Game of the Day
Atlanta Hawks 130 at Dallas Mavericks 129
Dominique Wilkins may have had the highlights with the early season high of 56 points, but it was his teammate Dikembe Mutombo that sealed the win with a last second block of a Rolando Blackman drive.
Atlanta had held the lead for much of the game thanks to Wilkins, but when he fouled out midway through the fourth quarter the Mavericks slowly chipped away at the 13 point deficit, but Blackmon’s shot was blocked by Mutombo and time ran out before the ball hit the ground.
MVP: Dominique Wilkins: 56 points, 5 rebs, 3 assists, 1 steal
New Jersey Nets 131 at Cleveland Cavaliers 139
Four Cavaliers scored 20 or more points to help lead Cleveland to a fairly comfortable win over the visiting New Jersey Nets. Trailing by 16 at halftime, the Nets failed to get any closer than 6 in the second half.
MVP: Mike Mitchell: 27 points, 4 rebs, 2 assists, 1 block
Washington Bullets 108 at Detroit Pistons 115
The Bullets became only the second team not to score 110 points as Detroit’s defense smothered the Bullets, holding them to just 24 in the final period as Pistons put up 36. That erased a 5 point 3rd quarter deficit to help give the Pistons their opening win.
MVP Andre Drummond: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
LA Lakers 139 at Golden St. Warriors 136
The Lakers overcame a 20 point third quarter deficit to shock the Warriors in their home opening. Trailing 112-93 with 12 to go, the Lakers reeled off 48 fourth quarter points to escape with a victory and become the first team to win two games.
MVP: Magic Johnson, 20 points, 6 assists, 1 reb, 1 steal
Charlotte Hornets 133 at Houston Rockets 137 (OT)
Kenny Smith’s three pointer at the buzzer forced overtime where the Rockets scored the first six points to hold off the Hornets for a harder than expected opening victory. The Rockets had been dominating the game with the help up their duo of Akeem Olajuwon and Moses Malone who combined for 38 points and 27 rebounds, but the Hornets got great bench performances from Anthony Davis and Tom Washington that put them in a position to win until Smith’s incredible shot.
MVP: Kenny Smith: 24 points, 4 assists
Virginia Squires 125 at Kentucky Colonels 114
Artis Gilmore’s 40 points wasn’t enough to propel the Colonels to the win as the Squires picked up the season’s first big upset in a shocking road win. The key was Kyle Lowry, who went 6 for 6 from three point range en route to a team leading 26 points. Without Gilmore, the Colonels barely shot 40%.
MVP: Kyle Lowry: 26 points, 4 assists, 3 rebs, 1 steal
Milwaukee Bucks 134, New York Knicks 132
Lew Alcindor won his match-up with Patrick Ewing, and the Bucks came away with a hard earned road victory. Allan Houston came off the bench to give the Knicks a chance. His 34 points were crucial in the Knicks closing a 17 point first half gap in the second half. In the end, it was the Bucks’ 18 offensive rebounds that helped the Bucks survive.
MVP: Lew Alcindor: 25 points, 11 rebs, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Indiana Pacers 122 at Denver 116
Indiana became the second team to get to 2 wins as they won a game against Denver Nuggets in which the final score was not a reflection of how the Pacers dominated the game. It didn’t look that way early in the 2nd. Leading by 6, the Pacers lost their stalwart center, Mel Daniels to a minor injury. Without him, the Pacers lost the rebounding edge but made up for it with impressive free throw shooting and excellent three point shooting (6 for 11).
MVP: George McGinnis: 26 points, 7 rebs, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block
Miami Heat 124 at Philadelphia 76ers 144.
The Heat never looked like the team that beat the Bulls the day before. Down only 2 at the half, the Heat struggled to stop Andrew Toney and Dr. J from imposing their will on the offensive end. The duo combined for 49 points, most in the second half. LeBron James stuggled to earn his 21 points while front court mates Chris Bosh and Kevin Willis combined for a pathetic 3 for 11 from the field.
MVP: Andrew Toney: 25 pts, 3 assists, 1 reb
Kansas City Kings 112 at San Diego Conquistadors 128
It’s hard to tell if the Conquistadors were that good, or the Kings were that bad. The Kings only had 2 players score over 15 points while the Conquistadors had 8 players score in double digits. The depth was apparent as any lineup the Conquistadors put together resulted in a domination of the paint. San Diego out rebounded Kansas City 61-30.
MVP: Willie Wise: 20 pts, 11 rebs, 1 steal
Phoenix Suns 150 at San Antonio Spurs 153
San Antonio answered the challenge of facing the Suns’ impressive offense by running with them. The results was a wildly entertaining 153-150 win. The Spurs win came with the help of their super subs, Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobli, who combined for 52 bench points. Both hit late threes that helped seal the win.
MVP: Kawhi Leonard: 30 points, 5 rebs, 2 assists, 1 steal
Spirits of St. Louis 150 at Portland Trailblazers 146
Portland’s early woes continue as they drop their second game to a surprising St. Louis team. Bill Walton had trouble against St. Louis’ duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard. Walton eventually fouled out trying to keep up with them and the Spirits completely dominated the interior. Only the duos poor free throw shooting (13 for 22) kept the Trailblazers in it.
MVP: Dwight Howard: 31 pts, 10 rebs, 3 blocks
Boston Celtics 150 at Buffalo Braves 128
It was simply too much talent for Buffalo as the Celtics breezed to an easy victory. Paul Pierce from outside and Larry Bird from inside tormented the Braves for 55 points. Boston had a 15 point lead at the end of the first and never looked back.
MVP: Paul Pierce: 30 pts, 3 rebs, 1 assist
Memphis Tams 134 at New Orleans Jazz 129
Karl Malone managed to score 31 despite foul trouble, and John Stockton added 14 points and 9 assists, but it wasn’t enough as the Jazz limped to a disappointing home loss. The heroes were the less heralded back court of James Jones and Mike Conley. Together they scored 50 while Red Robbins alone nearly out rebounded the Jazz entire front court.
MVP: Red Robbins: 19 pts, 18 rebs, 1 assist, 1 block
Statis Pro Basketball Super League 