After a strong opening day that saw two games, we got ourselves a whopping twelve contests televised in the NBA’s second day back.
Here are some of the interesting things that happened today.
Rusell Westbrook gets a triple-double on Washington debut, but loses
Brodie was on vintage mode as he put up 21 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists in his regular season debut for the Wizards. In a sign of things to come, Bradley Beal paired up with him to score 31 points.
The 76ers had the last laugh though, as they won 113-107 behind 29 points and 14 rebounds from Joel Embiid.
Florida battle goes against Miami
The Miami Heat, runners up of the 2019-20 season saw disappointment as they saw themselves edged out of their first game of the season by their state rival Orlando Magic.
Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier led the charge with a combined 45 points. Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic also put up the same number of points.
Celtics take a close one against Bucks
The Bucks added Jrue Holiday in the offseason, and he combined with Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo for 87 points.
The Celtics wouldn’t be denied, though, as they had a more balanced effort led by 63 points from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Raptors lose claws against Pelicans
Brandon Ingram was just shy of a triple-double with 24 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists against the Toronto Raptors. The Pelicans won the game handily 113-99 after an explosive third quarter that saw them outscore their opponents 38-22.
Zion Williamson had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, and JJ Redick channeled his younger self with 23 points.
Kings win wild OT game against Nuggets at the death
The Sacramento Kings got a big boost today as they defeated the 2019-20 Western Conference Finalists Denver Nuggets on a tip-in from Buddy Hield.
The Nuggets will be disappointed considering they got a massive triple-double from Nikola Jokic, who had 29 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists.
Michael Porter Jr. pitched in 24 points of his own, but the Kings locked down Jamal Murray, who finished with 9 points on 1 of 9 shooting and fouled out.
LaMelo Ball gets a dubious distinction in first regular season game
LaMelo Ball, this year’s third pick in the draft, put up a bit of a stinker. He had 0 points on 0 of 5 shooting along with a rebound, three assists, two steals, and three turnovers. He was the first top three pick to go scoreless in their debut since 2013.
The Suns continue bubble momentum with win over Mavericks
The Phoenix Suns were the darlings of the NBA Bubble after going 8-0 while unfortunately missing out on the playoffs.
They continued their momentum by winning their opening game against the Dallas Mavericks. They saw six players score in double figures and were led by Devin Booker’s 22 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
The Mavericks put up a great effort in the 106-102 loss as well. They had the same number of players score 10 or more with Luka Doncic leading the charge with his 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
