By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Nuggets got their championship banner, their rings, and a 119-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers to start the season, having the same lofty goals.
And with Nikola Jokic not slowing down there’s a reason they are looking back, but forward.
“We can’t think about last year too much,” Jamal Murray said after the Nuggets opened their season with a “W”, which featured a Jokic’s triple-double and LeBron James taking a few more breathers than normal.
“I think we controlled the game the whole time,” said Jokic, who had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
Murray added 21 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20, Aaron Gordon had 15 and Michael Porter Jr. had 12.
All of LA’s starters also scored in double figures, led by James’ 21 points in 29 minutes, ending up playing about five fewer minutes than he’s used to, entering his 21st season in the NBA.
“I mean, I always want to be on the floor,” James said, “especially when you got an opportunity to win a game or feel like you can make an impact. But I guess there’s a system in place and I’ll follow it.”
Durant’s Suns prevailed on the road over the Warriors
In the second game of the night, Devin Booker scored a go-ahead layup with 4:51 remaining followed by a 3-pointer on the way to 32 points in a 108-104 Phoenix road victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Stephen Curry scored 27 points to former shooting partner Durant’s 18 on a night the Warriors welcomed KD back for his first game in front of Bay Area fans since he left after the 2019 NBA Finals.
Bosnian Beast Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 14 rebounds with a driving layup in the closing seconds in his Suns debut. On the other side, Croatian Dario Saric had seven points and seven rebounds in his first game with the Warriors.