The opening night of the 2016-17 NBA season featured the Durant-infused Dubs, reigning world champion Cavs, Duncanless Spurs and the up and coming Blazers.
On the first game of the season, the Cavs went against the revamped New York Knicks line-up who added several players to help Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. The Knicks added Brandon Jennings, Courtney Lee, Joakim Noah, and former MVP Derrick Rose. The Cavs meanwhile kept most of their championship lineup and added veteran swingman Mike Dunleavy.
The game was tight after the first half, with the Cavs just leading by three points 48-45. However, the Cavs cranked it up a notch in the third quarter and increased their lead to 18 points. They continued to pound the Knicks in the fourth quarter and finish the game with a final score of 117-88. Lebron James got the first triple-double of the season with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists while Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love scored 29 and 23 points, respectively.
On opening night the Dubs went against a Duncanless Spurs and got blown out 129-100. All start and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard led the spurs with 35 points, five steals, five rebounds and three assists while all-star LaMarcus Aldrige had 26 points and 14 rebounds.
The new-look Golden State Warriors added Kevin Durant and Zaza Pachulia during the offseason and parted ways with Harrison Barnes, Marreese Speights, Andrew Bogut, and Leandro Barbosa. The Dubs now have four all-stars in their starting lineup and are expected to make their third straight finals appearance.
Meanwhile in Portland, Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers handled the Utah Jazz who were without starters Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors. Lillard led all scorers with 39 points and their win brings their streak of home-opener wins to 16 to lead the NBA.
