Australian NBA star Patty Mills has heeded the call from his coach with an outstanding contribution in the San Antonio Spurs' win over the Toronto Raptors.
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San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich expects more 3-point shooting from his side this season and Mills delivered in the Spurs' 119-114 victory.
The 32-year-old made five of six three-point attempts in an overall eight of nine from the field for 21 points off the bench against a Toronto side that now includes fellow Australian Boomer Aron Baynes.
His return follows 13 points in 19 minutes in the side's opening win over Memphis.
Baynes scored 13 points and had seven rebounds from his 20 minutes as he settles in at Toronto after moving from the Phoenix Suns.
The Raptors led 114-110 after Fred VanVleet's ringing 26-foot 3-pointer with 2:07 to play but San Antonio rallied on a 3-pointer by DeMar DeRozan (27 points) and a putback layup by LaMarcus Aldridge with 29.9 seconds remaining after three offensive rebounds by the Spurs.
Two free throws by Rudy Gay with 12 seconds left expanded the lead.
After a timeout and a missed 3-pointer by VanVleet, Keldon Johnson secured the win for San Antonio with a pair of free throws with 1.1 seconds left.
Ben Simmons' Philadelphia 76ers eased past the New York Knicks 109-89 for their second win as many games this season.
Joel Embiid scored a game-high 27 points as a 14-point second-quarter run drove the Sixers to what in the end was a comfortable road win.
Embiid also had 10 rebounds as the 76ers won their second straight to open the season.
Seth Curry and Tobias Harris each scored 17 points while Simmons had 15 points, nine rebounds and a game-high six assists - with the Australian star leading the defensive effort.
Julius Randle scored 25 points for the Knicks, who have lost their first two games of the season.
Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers gained sole possession of 10th place on the NBA's all-time wins list after sharing the spot with Bill Fitch for a few days.
Rivers gained his 945th victory in his 22nd season as a head coach after stints with the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, and Los Angeles Clippers before agreeing to take over the Sixers on October 1.
Dante Exum played his first minutes of the campaign as the Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the Detroit Pistons in double overtime, on the back of 32 points from Collin Sexton.
Exum had four points in his 13 minutes on court on his return from a calf injury.
A Russell Westbrook triple-double and 39 points from Bradley Beal could not prevent the Washington Wizards going down 130-120 to the Orlando Magic.
Westbrook had 15 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists to become the fourth player in NBA history to record triple-doubles in his team's first two game and the only player to do it with his new team.
Other winners were the Atlanta Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, the Indiana Pacers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Sacramento Kings and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Australian Associated Press
