NBA on Oct.17: Rockets start season with a big loss

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2018-19 NBA season continued on Tuesday as the Houston Rockets confronted the visiting New Orleans Pelicans at the Toyota Center. Led by Chris Paul, James Harden and Carmelo Anthony, the Rockets, however, lost at home to the Pelicans 112-131.

Three superstars fail to bring Houston a win

Chris Paul (L) and James Harden fail to save the Rockets from a 19-point loss. /VCG Photo

Having introduced Anthony this summer after years of chasing him, the Rockets apparently thought they were ready to challenge the Golden State Warriors again. However, the Pelicans gave them a head-on blow by totally destroying them in the paint area.

Houston's regular offensive plan of delivering the ball to Clint Capela failed in the first quarter as the Swiss center made only one of his first five attempts. It was only once the Rockets benched him that they realized they had made a huge mistake.

Anthony Davis #23 dominates the game with 32 points, 16 rebounds and 8 assists. /VCG Photo

Without Capela protecting the rim, Anthony Davis became ruthless around the basket and kept scoring. As the Rockets tried to harness him with double-teams, he easily passed the ball to shooters ready outside, like Nikola Mirotic. What made things worse for Houston was that even Julius Randle, who is famous for having no shooting range, started to make three-pointers.

While feeling vulnerable in defense, the Rockets found difficulties in offense too. Like a moving wall in front of the rim, Davis made Houston's players hesitate whenever they got the ball. They missed with almost every three-point attempt.

Carmelo Anthony #7 does not do well in his first NBA regular season game for Houston. /VCG Photo

In the end, the Pelicans left the Toyota Center with a big 19-point win. Davis scored 32 points, 16 rebounds. eight assists, three steals and three blocks. while Mirotic made 30 points and 10 rebounds. Their point guard Elfrid Payton took the first triple-double of the 2018-19 season with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

As for the Rockets, Harden ended with only 18 points. Paul scored 19 points and Anthony made only nine points. Eric Gordon took 21 points.

Jazz defeat Kings as seven players score double figures

Rudy Gobert #27 is unstoppable in the paint area in the game between the Jazz and the Kings. /VCG Photo

At home, the Utah Jazz came from behind to beat the Sacramento Kings 123-117. Though they were trailing behind at the beginning of the first quarter, the Jazz launched a 14-2 tide against the Kings' bench players. After another 5-0 play in the second quarter, Utah took the lead and never lost it to win their first game of the new season.

Jazz's Rudy Gobert made seven of nine shots to take 19 points, 15 rebounds and 3 rebounds while Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points. Sacramento also had five players scoring double figures as Willie Cauley-Stein and De'Aaron Fox made respectively 23 and 21 points.

DeRozan helps Spurs win opener against Timberwolves with 28 points

Demar DeRozan #10 proves that he is an All-Star level player. /VCG Photo

The San Antonio Spurs achieved a tough win at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-108. The game remained tied for most of the proceedings as the Spurs could not get a big lead and the Timberwolves found it difficult to catch up. Demar DeRozan gave San Antonio the lead again with a shot in the last minute, causing Minnesota to leave empty handed.

In his first regular season game for the Spurs, DeRozan scored the a game high of 28 points while LaMarcus Aldridge took a big double-double of 21 points and 19 rebounds. Three from the Timberwolves scored over 20 points (Jeff Teague 27, Jimmy Butler 23 and Andrew Wiggins 20). Karl-Anthony Towns who just signed a 190-million-US-dollar deal scored only eight points and had eight rebounds before he was fouled out.

Kawhi Leonard proves himself by helping Raptors defeat Cavaliers

Kawhi Leonard #2 returns with 24 points and 12 rebounds. /VCG Photo

The Toronto Raptors, who got Kawhi Leonard in summer, won 116-104 against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Scotiabank Arena. Though the two teams had an obvious gap in their strengths, the Raptors only led 28-25 after the first quarter. Toronto once expanded their lead to 20 points in the third quarter, but Cleveland did not give up and closed the gap, but still lost by eight.

Leonard seemed to return to his best by scoring 24 points and 12 rebounds. Kyle Lowry made 10 out of 12 shots and took 27 points. Though Kevin Love made 21 points for the Cavaliers but he only had a total of 18 attempts.

