The NBA is back…and it’s back with a bang!
After more than four months of waiting, the 2018-19 season finally kicked off. And fans couldn’t ask for a better start after solid performances from the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors.
Boston now have the upper hand in the East with their convincing victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, while Golden State just proved they can win ugly and why they are the team to beat.
Philadelphia 76ers 87-105 Boston Celtics
The Celtics were expected to make a statement in the opener against the Sixers, possibly their closest title rival for the throne in the Eastern Conference. And sure enough, they lived up to their pre-match billing as they completely destroyed Philly at TD Garden.
Sure enough, the game didn’t start the way many NBA fans would have hoped. Boston missed seven of the first 10 shots while Philly started 4 for 11 from the field. In fact, the two made just one field goal in 11 attempts in the opening three minutes.
Despite the poor start and some rusty shooting, however, the Beantown team showed they are a cut above the Sixers and pulled away in the second half.
Second-year forward Jayson Tatum paced the C’s to victory, scoring 23 points on 52.9 percent shooting. The 20-year-old was all over the court and provided the much-needed spark to get the offence going for the Celtics.
He made nine points in the first quarter (13 by the end of the half) and continued to produce in other areas, finishing with nine boards and three assists to go along with his scoring output.
Gordon Hayward, who received a standing ovation, played in his first regular-season game since his season-ending injury in last year’s opener. Kyrie Irving also started after missing the end of the 2017-18 regular season and the playoffs due to a pair of knee surgeries.
Unfortunately for the two All-Stars, they both had sluggish performances and shot a combined 6 for 26 for the game. Hayward had 10 points in 24 minutes of action, while Irving made just seven markers despite playing 29 minutes.
All-Star centre Joel Embiid (23 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks) and 2017-18 Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons (19 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, four steals, two blocks) showed why they are the future of Philly, but their efforts were not enough to lift the Sixers past the Celts.
Trailing by six at the end of the first half, the Sixers thought they had the momentum midway through the third quarter when they staged a 7-2 run. Nonetheless, it was short-lived as the Celts found their footing and pulled away for good.
Marcus Morris, who scored 16 in the game, made eight of Boston’s last nine points in the third frame.
Boston shot just 43.3 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from beyond the arc, but the Sixers were worse with 39.1 field goal percentage and 19.2 percent three-point shooting (5 for 26).
Oklahoma City Thunder 100-108 Golden State Warriors
Ring night. Rivalry night. Win night.
It’s everything the Warriors could have hoped for, as they started their title defence with a hard-earned win over the Thunder at Oracle Arena.
Last year’s opener saw the Warriors bow down to the Houston Rockets, ruining what was supposed to be a celebration of their 2016-17 championship. This time, however, the Dubs didn’t let that happen and came out with the desire to win.
Of course, the preseason form still appears to be there, but the Bay Area team held on to fend off a feisty Thunder side.
Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, as usual, grabbed the NBA 2018 highlights as they combined for 57 points in the game. Curry had a game-high 32 points, scoring 19 in the first half that saw the Warriors lead by 10 points.
Durant, meanwhile, had 27 points on 42.9 percent shooting, though he missed all of his five attempts from 3-point territory.
Famed for their third-quarter avalanche, the Warriors were noticeably missing their spark. It didn’t help that Andre Iguodala—the fifth member of the Hamptons Five—left the game early with a suspected calf injury.
The Thunder then took a page out of the Warriors playbook and were the aggressors in the third canto. The pre-match NBA 2018 odds at SBOBET put Oklahoma as heavy underdogs, no thanks to Russell Westbrook’s absence, but Paul George took over to keep things tight.
OKC erased the Warriors’ 10-point advantage with a 9-2 run to open the penultimate period, and they eventually took the lead, 71-70, with 6:19 left to play in the quarter.
George made 15 of his 27 points in the third quarter, though he was largely ineffective come the payoff period.
Dennis Schroder, taking care of the ball-handling duties in the absence of Westbrook, surprised with his 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists, but he too went missing when it mattered most.
Besides George and Schroder, only Steven Adams reached double-digit marks for OKC. Meanwhile, the Warriors had Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney and Damian Jones scoring 10 points or more.
Furthermore, Warriors’ defensive anchor Draymond Green tallied 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals despite recently recovering from left knee soreness.
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