Josh Giddey recorded his first double-double of the season but the Chicago Bulls just feel to reigning champions New York Knicks 133-127.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat finally earned their first win since the start of the season and the arrival of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 129-117 on Thursday (all times AEDT).
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Giddey tallied 10 points and season highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (11) in his best performance yet of the new season after a sluggish start.
However, Jalen Brunson went off for 38 points and the Knicks charged past the Bulls in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game in Chicago.
It saw Giddey’s Bulls fall to 1-4 on the season ahead of a nightmare run with clashes against Boston, Philadelphia twice and a rematch with New York over the next nine days.
In Atlanta, Greek two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo had been expected to immediately propel Miami into the ranks of Eastern Conference contenders, but his first victory in a Heat uniform came at the fifth time of asking.
Antetokounmpo, who had a triple-double in defeat to the Dallas Mavericks two nights earlier, again racked up impressive numbers, with 24 points and 18 rebounds.
This time he was backed up by teammates Bam Adebayo, who scored 24 with nine rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins who added 18 points.
Former Milwaukee Bucks star Antetokounmpo reached 1,000 career steals, while Adebayo became the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder, surpassing the record of 5,791 previously held by Udonis Haslem.
“I can’t really put it into words, man. I just wish I could have did it at the crib,” Adebayo said at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena.
Dyson Daniels had seven points, four rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the loss, while fellow Aussie Jock Landale added 10 points and six board off the bench.
Elsewhere, the star-packed Philadelphia 76ers bounced back from a disappointing loss against Detroit to move to 4-1 with a 114-109 victory in a back-and-forth clash with the Indiana Pacers.
LeBron James and the Sixers struggled to see off Indiana, which this week announced it would be without star Tyrese Haliburton for around two weeks due to a hamstring injury.
The Sixers fell behind in a lopsided third quarter, but rallied down the final stretch to seal the road victory.
Tyrese Maxey scored 17 of his 27 points in a blistering fourth quarter showing to spare his team’s blushes.
James managed just 13 points but added 10 assists, while Joel Embiid had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Jaylen Brown provided 20 points.
“JB and (Embiid) and Bron kind of got on me not being aggressive the first three quarters. When JB checked back in the game in the 4th quarter he said ‘you owe us, take us home,’” said Maxey.
“I just gotta do what my vets tell me to do.”
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The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered their first loss of the season, falling 120-96 to the Dallas Mavericks.
A victory would have made the Thunder the only team in NBA history to start three straight seasons 5-0, but they were denied as Cooper Flagg scored 26 points with eight assists for Dallas.
“I think we just got guys that are bought into a winning culture,” said 19-year-old star Flagg.
AJ Dybantsa, the top overall pick of the NBA Draft, played his first NBA minutes during the Washington Wizards’ 121-111 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Nineteen-year-old Dybantsa had missed the Wizards’ first four games with an ankle sprain but started Wednesday, scoring 19 points.
Dybantsa led Washington in scoring with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting in an impressive debut.
But the Cavaliers clinched victory in the final quarter. Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points with seven assists.
French superstar Victor Wembanyama poured in 36 points with 14 rebounds as his San Antonio Spurs won a third straight game with a 117-111 triumph over the Utah Jazz.
The Houston Rockets, one of three remaining undefeated teams, became the first to improve to 5-0, with a 132-100 win against the Bucks.
Fred VanVleet topscored with 24 while Amen Thompson added 23.
ALL RESULTS
Heat 129 Hawks 117
Wizards 111 Cavaliers 121
Hornets 89 Pistons 97
76ers 114 Pacers 109
Magic 99 Raptors 129
Knicks 133 Bulls 127
Rockets 132 Bucks 100
Warriors 119 Timberwolves 114
Nuggets 104 Pelicans 91
Spurs 117 Jazz 111 (OT)
Thunder 96 Mavericks 120
Lakers 103 Clippers 87