LOS ANGELES -- Pau Gasol and Steve Nash watched the entire fourth quarter from the bench. [url=https://www.cheapdodgersonline.c

LOS ANGELES -- Pau Gasol and Steve Nash watched the entire fourth quarter from the bench. Austin Barnes Jersey . Kobe Bryant sat one row behind them in a black shirt and suit. The Lakers three veteran stars were spectators for one remarkable show put on by five Lakers reserves who werent ready to cede Los Angeles supremacy to their Staples Center rivals. Xavier Henry scored a career-high 22 points, Jordan Farmar added 16, and the Lakers surged past the Los Angeles Clippers in the final minutes for a 116-103 victory in both clubs season opener Tuesday night. By the time the Lakers reserves were done with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, coach Doc Rivers Clippers debut was wrecked -- and so were many preconceptions about the Lakers prospects this season. The Lakers 76 bench points were the most in club history since March 1985. "Its not a bad thing to be the underdog sometimes," said Jodie Meeks, who scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter. "No expectations. We go out there and play hard. Whats the worst that can happen? We lose, and people say were no good?" The Lakers 41-point fourth quarter was downright stunning, but the identities of the players responsible for this exciting, free-flowing opener were even more jaw-dropping. "Mike (DAntoni) did a great thing: He didnt bring his starters back in," Rivers said. "There was a point where I was thinking: Please bring them back in." A team that was 28th in the NBA in reserve scoring last season got outstanding bench play from a five-man unit, including three guys who werent even on the team last season: Wesley Johnson, two-time NBA champion Farmar, and Henry, the former first-round pick who burned out in Memphis and New Orleans. A new season is a chance for a fresh start, and Henry needs one just as much as the Lakers. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter while leading a 28-8 run. "Were a deep team, and people dont think were that good," Henry said. "That always fuels us. People are saying were going to finish 12th or whatever, but we have a great group of guys who go out there and play hard. Were young. Were athletic. We get after it." The long-established hoops hierarchy in Los Angeles flipped earlier this year: The Clippers won a division title and became veteran championship contenders, while the Lakers lost their stars to injury or free agency and prepared for a long rebuilding process. At least in the opener, the Lakers flipped it again -- and embarrassed Rivers in the process. "We were not ready tonight," said Rivers, the longtime Celtics coach who hopes to push the Clippers into title contention. "(The Lakers) have heard for probably the last two months how good (the Clippers) were going to be ... so you knew that they were going to play like this was the world championship -- with that type of energy. And I thought we never matched it. Everything they did was harder than us and more physical than us. They destroyed us on the glass and destroyed us in turnovers. So it was a good lesson for us." Griffin scored 19 points and Paul had 15 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who beat the Lakers four times last season on the way to their first Pacific Division title. DeAndre Jordan added 17 points and 11 rebounds. "Youve got to give it to them. They outplayed us," Griffin said. "They did a good job. They were ready. They turned up the heat in the fourth quarter, and we didnt respond." Gasol scored 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter, and Jordan Hill added 12 points and eight rebounds as the Lakers improved to 42-24 on opening night, the best winning percentage in NBA history. After the off-season losses of Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace, not much is expected from the Lakers. Yet they thrived for a night without Bryant, who missed a season opener for the first time since 2006. The fourth-leading scorer in NBA history hasnt returned to practice this fall after tearing his Achilles tendon late last season. The Clippers led 57-55 at halftime while hitting nearly 59 per cent of their shots. They pushed their lead to eight points in the third quarter, but the Lakers went ahead 86-83 with 9:06 to play on Meeks three-point play. "Oh, man, it seemed like it just happened so fast," Paul said. "Those guys executed their game plan, and when youre missing somebody like Kobe, you feed off that energy." NOTES: The evening began with a moment of silence for Bill Sharman, who died last week at 87. He coached the 1971-72 Lakers to their first championship in Los Angeles, winning an NBA-record 33 consecutive games along