The NBA's opening night delivered a comeback, a statement and a spoiled party. In Detroit, the Pistons erased a 22-point deficit and beat the Boston Celtics 121-113, sealing the win with a 23-0 fourth-quarter surge. Cade Cunningham finished with 22 points and eight assists, Jalen Duren added 22 points and nine rebounds, Duncan Robinson hit five of nine from three-point range and Javonte Green buried the go-ahead three. Paul George scored 38 in his Boston debut, in a losing cause.
In San Antonio, the defending Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder opened with a 116-104 win over the Spurs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 32 points on 13-of-27 shooting, adding five rebounds, four assists, two steals, two blocks and three three-pointers. Victor Wembanyama, who struggled through the matchup, admitted afterwards that he was overthinking and not feeling like himself — and the game got chippy, with four technical fouls and a flagrant assessed as the young rivalry picked up where last spring's conference final left off.
The third game of the NBC and Peacock slate was in New York, where Philadelphia's 106-100 win over the Knicks on their ring night is covered in full elsewhere on this site. Tyrese Maxey led all scorers there with 28 points, while Jalen Brunson, who scored 21 on 6-of-19 shooting, called the loss a humbling one that put the champions' egos in check.
Three games in, the early storylines are already set: Detroit's young core can close, Oklahoma City's MVP has not slowed down, and the road through the East runs through a Philadelphia team built to bother the champions.