Walker cannot save Hornets with game day high of 41 points

Kemba Walker (R) scores 41 points but he cannot stop Giannis Antetokounmpo (L) and the Bucks from defeating the Hornets. /VCG Photo

The Charlotte Hornets lost their first game of this new season to the Milwaukee Bucks at home 112-113. Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks turned the table and pinned down the Hornets from the very start. Though Charlotte finally brought the game to a 101-101 tie in the fourth quarter, and even turned the tide by leading 112-111 once, Antetokounmpo then made two free throws to help Milwaukee take the final victory.

Antetokounmpo scored the Bucks' highest score of 25 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists. Kemba Walker from the Hornets took 41 points which's the higher than anyone else in all the 11 games but it still wasn't enough to bring his team a win.

Andre Drummond takes double 20s to help Detroit claim victory

Andre Drummond #0 helps the Pistons win the game with double 20s. /VCG Photo

With new head coach Dwane Casey, the Detroit Pistons won their opener 103-100 against the Brooklyn Nets after a close game. Though the Nets were playing away and were apparently the weaker side, they did not fear their rivals and starting the first quarter with a 8-0 lead. The Pistons held on to this until the third quarter and sealed their victory through two free throws by Reggie Jackson.

Detroit's center Andre Drummond delivered an extraordinary performance by scoring 20 points and 24 rebounds while the other big man Blake Griffin took 26 points. Brooklyn had four players - Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen and Spencer Dinwiddie - finish the game with over 10 points.

Booker scores 19 points in fourth quarter to bring Suns a win

Devin Booker scores 35 points in the game between the Suns and the Mavericks, including 19 points in the fourth quarter. /VCG Photo

The Phoenix Suns took a big win of 121-100 against the Dallas Mavericks at home but the process of getting the victory was more complicated than the final score made out. Phoenix went on fire with their offense and led Dallas 37-24 after the first quarter. The Mavericks narrowed the gap back to fewer than 10 points multiple times and once trailed by only four in the fourth quarter, and then Devin Booker made three three-pointers in a row, putting a cap on the game.

Booker scored the a court high of 35 points, including 19 in the fourth quarter. The Suns' No.1 overall pick center, Deandre Ayton took 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in his first NBA regular season game. The Mavericks' promising young duo of Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith Jr. finished the game with 10 and 13 points respectively.

Nuggets defeat Clippers 107-98 after a roller-coaster game

Boban Marjanovic #51 of the Clippers show people how to dunk without jumping thanks to his huge size and long arms. /VCG Photo

The Denver Nuggets won the away game 107-98 against the Los Angeles Clippers. Though the Nuggets maintained their lead in the first three quarters, the Clippers turned the tide in the fourth quarter thanks to remarkable play by Tobias Harris. With one minute and 34 seconds left, the score was 95-95 before Denver claimed the win with a 12-3 tide.

The Nuggets' center Nikola Jokic scored 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists for his team while Harris made the Clippers' high score of 19 points.

Aaron Gordon brings victory to Magic with 26+16

Aaron Gordon of the Magic scores 26 points and 16 rebounds in the game against the Heat. /VCG Photo

The Orlando Magic beat the Miami Heat 104-101 at home. The team's big man Aaron Gordon scored 26 points with 16 rebounds to help his team come back from behind and take the final win. One-year grader Mohamed Bamba made great contributions too, including making consecutive dunks in the fourth quarter. Dwayne Wade started from the bench and took nine points, 11 rebounds and two assists in his 26 minutes of play.

Pacers send Grizzlies home with a 29-point loss

The Indiana Pacers met their first rival of the new season, the Memphis Grizzlies at home and claimed a 113-83 victory. The game seemed to be a forgone conclusion from the beginning as Indiana was the leading side in all four quarters. Memphis tried to resist but had to give up before the midpoint of the fourth quarter.

Knicks defeats Hawks after scoring 49 points in the second quarter

The New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 126-107 at the Madison Square Garden. Though the Knicks trailed 23-24 after the first quarter, they launched a crazy strike in the second quarter and took 49 points to lead 72-49 in the first half. The Hawks though tried to catch up but failed to narrow the score and left the Big Apple with a big loss.