the way. ... The Clippers won their final seven games of the regular season last spring. ... Floyd Mayweather Jr., Diddy, Yasiel Puig, Tommy Lasorda and Flea attended the game. Stitched Dodgers Jerseys . Ferguson told Uniteds in-house TV channel on Saturday that he has no immediate plans to walk away from the game, and that he still hungers for more trophies even after 25 years in charge of the club. Kyle Garlick Dodgers Jersey . Of course that doesnt mean hes ignoring it. Thats actually rather impossible given the behind-the-scenes access to the Toronto Maple Leafs the network is getting. https://www.cheapdodgersonline.com/515h-maury-wills-jersey-dodgers.html . -- Michael Bennett gambled last off-season that playing on a one-year deal in Seattle would pay off in the future with the long-term contract he always wanted. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Adrian Beltre had the big hits after Texas manager Ron Washington made the right call on replay twice in a matter of minutes. Beltre singled home Shin-Soo Choo with the game winner in the ninth inning, drove in his new teammate with a tying double in the seventh, and the Rangers saved a run on a successful replay challenge in a 3-2 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. "The system worked today," Beltre said. It worked with a little help from Washingtons instincts during Philadelphias two-run sixth inning. His first big decision was not to challenge a play at third when Jim Joyce called Cesar Hernandez safe on a sacrifice bunt by Ben Revere. Washington came out to talk to the crew chief but didnt challenge. Replay showed the call was correct. Moments later, Revere was called safe at second base by Cory Blaser on a pickoff attempt by Martin Perez. Washington asked for the review, which showed second baseman Donnie Murphys glove on Reveres back as he caught the ball before a diving Reveres hand was back on the bag. Revere would have scored on Ryan Howards double later in the inning, but instead only Jimmy Rollins came home for a 2-0 lead. Rollins broke the scoreless tie with a single. "From my vantage point, I thought he had him, really," Washington said. So did Murphy. "I knew that I caught the ball at the same time I was tagging him," Murphy said. "I had a gut feeling that he wasnt at the base yet. I think maybe what happened I blocked out the umpire a little bit just because of how the throw was." Choo reached base for the fourth time on a four-pitch walk to start the ninth against Phillies left-hander Mario Hollands (0-1), who was making his major league debut. After Elvis Andrus sacrifice bunt and walk to Prince Fielder on a full count, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg went to right-hander B.J. Rosenberg. Beltre singled softly to rightt-centre field, scoring Choo without a throw. A. J. Pollock Dodgers Jersey. "Yeah, thats a tough spot for him," Sandberg said of Hollands. "I thought he showed his stuff actually even though he walked two guys. He threw some effective pitches to Fielder there, might have been one strike away from getting him out." New Texas closer Joakim Soria got the win with a perfect ninth inning in his season debut. Mitch Morelands single got the Rangers within 2-1 in the sixth, and Beltre had a tying double with two outs in the seventh to score Choo, who had two singles and was hit by a pitch before his ninth-inning walk. "It was nice to get that win coming from behind and now the chance to win the series," Beltre said. Perez had seven strikeouts through five shutout innings but didnt make it through the sixth, giving up hits to four of the six batters he faced in the inning. Howard batted fifth for the Phillies, snapping a streak of 665 straight regular-season starts as the cleanup hitter dating to June 29, 2008, also against the Rangers. He went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts, including one with two runners on in the eighth inning after the Rangers intentionally walked Marlon Byrd. Philadelphias A.J. Burnett left with a 2-1 lead after six innings in the debut for his fifth team covering 16 seasons. The 37-year-old right-hander gave up seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts. NOTES: Rangers RHP Colby Lewis threw 92 pitches in a minor league exhibition game for Frisco as he continues his comeback from hip surgery. He gave up five runs in 5 1-3 innings. ... The Rangers tweeted an apology after a picture circulated from opening day showing dozens of empty beer cans and bottles at the base of a statue honouring Shannon Stone, the firefighter who died in a fall at the Rangers home stadium in 2011. The team said the debris was removed "in a timely manner but it should not have been allowed to be placed there in the first place. ' ' '