After the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics started the 2018-19 season on a high note, the rest of the NBA followed suit to produce an even more memorable gameday.
There are plenty of close games to start with—hello Milwaukee and Orlando—and there are milestones reached and some records broken in a truly entertaining night. And who could forget about the upsets and big wins?
Here’s the full recap of every NBA game played today:
Milwaukee Bucks 113-112 Charlotte Hornets
The Bucks led by as much as 20 points early in the first half, but a huge second half saw the Hornets claw their way back to give coach Mike Budenholzer and his squad a huge scare.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a solid game with 25 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists, but he committed eight of the Bucks’ 21 turnovers in the game. Fortunately, they were able to hold on and stop Charlotte who saw Kemba Walker explode for 41 points on 51.7 percent shooting.
Miami Heat 101-104 Orlando Magic
The Heat had a hot start and jumped to a 13-5 lead in the first quarter, but they couldn’t sustain the momentum and eventually found themselves on the losing end of a gritty game at Amway Center.
It certainly didn’t help Miami that they were without Justise Winslow (hamstring), Wayne Ellington (ankle), James Johnson (abdomen) and Dion Waiters (ankle), leaving Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside with little help.
Aaron Gordon and rookie centre Mo Bamba paced the Magic to victory, with the former tallying 26 points and 16 rebounds and the latter notching 13 points and seven boards. Dragic, meanwhile, had 26 points, four rebounds and four assists in a losing effort for the Heat.
Memphis Grizzlies 83-104 Indiana Pacers
With huge expectations on their shoulders heading into the season opener, Victor Oladipo and the Pacers did not disappoint as they put on a show against the Grizzlies and made some history.
Seven players, led by Bojan Bogdanovic (19 points) and Victor Oladipo (16 points), scored in double figures for Indiana to beat Memphis by 28 markers. Remarkably, that winning margin is the franchise’s biggest win in a season opener, breaking their 27-point victory over New Jersey back in 1985.
No player scored more than 13 for the Grizzlies who shot a horrendous 29.8 percent from the field.
Brooklyn Nets 100-103 Detroit Pistons
While it’s easy to count out the Pistons this year, Blake Griffin, Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond just showed fans why they shouldn’t.
The Detroit trio combined for 69 points in the game, even outscoring Brooklyn’s starting unit that made just 66 points. Drummond was particularly impressive as he grabbed the NBA 2018 highlights with his 24-point, 20-rebound performance—becoming the first player in franchise history to achieve the statistical feat in a season opener.
Caris Levert had 27 points for the Nets, but his backcourt running-mate D’Angelo Russell failed miserably and finished with only eight points on 33.3 percent shooting.
Cleveland Cavaliers 104-116 Toronto Raptors
As it shows, the Cavaliers are no longer the team to beat in the East.
In their first regular-season game since the departure of LeBron James, the Cavs fell to the Raptors and never took the lead after the first half. The Raptors, meanwhile, cruised to victory and were never really threatened, thanks to the presence of Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry.
Leonard rewarded the Raps for trading for him over the summer after his fallout with the Spurs, finishing the game with a double-double of 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Atlanta Hawks 107-126 New York Knicks
It’s a tale of two quarters for New York. After starting the game 0-for-9 from the field, the Knicks found their rhythm in the second quarter and scored 49 points to record the franchise’s third-highest scoring in a single quarter.
Tim Hardaway put up 22 points in the opening half and eventually finished with 31 in the game.
The Hawks never recovered from their 23-point first half deficit despite Taurean Prince’s 21 points, though it was still a pretty memorable night after Vince Carter started for the team to become the second-oldest player to start a season opener.
New Orleans Pelicans 131-112 Houston Rockets
The NBA 2018 odds at SBOBET had the Rockets winning this one. However, Anthony Davis and crew had other plans.
Houston never led in the game, and New Orleans never looked back after a 14-6 start that saw Nikola Mirotic bank two triples, Elfrid Payton send a beautiful alley-oop to Davis, and Jrue Holiday pull off a brilliant cut.
Davis and Mirotic, along with Julius Randle, combined for 87 points in the match. Meanwhile, the Rockets’ supposed ‘Big 3’ of James Harden, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony made only 46 points overall.
Minnesota Timberwolves 108-112 San Antonio Spurs
With Jimmy Butler playing for the Timberwolves for the first time since his offseason trade demand, there were concerns that it could turn into a disaster—especially after previous reports of his “outburst” during a Wolves scrimmage.
Nonetheless, that wasn’t the case as Butler went all out and was all over the court, recording 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block for the Wolves.
The injury-riddled Spurs proved to be a tough nut to crack though, with DeMar DeRozan (28 points, four rebounds and four assists) and LaMarcus Aldridge (21 points and 19 boards) leading the way.
Utah Jazz 123-117 Sacramento Kings
For a team known for defence, it’s surprising to see the Jazz allow the Kings to make 117 points. Sacramento leapt to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter and was ahead by 16 before Coach Quin Snyder made adjustments that paved the way for 21-9 Jazz run.
Utah went up by 13 heading into halftime, but the Kings kept on fighting back and cut the Jazz’ lead to just one in the closing stages of the third. In the end, though, the Jazz held on and got the job done in what could only be described as a tough opener.
Donovan Mitchell, as expected, sparked the Utah offence with 24 points while Rudy Gobert had 19 to go along with 15 boards. Willie Cauley-Stein, on the other end, made 23 points to lead the Kings.
Dallas Mavericks 100-121 Phoenix Suns
Devin Booker is the hero of the Suns’ opening game story.
After the Mavericks battled back and reduced the Suns’ lead to just four points in the payoff period, Booker stepped up for the home team and scored 19 points in the final seven minutes of play.
Booker ended up with 35 markers and what was initially a close encounter turned into a one-sided affair for Phoenix.
Suns rookie Deandre Ayton also played well and kept the team ahead in the first three quarters before Booker’s fourth-quarter explosion. He had 18 points, to go along with 18 rebounds and six dimes.
Denver Nuggets 107-98 LA Clippers
The Clippers lost in the most Clippers’ way possible.
Leading in the game for the most part, the Clips had one hell of a collapse. They were ahead 94-90 with 3:18 left to play, but they managed to put up just four points after that as the Nuggets staged a 17-4 run to complete their comeback.
Nikola Jokic, who hit the go-ahead three in the fourth to bring them within one, finished with 21 points. Meanwhile, Paul Millsap—who put Denver ahead with a floater after Jokic’s triple—ended up with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
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