Mavericks owner Mark Cuban reiterated on Friday night that he's glad to see Ron Artest with the Lakers.

Cuban generated some headlines this summer when he told the media he was happy to see the combustible forward in Los Angeles.

"History repeats itself," Cuban told the Orange County Register. "I'm not saying something you guys haven't considered, right? That's just the risk. Every team has to deal with chemistry and the impact of the chemistry on the team. Normally, you try to minimize that.

"Ron is an amazing talent, he's a great guy. I don't really know him, but the way he's handled this is phenomenal. I give him a ton of credit. But it is what it is."

Pau Gasol has admitted that he's worried about his injured hamstring.

He hasn't practiced or played in nearly two weeks because of the injury.

"I'm concerned about it, definitely," Gasol told the Los Angeles Times. "There's no set time to return, no set date. I just don't want it to turn into something long-term."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has said publicly that he's not concerned about the injury. Gasol has missed two regular-season games after missing the team's last six exhibition contests.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson isn't worried about Pau Gasol's lingering hamstring injury.

Gasol didn't practice on Thursday and will not play against the Mavericks on Friday night.

"We're not worried about this," Jackson told the Los Angeles Daily News. "We're just taking it real slow. Don't you worry about it either."

Jackson added that the Lakers will use Ron Artest to defend Dirk Nowitzki with Gasol out.

"We'll have to use Ron," Jackson said. "I hate to use the term, `When push comes to shove,' but that's what we'll have to do. Lamar has had some success against him, but he does have a history of getting into foul trouble. So, we have to be prepared for that."

Pau Gasol missed practice again on Thursday because of his strained right hamstring and the Lakers said that Gasol also will not play in Friday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center.

However, the Lakers said they hope Gasol will be able to play Sunday against Atlanta.

Tuesday's Opening Night featuring games between the Celtics and Cavaliers, along with the Lakers and Clippers, became Turner's most-watched opening night in its 26 years of airing the NBA.

TNT drew nearly 3.7 million viewers Tuesday for the Celtics' 95-89 victory over the Cavaliers, followed by the Lakers' 99-92 win over the Clippers. That was a 43 percent increase over the 2.6 million that watched last year's opening-night doubleheader.

After four long months, the NBA is finally back in action. The 2009-10 season kicked off with four matchups dripping with both playoff possibilities and long-standing rivalries.

- Boston 95, Cleveland 89

Team FIC Differential: Celtics +11.8, Cavaliers -11.8

The Boston Celtics (1-0) used a strong second quarter to open the new season with a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers (0-1). Paul Pierce starred with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Kevin Garnett returned to action with 13 points and 10 boards and Rajon Rondo contributed eight points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Boston outrebounded Cleveland by six, while shooting 9-for-19 from three-point land. LeBron James excelled with 38 points and eight assists, Shaquille O?Neal made his debut with 10 points and 10 boards and Mo Williams scored 12 points on 3-for-8 shooting.

Game FIC Scores

LeBron James, Cleveland ? 26.6

Paul Pierce, Boston ? 16.5

Rajon Rondo, Boston ? 16.0

Kevin Garnett, Boston ? 14.8

- Washington 102, Dallas 91

Team FIC Differential: Wizards +4.8, Mavericks -4.8

Gilbert Arenas led the Washington Wizards (1-0) to an impressive road win over the Dallas Mavericks (0-1) on Tuesday night. Arenas had 29 points and nine assists, Caron Butler posted 16 points and eight rebounds and Andray Blatche contributed 20 points and seven boards in the victory. Washington held Dallas to 39% shooting, while attempting ten fewer foul shots. Dirk Nowitzki starred with 34 points and nine rebounds, Shawn Marion tallied 16 points and seven boards and J.J. Barea put up 13 points, six rebounds and four assists off the bench.

