USA - Scola shines as Rockets rout Panathinaikos

HOUSTON (NBA) - Luis Scola enjoyed an excellent game against old foes Panathinaikos on Thursday to help fire the Houston Rockets to a 107-70 triumph over the reigning Euroleague champions.

China center Yao Ming had 21 points and eight rebounds and former Tau Ceramica power forward Scola, who faced Panathinaikos on numerous occasions in recent seasons, added 17 and six as the Rockets coasted to victory.

The revamped Rockets, who added Scola, Mike James and brought back Steve Francis in the close season, raced out to a 33-17 lead after one quarter and never looked back.

Five players finished in double figures for the Rockets, who open their 2007-08 campaign against the Los Angeles Lakers on October 30 at Staples Center.

Michael Batiste and Sani Becirovic each poured in 14 points for Panathinaikos, who registered four technical fouls, including two by coach Zelimir Obradovic.

Batiste made six of 10 shots and grabbed nine rebounds.

Houston's Tracy McGrady rested his sore left knee, but should be in action when the Rockets host the Dallas Mavericks on October 18.

Madrid upset Raptors

Another Spanish side beat NBA opposition on Thursday with Real Madrid edging the visiting Toronto Raptors 104-103.

Louis Bullock scored 27 points for Madrid, the 2006-7 ACB champions.

Charles Smith scored 18 points and Sergi Llull added 17 for Real, who outplayed Toronto down the stretch.

Smith nailed a three-pointer from the left corner to give Real a 97-92 lead with 62 seconds left.

After Italy's Andrea Bargnani drilled a shot from the arc to cut the Raptors' deficit to 97-95 with 42 seconds left, Llull knocked down three of four free throws to push Real's advantage back to five.

TJ Ford made three free throws to draw Toronto within 100-98 with 10 seconds remaining, but Bullock converted four shots from the line to keep Real comfortably ahead over the last nine seconds.

Real overcame a pair of baskets from Juan Dixon and Ford, who drilled a three-pointer as time expired.

Bargnani scored 23 points and Ford added 18 and eight assists for Toronto, who dropped to 1-2 in pre-season play.

Spain national team power forward Jorge Garbajosa scored 15 points and Slovenia captain Rasho Nesterovic chipped in 13 for the Raptors, who shot 47% (37 of 79).

The defending Atlantic Division champion Raptors next return home to Toronto for one more game against European competition with Zalgiris Kaunas next Wednesday before facing NBA teams for the remainder of the pre-season.

The Raptors were without All-Star forward Chris Bosh, who was sidelined with a sore left knee.

Grizzlies bounce back with rout of Estu

Serbia's Darko Milicic and Spanish national team center Pau Gasol made sure the Memphis Grizzlies didn't leave Spain without a win.

The frontcourt duo combined for 23 points and 15 rebounds as the Grizzlies had little trouble with MMT Estudiantes on Thursday, rolling to a convincing 98-73 victory in pre-season action.

The win came on the heels of Tuesday's 102-99 loss to Unicaja Malaga. Memphis now returns to the United States to finish their pre-season slate.

Milicic came off the bench to score a team-high 13 points and pull down seven rebounds in a little over 22 minutes. Gasol played just 19 minutes and added 10 points with a team-best eight rebounds.

The Grizzlies, who shot 46.3 (37-of-80) percent from the field, raced out to a 32-11 lead after the first quarter and were never challenged from there.

Their lead was 52-33 at the half and 80-52 after three quarters.

Crawford, Randolph lead Knicks past Maccabi Tel Avi

After a sluggish start, the Knicks recorded a 112-85 pre-season victory over Maccabi in a charity game Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

The first game between the Knicks and the Israeli giants benefited Migdal Ohr, the largest children's charity in Israel.

It also came in front of many fans who were not rooting for the Knicks.

While Maccabi has several Israeli players, it also has a few former NBA players, including Vonteego Cummings, who appeared in 199 games with the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers from 1999-2002.

Since then he has bounced around Europe, and before Maccabi left Tel Aviv, Cummings told an Israeli newspaper that his team would win.

For 12 minutes he was correct as the Knicks missed their first eight shots and Cummings scored 11 points, allowing Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv to grab a 25-20 lead.

The lead lasted until the early minutes of the second quarter when the Knicks began gaining control as new acquisition Zach Randolph and starting guards Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford helped New York take a 53-43 lead at half-time.

A bulked-up Crawford led the Knicks with 18 points, including the first eight of the second half.

That turned a 10-point game into a rout as New York cruised the rest of the way and took an 83-67 lead through three quarters and scored the first 10 points of the fourth.

Randolph finished with 15 points.

Hill's debut a success as Suns beat Kings

The run-and-gun show that is the Phoenix Suns was back in action Thursday night, and veteran Grant Hill had no problem fitting in with his new team.

Hill scored 17 points and added eight rebounds in his debut and disgruntled forward Shawn Marion collected 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Suns posted a 110-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings in their pre-season opener.

Marion, a four-time All-Star, requested a trade in the close season after failing to secure a contract extension but has remained with Phoenix and promised the issue wouldn't affect his performance. If his first game is any indication, he's right.

He shot seven of 10 from the floor and showed his versatility by adding four assists and a pair of blocked shots.

In other pre-season games, Shannon Brown scored five of his nine points in the extra session to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 96-90 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons in Thursday's pre-season matchup.

Acie Law IV had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists in his first pre-season start and Al Horford added 10 points and nine rebounds to lead the resurgent Atlanta Hawks to a 109-104 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

FIBA