Warriors 99, Bulls 91

Monta Ellis scored 26 points, David Lee tallied 22 points and Stephen Curry had 21 points, 10 assists and six steals and to lead the Golden State Warriors to an impressive 99-91 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Golden State (1-1) recorded 16 steals in giving Mark Jackson his first career coaching victory and improving to 9-2 in its last 11 home games against the Bulls.

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose all shined as the NBA tipped off in style on Christmas Day with some sparkling action putting aside memories of the five month long lockout.

The Miami Heat immediately showed why they are title favorites by beating last season’s champions the Dallas Mavericks, while the New York Knicks enjoyed a surprise victory over the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden and the Chicago Bulls produced a great comeback to beat the Los Angeles Lakers.

The games were part of a five-game opening day to the delayed and reduced 66-game regular season after the dispute between players and owners over a new collective contract ended earlier this month.

LOS ANGELES — Derrick Rose scored the go-ahead basket with 4.8 seconds remaining as the Chicago Bulls opened their new NBA season with an 88-87 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

While Rose provided the finishing scoring touch, teammate Luol Deng gave the Bulls the fourth-quarter spark they needed to come from behind in front of a Christmas Day crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center arena.

“We showed fight,” said Rose. “We don’t want to be in a situation like that but we got it done.”

Deng scored nine points in the final quarter and intercepted a Kobe Bryant pass then quickly got the ball to Rose who drove to the basket before pulling up and draining a short one-handed lob.

NEW YORK — NBA players have an offer that could get them up to 51 percent of basketball-related income.

They rejected it Saturday, and if they don’t take it by the close of business Wednesday, they’ll get a proposal that would guarantee them just 47 percent and call for a flex salary cap.

While refusing to characterize his proposal as an ultimatum, Commissioner David Stern said his owners are ready to make a deal.

“We want to allow the union enough time to consider our most recent proposal, and we are hopeful that they will accept,” he said.

The NBA and its players are once again going back to the bargaining table this weekend to try to end the ongoing labor dispute, which has already claimed the month of November. The main sticking point seems to be the division of basketball-related income. The previous collective bargaining agreement called for a 57-43 split of the income in favor of the players; before talks broke down last week, the owners were said to be offering a 50-50 split, while the players wouldn’t go below 52.5 percent.

NBA players could have a choice Saturday: Accept a 50-50 division of basketball-related income or risk having more owners join the hardline faction that wants a 53-47 split in its favor— and a hard salary cap.

When talks resume, they may quickly break down unless the sides can compromise on positions that seem to be hardening by the minute.

A person briefed on the owners’ position Friday told The Associated Press that there were many hardline owners who want a deal at 53-47 in their favor as well as a hard cap, and that the rest wouldn’t go beyond a 50-50 split.