The Cleveland Cavaliers have made a losing start to the NBA season, being beaten by the New York Knicks in their first game since re-signing LeBron James.

The four-time MVP struggled on his return to the side that drafted him, making just five of his 15 shots for 17 points, as well as committing eight turnovers.

Kyrie Irving did help the Cavaliers to a strong start, as they led by seven at the end of the first quarter, but Carmelo Anthony hit his stride before half time to lead the Knicks back for their first win of the season.

The Los Angeles Clippers began life under new owner Steve Ballmer with a narrow victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, who knocked the Clippers out of the playoffs last season.

Russell Westbrook helped the Thunder make a bright start, but the guard sustained a hand injury in the second quarter which prevented him from featuring further.

The Clippers edged ahead before the break, but were unable to open up a lead of more than 10 points, but Blake Griffin made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to make sure of the victory.

The Dallas Mavericks dominated the first half to set up a comfortable win over the Utah Jazz in their first home game of the season.

The visitors could not cope with their opponents' pace early on, as the Mavericks powered to a 16-point advantage in the opening 12 minutes, which the Jazz never threatened to overturn.

Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons led the scoring for Dallas, both finishing the game with 21 points, while JJ Barea came off the bench for a late cameo, making his first appearance since returning to the team as part of an off-season trade.

The Washington Wizards held off a strong finish from the Orlando Magic to secure their first win of the season.

After a finely-balanced first half, the Wizards started to pull away in the third quarter, before Nikola Vucevic led the home side's on a comeback, but John Wall added a string of late points to put the win beyond doubt for Washington.

The Minnesota Timberwolves made a strong start to the second half to set up a narrow win over the Detroit Pistons, bouncing back from defeat in their opening game of the season.

Detroit fought hard late on as they tried to avoid starting the campaign with back-to-back losses, but Thaddeus Young made a three-pointer inside the last two minutes to end the Pistons' hopes.

Results in full: Washington Wizards 105-98 Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons 91-97 Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks 95-90 Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz 102-120 Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder 90-93 Los Angeles Clippers