Magic 95, Nets 85
After Vince Carter was traded from the Nets to the Magic in June, I wondered what the crowd’s reaction would be when he returned to New Jersey. If you recall, Carter is HEAVILY booed every time he visits Toronto, so it made me wonder if the Nets fans would see through his VC or give him a warm welcome back in the Nets home opener. Well, that question was answered early as Carter was given a lengthy ovation to lead off the game’s starting lineups.
Although, not everyone …

Denver 97, Portland 94
Greg Oden certainly wants to forget this game.
With 4.6 seconds left, Oden missed two opportunities at the foul line to at least tie the game at 95-95. After a Carmelo Anthony Rebound and 2 made free throws, a last ditch attempt by Brandon Roy fell short.  It completely took the air out of the Rose Garden.
Anthony led all scorers with 40 points, and seemed to take over the game with about 5 minutes left. Down by 5, Anthony scored on 3 straight possessions to take the lead. …

Chicago 92, San Antonio 85

Six players in double figures and one player with nine. That describes the offensive balance the Bulls displayed against the Spurs tonight. The Bulls, who remind me of a younger version of the Portland TrailBlazers (is that possible?), are chock full of rising stars in each position. On Thursday night, Chicago showed how to use depth wisely and were just too much for the Spurs. This depth played a huge role defensively as well as the Bulls’ swarming defense allowed only Tim Duncan to score more than …

Nuggets 114 , Jazz 105
Without the suspended JR Smith; Renaldo Balkman, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups took the game into their own hands. Melo torched the Jazz (0-1) for 30 points while Chauncey added 25 for the Denver Nuggets (1-0).  Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer had double-doubles for the Jazz.  The Nuggets picked up the intensity in the 4th quarter outscoring the Jazz 32-25 to pull away.
JB’s Hustle Hero of the Game: Ty Lawson.  Without JR Smith, Ty Lawson played more than he thought he would.  In 26 minutes, Lawson …

Atlanta 120, Indiana 109
In Phillips Arena, Al Horford scored 24 points, grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Hawks to their first win of the season against a feisty Pacers team who shot 53% from the field, 56% from 3-point land, and 84% from the line. However, they were doomed as they turned the ball over 25 times leading to 35 points for Atlanta. Danny Granger led the Pacers with 31 points, who did everything he could to keep his team in the game, which was close until there was 3:00 …

The nightcap of opening night featured the defending champion Lakers against the Clippers, and a rematch of last spring’s first round matchup between the Rockets and Trailblazers.
Lakers 99, Clippers 92
 

Before this game even started, there was excitement as the Lakers collected their rings for the franchise’s 15th NBA championship. Heavily favored, the Lakers handled the Clippers en route to their first win of the season.
Kobe Bryant was impressive pouring in a game high 33 points, along with 8 rebounds and 4 steals. The Clippers stayed within reach for most of …

The NBA Season kicked off in great fashion, providing fans across the country with some very exciting and down to the wire games.
Boston 95, Cleveland 89

Despite a 38 point performance by King James and a 13-2 lead to start the game, Boston stormed back to take the lead off a Kendrick Perkins jump shot with 1:48 remaining in the first half. While Cleveland would get it close down the wire, the men in green never relinquished the lead from there. Paul Pierce led the C’s with 23 points and 11 …