Warriors hold off Thunder in opener
Curry scores 32 as Golden State celebrates title
OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry had 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Kevin Durant added 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and the Golden State Warriors opened their quest for a three-peat by holding off the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-100 on Tuesday.
Golden State needed a strong fourth quarter to win on a festive night after the two-time defending champions received their 2018 rings in a pregame ceremony shortly before tipoff and began the final season at Oracle Arena before a move across San Francisco Bay to new Chase Center.
Paul George scored 27 points for the Thunder, who struggled to find an offensive groove while missing star Russell Westbrook because of knee surgery last month.
Oklahoma City trailed by 10 at the break then came out of halftime making nine of 12 shots to go ahead 69-66 before the Warriors rallied.
Versatile Warriors All-star Draymond Green, limited during the preseason by a sore knee, wound up with two points, 13 rebounds and five assists in nearly 33 minutes. Coach Steve Kerr plans to monitor his minutes in the early games.
Curry shot 11-for-20 with five 3s.
At Boston, Jayson Tatum had 23 points and nine rebounds, and the Celtics defeated Philadelphia.
Boston won despite shooting just 43 percent (42 of 97) from the field and 30 percent from the 3-point line (11 of 37).
But the Celtics’ struggles didn’t dampen the mood inside TD Garden for the return to regular-season action for Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving.
Hayward played in his first game since undergoing surgery and more than 10 months of rehabilitation for the gruesome left ankle injury he suffered five minutes into last year’s season opener. He received an extended ovation from the home crowd during a pregame introduction that included a video montage of his rehab process.
Irving was also back following a pair of surgeries on his left knee that caused him to miss the end of the regular season and playoffs.
They shot a combined 6-for26 for the game. Hayward finished with 10 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes. Irving had seven points and seven assists.
Joel Embiid led the 76ers with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Simmons finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.
Celtics 105, 76ers 87 —