However, the New York Knicks really sweated for 2-0 against the Philadelphia 76ers, where last season’s MVP Joel Embiid, returning from injury, produced 34 points and 10 rebounds, while his teammate Tyrese Maxey put together a triple-double without a rebound. (35 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists).
However, the biggest battle came between the defending champion Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers. Both teams had all the stars on board, i.e. the home team had two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter, while the Californians had the point king LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves in the starting five. .
The Lakers, who lost the first game 114-103, started better and after winning the second quarter with 11 points, 30-21, the Jameses led by 15 points, 59-44, at the break. However, the Nuggets, who had a record of 33-8 at home in the regular season, did not let the field advantage be lost and clawed back point by point. In addition to Jokic, who reached a triple-double (27 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists), Jamal Murray led the way, finishing with 20 points, but more importantly, after a beautiful LeBron break, he scored the 99-97 lead for the visitors. the last four points of the match. First, about James (he had 26 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists), then about Anthony Davis (he finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds). The Denver Ball Arena literally exploded after the bagpipe winning basket.
