A home start to forget: The Boston Celtics received a bitter 32-point bankruptcy against the Raptors – and were booed by their own fans. The Magic also went under against the Knicks, but rookie Franz Wagner shone as the top scorer of his team. The Wizards and Pacers delivered an OT thriller, the Nuggets and Bulls remained undefeated.
Cleveland Cavaliers (0-2) – Charlotte Hornets (2-0) 112:123 (BOXSCORE)
- The highlight of the evening in the form of a poster-dunk by Jarrett Allen belonged to the Cavs, but with a dominant final section, the Hornets made sure that this would remain the only positive aspect of the opponent’s home opener. A 19-2 run at the start of the fourth quarter brought LaMelo Ball and Co. onto the winning road and ultimately the second victory in the second game.
- Gordon Hayward contributed two threes to the decisive run and made 18 points and 9 assists. Ball contributed 17 points, 6 assists and 5 steals, but in the box score Miles Bridges (30 points, 13/24 FG and 4/9 threesome) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (25, 9/13 FG from the bench) were in the foreground . Bridges also highlighted the good defense in the fourth quarter as a success factor: “We have the feeling that we can be one of the best defensive teams in the NBA if we are completely focused.”
- Charlotte forced a total of 7 opposing ball losses during the run mentioned, similar to the first game of the season against Memphis, the Cavs collapsed in the last round. Ricky Rubio (15 and 10 assists with 6 ball losses) described this phase as “a snowball that we couldn’t stop”.
- In the end, Collin Sexton’s 33 counters were no longer of any use, rookie Evan Mobley filled the statistics sheet with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks, but also 4 turnovers. Lauri Markkanen (13) and Allen (11) also achieved double-digit points, The latter took out a real hammer against Mason Plumlee.
Orlando Magic (0-2) – New York Knicks (2-0) 96:121 (BOXSCORE)
- After the thriller at the start against Boston, including double overtime, the game against Orlando was much more relaxed for the Knicks fan soul. The guests fired a new franchise record with the transformed three-pointers (24 in 54 attempts, 44.4 percent) and made short work of the Magic behind 21 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists from Julius Randle.
- The shooting festival began in the first quarter when New York pulled away with a 20: 3 run. In the second round, the Knicks increased their lead to 31 points and that was the game. In addition to Randle, who, as is typical of Thibodeau, also saw minutes in the fourth quarter at +30, Evan Fournier (18, 4/9 threesome) or Immanuel Quickley (16, 4/8) stood out positively.
- Franz Wagner was a bright spot among the hosts. The German shone as the top scorer of his team with 16 points and sank 4 threes in 5 attempts (plus 4 rebounds and 3 turnovers). Moritz Wagner had 6 points (2/6 FG), number 5 pick Jalen Suggs had problems with his throw again (14 points on 4/17 FG and 0/6 threesomes). Mo Bamba still put on 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Washington Wizards (2-0) – Indiana Pacers (0-2) 135:134 OT (BOXSCORE)
- The Wizards had to do without franchise star Bradley Beal, who had to fit due to hip problems, but Spencer Dinwiddie jumped into the breach in the overtime thriller. The newcomer saved his team in extra time and was responsible for 34 points (13/24 FG and 6/9 threesomes) and 9 assists.
- Defense was not a factor for long periods of this game, both teams were already at 73 points at the break. In the final section, there was a lot to speak for the Pacers, who turned the game around after a temporary 10-point deficit and were ahead with 6 points two minutes before the end of regular time. But then Dinwiddie came along and sank two threes in a row – overtime!
- After the Pacers got off to a better start in extra time, the guard again equalized from a distance. Shortly before the end, it was Davis Bertans (17) who brought his team from downtown to winning ways. Kyle Kuzma (26 and 11 rebounds) finally put the lid on from the free throw line.
- Indiana did not manage to sweeten the new career record of Myles Turner (40 points and 10 rebounds at 15/22 FG and 5/9 threesomes) with a win. Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon each had 28 points with good odds, rookie Chris Duarte scored 15 points.
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