mavericks 111, Suns 108 (2OT): At Phoenix, Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Dallas erased a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Suns in double overtime.

Nowitzki sank a pair of long jumpers and Keith Van Horn made a 3-pointer in the second overtime. After Van Horn made 1 of 2 free throws with 23.7 seconds to play, Steve Nash missed what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer at the final buzzer.

Jason Terry added 23 points for Dallas, including the game-tying layup at the end of the first overtime.

Nash scored 30 to top Phoenix.

Hornets 93, Kings 67: They’re still officially the team from New Orleans, but a roaring capacity crowd witnessed the startling success of its Oklahoma City debut.

J.R. Smith scored 19 points and had two electrifying dunks as New Orleans beat Sacramento to mark the first of 35 home games in Oklahoma City.

The celebration began with a street party outside the Ford Center, then got more lively inside the sold-out arena as the Hornets, 18-64 last season, beat a Kings team expected to be a contender.

P.J. Brown finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Chris Paul, the team’s No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, scored 13.

Peja Stojakovic scored 18 and Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 14 for the Kings, who shot only 31.3 percent from the field.

Around the league

Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier died from a sudden heart rhythm disturbance caused by an abnormally enlarged heart, an autopsy showed. The state’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Kris Sperry, said Tuesday that his testing showed that electrocardiograms administered to Collier in 2003 and this year showed “some indication of electrical abnormalities.” He said that he had no evidence that the 28-year-old Collier was informed there was anything wrong with his heart. Collier’s wife said he had never been told of a reason for concern, Sperry said. … Dallas Mavericks center Pavel Podkolzin underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot and will be out at least through January.