Scoreboard
Nuggets 119, Lakers 107
Suns 108, Warriors 104
What went down
The NBA is back! The new season started in the best way possible for the defending champs Denver Nuggets. They got their championship ring before the tip-off against the Los Angeles Lakers, then went on to defeat the Lakers, picking up from where they left off in the previous playoffs.
The Lakers had their new pieces in place but they couldn’t seem to get it going aside from Taurean Prince, who made his LA debut in scorching fashion. Anthony Davis looked great with 17 first half points, then suddenly became not great at all in the second half, going 0-for-6. LeBron James’ numbers don’t look as if it’s Year 21 (21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists), but against an energetic and determined Nuggets team, The King needed to channel Year 1.
Nikola Jokic got another triple-double to extend the win streak of the Nuggets against the Lakers. That’s the first game going on-script. The second game, however, went off the rails.
The Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors matchup was hyped to be an exciting matchup, just because of the many storylines and player switches that these two teams were involved in. The Suns went up by 15 by halftime, but the Warriors–as expected–shot their way to make it a ballgame. The Warriors cut the lead to two points with only 30 seconds left, but the Suns were able to escape with a four-point win.
The Warriors were missing Draymond Green while the Suns missed new recruit Bradley Beal. Still, both teams immediately showed the potential firepower of their respective new-look rosters.
Big-time ballers
All offseason long, Nikola Jokic spun the story of an uninterested and bored player who looks at his job as a basketball player as just that: a job. If that is the case, then he did his job extremely well yet again.
Jokic dropped a triple-double to start the championship defense, scoring 29 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing out 11 assists. He also added a block, a steal, and three 3s. For the Lakers, Taurean Prince made good on his Lakers debut, scoring 18 points and hitting four 3s.
Devin Booker, who took on playmaking duties for the Suns in the absence of Chris Paul, dished out eight assists in the win versus the Warriors. Because they’re also missing Bradley Beal’s buckets, he put up 32 points for good measure.
Devin Booker was red hot in the Suns season-opening road win 🔥
— NBA (@NBA) October 25, 2023
32 PTS \ 6 REB \ 8 AST#KiaTipOff23 pic.twitter.com/6s9p2nm7bI
What he said
Kevin Durant made sure the Suns came out with the win, but didn’t leave the Chase Center without giving love to the city he once called home.
KD shows love to the Golden State fanbase after the Suns season opener in San Francisco 🤝#KiaTipOff23 pic.twitter.com/PhbVdEJvjZ
— NBA (@NBA) October 25, 2023
Did you see that?
The Nuggets started off the new campaign with bling and their banner. Jokic doesn’t care much about basketball? Yeah, right.
Nikola Jokic lets the 2023 Championship banner sink in.
— NBA (@NBA) October 25, 2023
Shot on #PhantomCam 📹 pic.twitter.com/W4u7CHTozI
Extra pass
On Day 2 of this brand new NBA season, the Boston Celtics will take on the New York Knicks in an interesting Eastern Conference showdown. That game airs live tomorrow at 7:00 AM and will be available on the Pilipinas Live app.
The Knicks will get the first crack at the new-look Celtics, who are favored to come out of the East this year with the addition of the OG Unicorn Kristaps Porzingis and former Bucks point guard Jrue Holiday.
