The 2017-18 NBA season tipped off in the early hours of Wednesday with two closely contested matchups between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics in the East, and The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets in the West.
Cavs defend the land
The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated a motivated Boston Celtics squad 102-99, which initially looked rattled after losing forward Gordon Hayward to and injury just over five minutes into the game. LeBron James was one assist short of a triple-double with 29 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists, Kevin Love had a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double, Derrick Rose had 14 points and four rebounds, and Jae Crowder 11 points and five rebounds.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 25 points and six rebounds, Kyrie Irving had a 22-point, 10-assist double-double, rookie Jayson Tatum also had a double-double in his maiden regular season NBA game with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Marcus Smart had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Rockets strike Warriors
The defending champions Golden State Warriors were beaten by the Houston Rockets in a closely contested game that ended 122-121. James Harden had a 27-point, 10-rebound double-double, Eric Gordon had 24 points, PJ Tucker had 20 points and six rebounds, Cameroonian forward Luc Mbah a Moute 14 points and four rebounds, Congolese/Angolan-Swiss center Clint Capela put up 12 points and grabbed four boards, while Ryan Anderson finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Warriors were led by Nick Young with 23 points, Stephen Curry had 22 points, five rebounds and four assists, Kevin Durant had 20 points, five rebounds, seven assists and four blocks, Klay Thompson had 16 points and six rebounds, and Draymond Green was a point short of a triple double with nine points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.
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Source: NBA