Warriors open title defense with win
Tatum, Brown each score 35 as Celtics hold off 76ers
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 19, (AP): After all those thrilling NBA Finals battles of last decade, Stephen Curry and LeBron James can still put on a spectacular show well into their 30s.
Opening night between these two greats showed why Curry’s team is on top these days.
Curry began the season with 33 points, seven assists and six rebounds despite a slow start, and the Golden State Warriors beat James and the Los Angeles Lakers 123-109 on Tuesday night after receiving their championship rings in a pregame ceremony.
Jordan Poole made a pretty bounce pass to a driving Draymond Green for a layup and all seemed perfectly well with the defending champions almost two weeks after Green punched Poole at practice Oct. 5, then took a brief leave of absence from the team to work on his emotions. Poole wound up with 12 points and seven assists.
“We went out there, we had a job to do tonight to win a game,” Poole said when asked if healing has happened between him and Green. “It was a ring night and that’s really what we were focused on finishing the first game. It was a huge win against a really good team.”
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James had 31 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, while Russell Westbrook scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds after nursing a sore left hamstring. Anthony Davis added 27 points, but the Lakers couldn’t keep up in another signature, runaway third quarter by reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry and Co.
“That third quarter is where they always excelled, when they made this transition to being a powerhouse team,” James said. “You’ve always got to be ready for the third quarters, and we were not tonight.”
Curry missed his initial five 3-pointers and finished 10 for 22, 4 of 13 from deep.
Klay Thompson contributed 18 points in 20 minutes for the Warriors, who celebrated the franchise’s fourth title in eight years.
Kerr limited the minutes of both Thompson and Green, who was away from the team until last Thursday. Kerr said he will increase Thompson’s minutes each game as a precaution following his return in January from an absence of more than 2 1/2 years for surgeries to his left knee and right Achilles tendon.
Warriors center James Wiseman made his first appearance since his rookie season of 2019-20 after sitting out all of last season recovering from right knee surgery. He had eight points and seven rebounds.
The Lakers’ 22 turnovers led to 27 points for the Warriors.
Ham was thrilled to represent Saginaw, Michigan, in his coaching debut - and proud that it’s also Green’s hometown.
Celtics 126,76ers 117
In Boston,A scandal off the court cast a shadow over the Boston Celtics entering the preseason.
On the court, they opened the regular season looking like a team still very much capable of contending for a championship.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 35 points and the Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 126-117 .
Malcolm Brogdon added 16 points and Grant Williams finished with 15 as the defending Eastern Conference champions gave interim coach Joe Mazzulla a victory in his debut on a night the team honored the legacy of Bill Russell.
Mazzulla successfully led a Celtics team that very much resembled the one that made a surprise run to the NBA Finals a season ago.
Boston opened up a 110-97 lead with 8 minutes to play and never trailed again.
James Harden scored 35 points - his most since joining the 76ers last season - including 12 of 12 from the free throw line. He also had five 3-pointers.
Joel Embiid added 26 points and 15 rebounds. Tyrese Maxey finished with 21 points.
Mazzulla has vowed to keep the focus on building upon the culture Udoka established on the court as a rookie head coach last season.
He insists that it will be done primarily on the defensive end of the floor, but the offense was the story for the Celtics on Tuesday with 56% shooting from the field.
With big man Robert Williams sidelined as he recovers from offseason surgery on his knee, the Celtics stuck with the same starting lineup they employed during the preseason, playing defensive stalwart Derrick White alongside Marcus Smart, Tatum, Brown and Al Horford.
The smaller group sped Philadelphia up at times, forcing the 76ers into 14 turnovers for the game, leading to 22 Boston points.