Trail Blazers 98, Clippers 88
Um, Blake Griffin is good…really good. The ‘rookie’ made his debut with a 20-14-4 evening, but the Clippers still lost in no small part due to the play of Baron Davis (8-5-3 on 3-of-11 shooting, 4 turnovers) and Ryan Gomes (2-3-3, -17 +/-). Eric Gordon played very well (22 points on 10-of-17 shooting), but if the Clippers are going to be a playoff team, this is the kind of game (at home versus a playoff-caliber opponent) that they need to win.
Cavaliers 95, Celtics 87
The Cavs showed some resiliency in this one, coming back from an 11-point deficit late in the third quarter to pull this one out. Maybe the C’s were tired from an emotional opening-night win over the Heat, or maybe Cleveland is greater than the sum of its parts. J.J. Hickson led the way with 21-6 on 8-of-11 shooting.
Hornets 95, Bucks 91
The Bucks didn’t play very well in this one, but had a chance to tie it with under a minute left when Trevor Ariza clearly fouled John Salmons on a three-point attempt, but the officials didn’t blow the whistle. The Bucks had a problem last season getting to the line, but they attempted 28 free throws thanks in no small part to Corey Maggette’s relentless pursuit of the rim. He had 16-7 in his Bucks debut, but had a few defensive lapses that will need cleaning up. Chris Paul posted 17-4-16 on 11 shots and looks as good as ever.
Thunder 106, Bulls 95
Kevin Durant (30-7-3) and Russell Westbrook (28-10-6) led the way for OKC in a game that was tighter than the final score would indicate. Taj Gibson (16-11 on 8-of-12 shooting) filled in admirably for Carlos Boozer, who will be out for a while. Derrick Rose (28-4-6) and Joakim Noah (18-19) are developing nicely.
Other notes: It took 19 games for the Nets to get their first win last season, but they beat the Pistons in the opener last night. Devin Harris (22-9-4) looks like his old self and Derrick Favors (8-10) had a solid debut…Just like that, the Heat are back to .500. Dwyane Wade (30-7-4) had a much better outing while LeBron (16-6-7, nine turnovers) played more of a complimentary role. Chris Bosh posted 15-7. Evan Turner had 16-7-4 in his debut, so maybe people were pushing the panic button a little early with regard to his poor preseason performance…Amare Stoudemire had 19-10 in his debut as the Knicks beat the (lowly) Raptors on the road…The T-Wolves lost to the Kings without Tyreke Evans, so it’s looking like it’s going to be a long year in Minnesota. DeMarcus Cousins had 14-8-5 in a nice debut. Michael Beasley had 17-7, while Kevin Love posted just 11-10 after getting six rebounds in the first nine minutes…Al Jefferson (6-7) was quiet in Utah’s loss to the Nuggets, while Carmelo (23-7-3) was his usual self…The Spurs held off the Pacers despite 28-9-3 from rising star Roy Hibbert, while Darren Collison had 19-2-7 in his Indiana debut…Monta Ellis tied a career high with 46 points in a win against the Rockets, while David Lee added 17-15-6 and Stephen Curry posted 25-2-11. Luis Scola (36-16) had a monster game as the Rockets fell to 0-2.
