File photo of Zion Williamson (r), power forward for the New Orleans Pelicans, who had 25 points in his team's 108-130 road win over the Brooklyn Nets. EFE/Tannen Maury
After an opening day with only two games, the NBA had its first feast this Wednesday with twelve games in which the superb performance of the New Orleans Pelicans, the revenge of the Phoenix Suns against the Dallas Mavericks and the disappointing debuts of Brooklyn Nets and Denver Nuggets.
With 28 points and seven rebounds from Brandon Ingram and 25 points and nine rebounds from Zion Williamson at the end of the round, the New Orleans Pelicans stormed Brooklyn with an excellent team game and four starters over 10 points.
Kevin Durant (32 points) was the best of the Nets in which the controversial Ben Simmons made his debut, who offered a poor performance (4 points, five rebounds and five assists before being fouled out).
With their historic failure in the West semifinals still unhealed, the Phoenix Suns were able to get some revenge on the Dallas Mavericks by coming back with heart and claw from a game they lost by 22 points.
Luka Doncic was a torment for the Suns (35 points, nine rebounds and six assists), but he missed the distant triple at the buzzer that would have given the victory to the Mavericks.
Damion Lee, with a very complicated basket with 10 seconds remaining, was the unexpected hero of a Suns team that had Devin Booker (28 points and nine assists) and Deandre Ayton (18 points and ten rebounds) as benchmarks.
Surprising and lopsided defeat for the Denver Nuggets, who fell to the Utah Jazz in the process of rebuilding and gave a bell with Collin Sexton (20 points) at the head of a group of seven players above 10 points.
Nikola Jokic (27 points and six assists) was the beacon for the Nuggets, which Jamal Murray (12 points) and Michael Porter Jr. (15 points and seven rebounds) returned after long injuries.
In his first game as a starter in the NBA, the Spanish Santi Aldama shone with 18 points and 11 rebounds and was key in the victory of the Memphis Grizzlies in extra time against the New York Knicks, who did not give up until the end.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies (34 points and nine assists), while Julius Randle (24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists) led the Knicks, trailing by 19 points in the third quarter but forcing the game. Overtime on a triple by Cam Reddish.
The Spanish Juancho Hernangómez (a rebound and a steal in 7 minutes) made his debut with the Toronto Raptors in the tight victory of the Canadians against the thriving Cleveland Cavaliers of a Ricky Rubio still away from the tracks as he continues to recover from his serious knee injury.
In his first game with Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell had 31 points and nine rebounds, while Pascal Siakam led Toronto with 23 and 11 rebounds.
The twin towers of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, added their first victory by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32 points and six rebounds).
Number one in the last draft, Paolo Banchero came out in his first game in the NBA (27 points, nine rebounds and five assists), but his Orlando Magic finally fell in a very disputed game against the Detroit Pistons.
In his first meeting in Motor City after trading from the Utah Jazz, Bojan Bogdanovic was the Pistons' leading scorer with 24 points.
DeMar DeRozan flirted with a triple-double (37 points, six rebounds and nine assists) in a Chicago Bulls team that started the season with a prestigious victory against the Miami Heat.
Jimmy Butler (24 points and eight rebounds) was the most outstanding of the locals.
Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, John Collins and De'Andre Hunter each scored more than 20 points as the Atlanta Hawks opened the season with a victory over a rebuilding Houston Rockets.
Jabari Smith Jr., number three in the draft, stood out with 17 points and seven rebounds in a Rockets in which the Spanish Usman Garuba was left without playing.
De'Aaron Fox had 33 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists, but his Sacramento Kings couldn't beat the Portland Trail Blazers at home.
Damian Lillard, already recovered from the injury that left him out of action during the second half of last year, contributed 20 points and eight assists with a weak 5 of 18 shots.
In a duel between two teams called to be among the worst in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Wizards beat the Indiana Pacers in a game in which the team from the US capital was always ahead on the scoreboard.
Kyle Kuzma (22 points and 13 rebounds) and Bradley Beal (23 points and six assists) were too much dynamite for a Pacers led by Tyrese Haliburton (26 points and seven assists), and in which the Dominican Chris Duarte had 5 points, one rebound and a robbery in 19 minutes.
A far cry from their golden years, Gregg Popovich's San Antonio Spurs, who aim to be at the bottom of the West, began their season with a loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Terry Rozier (24 points, six rebounds and six assists) and Keldon Johnson (20 points and 11 rebounds) were the benchmarks for the Hornets and Spurs, respectively.
1.- Boston Celtics (1-0)
2.- Chicago Bulls (1-0)
3.- Washington Wizards (1-0)
4.- Detroit Pistons (1-0)
5.- Toronto Raptors (1-0)
6.- Charlotte Hornets (1-0)
7.- Atlanta Hawks (1-0)
8.- Cleveland Cavaliers (0-1)
9.- Orlando Magic (0-1)
10.- Indiana Pacers (0-1)
11.- Miami Heat (0-1)
12.- Philadelphia 76ers (0-1)
13.- New York Knicks (0-1)
14.- Brooklyn Nets (0-1)
15.- Milwaukee Bucks (0-0)
1.- Utah Jazz (1-0)
2.- Golden State Warriors (1-0)
3.- New Orleans Pelicans (1-0)
4.- Minnesota Timberwolves (1-0)
5.- Portland Trail Blazers (1-0)
6.- Phoenix Suns (1-0)
7.- Memphis Grizzlies (1-0)
8.- Dallas Mavericks (0-1)
9.- Oklahoma City Thunder (0-1)
10.- Sacramento Kings (0-1)
11.- Los Angeles Lakers (0-1)
12.- Denver Nuggets (0-1)
13.- Houston Rockets (0-1)
14.- San Antonio Spurs (0-1)
15.- Los Angeles Clippers (0-0)
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