Dwight Howard dominated the boards in his Atlanta debut, Paul Millsap scored 28 points, and Tim Hardaway Jr. ignited the new-look Hawks to a 114-99 victory over the Washington Wizards in their season opener Thursday night in Atlanta.

Howard grabbed 19 rebounds to go along with 11 points, just what the Hawks expected from their new center, and it certainly wasn’t unusual for three-time All-Star Millsap to lead the way in scoring.

But Hardaway’s performance was totally unexpected given the way he struggled in his first season with the Hawks, when he was largely confined to the bench and even forced to spend time in the D-League.

He scored 21 points, matching his high in an Atlanta uniform, and broke open a close game with back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth. The Hawks, who led only 81-80 heading to the final period, outscored the Wizards, 33-19, over the final 12 minutes.

Markieff Morris led Washington with 22 points, but it was a tough night for the Wizards’ dynamic backcourt duo. John Wall finished with only 12 points on 3-of-15 shooting, while Bradley Beal was held to 13 points.

Otto Porter was the only other Washington player in double figures with 10 points.

Hardaway, on the other hand, scored 12 points in the final period, breaking open a close game.

Dennis Schroder, taking over as the Hawks’ starting point guard after the trade of Jeff Teague, had 14 points but only two assists.

Wizards center Marcin Gortat had 11 rebounds but didn’t have much help. Washington was outrebounded, 52-40.

Howard posted the most rebounds for anyone in their Atlanta debut, breaking the mark of 18 that Shareef Abdur-Rahim set at Houston on Oct. 30, 2001.

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The young Lakers got off to an exciting start in the franchise’s first season without Kobe Bryant since 1995, winning their opener, 120-114 over the Rockets on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Jordan Clarkson scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers won coach Luke Walton’s debut.

D'Angelo Russell scored 20 points and Julius Randle added 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.

The Lakers played an up-tempo, aggressive offensive game under Walton, and nobody seized the moment better than Clarkson, who came off the bench in his first game since signing a $50 million contract. His 3-pointer put the Lakers up, 116-112, with 1:48 left.

James Harden had 34 points, a career-high 17 assists, and 8 rebounds for the Rockets, who lost in former Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni’s debut on the Houston bench.