By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
More teams held season openers on Thursday night with three showdowns and plenty of Euro-presence on the night of the big reveal of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team.
The Atlanta Hawks made a statement with a 113-87 win against the Dallas Mavericks without Danilo Gallinari who was sidelined with a nagging shoulder injury, spoiling Jason Kidd’s debut on the Mavs’ bench.
Cam Reddish signed off with 20 points for Atlanta and Trae Young recorded double-double figures with 19 points and 14 assists, while big man Clint Capela had 12 points and 13 rebounds in 21 minutes on the court and Bogdan Bogdanovic followed with 11 points.
Luka Doncic flirted once again with triple-double figures (18 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists), though his efforts weren’t enough to keep Mavs in the game. Big man Kristaps Porzingis also added 11 points and 5 boards for the Dallas side.
The Miami Heat celebrated their first victory of the season with a bang against reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks at home. Heat grabbed the 137-95 victory, led behind Tyler Herro who scored 27 points in 24 minutes coming from the bench, and Jimmy Butler who posted 21 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was voted into the 75th Anniversary Team, paced Bucks’ display with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals in 23 minutes and Sandro Mamukelashvili contributed 12 points, 4 rebounds across 27 minutes coming from the bench.
Steph Curry’s 45-point performance stunned the LA Clippers and helped the Golden State Warriors march on with a 115-113 win to begin the 2021-22 season. Curry also grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with 8-13 from the three-point line in the season opener.
Andrew Wiggins added up to the efforts with 17 points, while Nemanja Bjelica contributed 6 points and 6 boards coming from the bench in just 16 minutes of play.
Paul George and Eric Bledsoe led the Clippers with 29 and 22 points respectively, and Ivica Zubac had 14 in 17 minutes.