Game FIC Scores

Andray Blatche, Washington ? 16.5

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas ? 16.4

Gilbert Arenas, Washington ? 15.9

Shawn Marion, Dallas ? 13.9

- Portland 96, Houston 87

Team FIC Differential: Trail Blazers +30.2, Rockets -30.2

The Portland Trail Blazers (1-0) used a strong second quarter to distance themselves from the Houston Rockets (0-1), who refused to lie down in the second half. Travis Outlaw led with 23 points off the bench, Brandon Roy posted 20 points, five rebounds and five assists and Greg Oden contributed two points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Portland outrebounded Houston by 18, which allowed them to overcome an unsightly 26 turnovers. Aaron Brooks had 19 points and five assists, Kyle Lowry tallied 12 points and eight dimes and David Anderson put up 11 points and five rebounds in the loss.

Game FIC Scores

Travis Outlaw, Portland ? 17.8

Kyle Lowry, Houston ? 14.0

Martell Webster, Portland ? 12.2

Aaron Brooks, Houston ? 12.2

- L.A. Lakers, 99, L.A. Clippers 92

Team FIC Differential: Lakers +1.2, Clippers -1.2

The Los Angeles Lakers (1-0) used a six-point edge in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Los Angeles Clippers (0-1) on Tuesday night. Without Pau Gasol (hamstring), Kobe Bryant starred with 33 points and eight rebounds, Andrew Bynum tallied 23 points and 13 boards and Lamar Odom added 16 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. The Lakers attempted 21 more free throws than the Clippers, who won the rebounding battle by four and held the defending champions to 41% shooting on the night. Eric Gordon scored 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting, Chris Kaman exploded with 18 points and 16 rebounds and Marcus Camby aided with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. The Lakers received their championship rings in a ceremony prior to the game.

Game FIC Scores

Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers ? 22.8

Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers ? 21.0

Lamar Odom, L.A. Lakers ? 19.8

Chris Kaman, L.A. Clippers ? 15.5

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.

It is also used to rank players and to determine their ?Reina Value.? Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and Andrew Bynum added 26 as the reigning NBA champions opened defense of their title Tuesday night with a 99-92 win over the Clippers, as reported by the Associated Press.

The Lakers began the evening with a ceremony unveiling the franchise?s 15th championship banner, earned four months ago after defeating the Magic in the finals.

Lakers forward Pau Gasol may not be ready for Tuesday's season opener against the Clippers.

Gasol's strained right hamstring hasn't improved as expected.

"I didn't practice (Sunday) and it doesn't look like I'm going to practice (today)," he told the Los Angeles Daily News. "In the long run, in the big picture, I try to tell myself that the most important thing is that I get myself healthy at this point in the year, so I can continue to be healthy.

"I don't want to re-injure myself or put myself in a risky situation. Then I won't be helping my team in the long run. That's what I'm trying to keep in mind."

Lakers forward Ron Artest told the Boston Globe that he was a bad teammate earlier in his career.

"Playing for a team that has chances to win again is really encouraging," Artest told the Globe. "The last couple of years I was a very bad teammate. It was all me. It had nothing to do with the teams I played on. I just had a big ego and had to control it and now I'm able to control it. I still have an ego, but now I kind of have fun with it. That's the difference now."

The Lakers are looking for Artest to guard the opposing team's best scorer, taking pressure off Kobe Bryant.

Lakers star Kobe Bryant regrets that his 2007 trade demand became public.

"The only thing I regret was how public it had to become," Bryant told the Orange County Register. "It was something that I'd been dealing with internally for quite some time and me wanting them to make moves, as was said to me (upon re-signing in 2004). Those things were not happening, it felt like I was just out there showcasing and doing my individual thing, and they had no aspirations to spend money to try to bring a championship here.

"So I felt like something had to be said so we could get the ball rolling here. Get people to start talking about it, and the city becomes a little more impatient with the situation, and hopefully we'll get something done. And to their credit, they made a great acquisition in Pau (Gasol) and another great acquisition in Trevor (Ariza). They went out this summer and spent the money to get Ron (Artest) and locked in Lamar (Odom). To their credit, they did the right things."

Less than two years after Bryant's trade request made national headlines, the Lakers won the 2009 NBA title.