NBA: Nuggets begin title defense with Lakers win, Suns slide by Warriors

SEASON OPENER: Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic shoots. Pic: AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Nikola Jokic had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, Jamal Murray scored 21 points and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 119-107 to begin defense of their title on Tuesday night.

Michael Porter Jr. had 12 points and 12 rebounds, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipped in 20 points and Aaron Gordon finished with 15 for the Nuggets.

LeBron James scored 21 points, Taurean Prince contributed 18, Anthony Davis had 17 -- all in the first half -- Austin Reaves scored 14 and D'Angelo Russell added 11 for Los Angeles.

The Lakers scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, part of a 13-0 run that began at the end of the third, to cut what was once an 18-point deficit down to three at 87-84. They had chances to get closer, but Jokic hit a 3-pointer, fed Caldwell-Pope for an 18-footer and made a jumper to give Denver an 11-point lead with 7:19 left.

Los Angeles responded to make it 103-96, but Murray drained a 3-pointer, Caldwell-Pope hit another mid-range jumper and Gordon threw home a dunk to make it 110-96. Los Angeles got back within 11 but a 3-pointer from Porter and a layup by Jokic closed it out.

The Nuggets came out inspired after receiving their championship rings and watching the banner being raised to the rafters. They used a 12-2 run to take a six-point lead 4:02 through the first quarter and kept building on it.

Caldwell-Pope hit a 3-pointer to make it 27-16 and Reggie Jackson drained one from deep to give Denver a 14-point lead heading into the second quarter.

Another Jackson 3-pointer early in the second made it 40-22, but the Lakers chipped away, scoring the last six points of the period to cut the deficit to 63-54 at halftime.

Los Angeles got within five to start the second half, but the Nuggets recovered and took a 16-point lead late in the third quarter. The Lakers scored the final nine points of the quarter, and a 3-pointer from Russell made it 87-80 heading into the fourth.

In San Francisco, Devin Booker capped a game-high 32-point performance with three key assists down the stretch Tuesday night, allowing the Phoenix Suns to get past the Golden State Warriors for a 108-104 victory.

A seesaw affair was a one-point game in the Suns' favor before Booker found Josh Okogie in the left corner for a 3-pointer that opened a 103-99 lead with 1:09 to play.

Stephen Curry countered with two free throws, but Booker then drew the defense and spotted Eric Gordon open for another 3-pointer, this one creating a five-point difference with just 44.7 seconds left.

Golden State, which lost three of four games to Phoenix last season, came back one more time on a Curry 3-pointer off an offensive rebound to get within 106-104 with 31.4 seconds left.

But after a timeout, the ball found its way to Booker, who this time drilled a completion to Jusuf Nurkic for a layup that produced the game's final points with 10.3 seconds remaining.

The assists were Nos. 6, 7 and 8 for Booker, who played without new backcourt sidekick Bradley Beal, out with a back injury.

Kevin Durant chipped in with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double for Phoenix, and Nurkic had a double-double of his own with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Okogie, whose late 3-pointer came on his only attempt of the game from beyond the arc, finished with 17 points, while Gordon, who missed his first seven 3-point attempts before making the last two, contributed 10 points off the bench.

The Suns outscored the Warriors 33-30 on 3-pointers despite taking 10 fewer attempts (43-33).

Curry paced six Warriors in double figures with 27 points but misfired on 10 of his 14 3-point tries.

Klay Thompson had 15 points, Chris Paul added 14 to complement a game-high nine assists and reserve Jonathan Kuminga scored 12 points for the Warriors, who were without Draymond Green (ankle).

Phoenix built a 15-point lead by halftime thanks in large part to 21 points from Booker before the break. But Golden State rallied in the third quarter, putting together a colossal 21-2 run that gave it a 73-66 lead with 5:00 to go until the fourth.