Three Blowouts and Three Close Games from Day Two of the 24-25 NBA Season
The NBA season is back! During the 2024-2025 NBA’s Opening Night, we saw the reigning champion Boston Celtics demolish the newly transformed New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers pull off a huge win with new coach JJ Reddick over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The second night of action was no different. Plenty of games came down to the wire or were complete and utter blowouts. This season will only ramp up in play as the months go out, and it will be exhilarating to see who will win the Emirates NBA Cup and the 2024-2025 NBA Finals. Let’s take a look at three games that weren’t close and three extremely close games.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors
This season, the Cavs have a few points to prove. In their first game of the season, they went to Toronto and dismantled the Raptors 136-106. Cleveland went on a 36-17 run during the second quarter and by the end of the third, they were up by 26. Evan Mobley led all scorers with 25 points in addition to recording nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and three blocks. Donovan Mitchell put up 21 points in the win. For the Raptors, Chris Boucher led the team with 18 points in 20 minutes off the bench.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers aren’t having the best string of luck heading into this new season. Both Joel Embiid and https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/georgpa01.html did not play in this opener and it clearly affected this Sixers squad. Even though Tyrese Maxey is capable of leading the team, especially with his growth over the past couple of seasons, Philly was simply no match for the Bucks last night. Milwaukee grabbed a 124-109 win, outscoring the 76ers in the second and third quarters by a total of 20 points. Philadelphia went eight for 31 from three which brought their chances significantly to win this game. Damian Lillard showed up recording 30 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and a block. Speaking of blocks, Brook Lopez had a stat-filled day going for 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and six blocks. Maxey put up 25 in the loss.
Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers
After the first quarter, this game belonged to the Warriors. They went on to outscore the Trail Blazers by 35 points in the final three quarters to take a 139-104 win. Golden State pulled down 57 rebounds, outrebounding the Blazers by 15. Portland struggled from beyond the arc going eight for 34. In just 15 minutes off the bench, Buddy Hield chalked up 22 points which tied all scorers along with Trail Blazers Scoot Henderson. Stephen Curry almost had a triple-double as he put up 17 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists while also stealing the ball twice.
Indiana Pacers vs. Detroit Pistons
It’s time for the Detroit Pistons to show this season that they're not the bottomfeeder of the Eastern Conference. In their first matchup of the new year against a Pacers team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons had a chance to win as they led for most of this game but couldn’t close out in the fourth quarter with the Pacers taking a 115-109 win. Indiana outscored Detroit 33-19 in the fourth and shot 50 percent from the field the entire 48 minutes. Myles Turner led the Pacers with 20 points along with nine rebounds, four assists, and four blocks. Pascal Siakam went for 19 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, and two steals. For the Pistons, Cade Cunningham dropped 28 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and a steal. Detroit’s center Jalen Duren finished with a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Utah Jazz
With Ja Morant back, the Grizzlies are looking to run a muck in the Western Conference just like they did two seasons ago. Against a Utah Jazz team that has been trying to find their identity, the Grizzlies struggled at times being outrebounded 49-41 and they allowed 56 points in the paint compared to their 46 points. Memphis led by 11 going into halftime, but Utah kept persisting as they cut the lead to five heading into the fourth. This game was tightly contested in the final quarter of play. It was a three-point lead for the Grizzlies with a minute remaining, then Morant made it a five-point game with a driving finger roll layup. Keyonte George squared away two free throws to keep the game at three, but Desmond Bane was fouled by the Jazz. Bane made it a five-point lead for Memphis once again with six seconds left. Lauri Markkanen nailed a three-pointer, but it just simply wasn’t enough as the Grizzlies took a 126-124 victory. Markkanen led all scorers with 35 points. Three of Memphis’ starters, Morant, Bane, and Santi Aldama dropped over 20 points. Ja finished with 22 points and 10 assists. Walker Kessler had a double-double in the Jazz loss with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Phoenix Suns vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Our first overtime game of the season did not disappoint. In their new arena, one in which they finally don’t have to share with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Clippers dropped their first game of the season with a 116-113 loss. This game was close the entire time. By the end of the first half, the Suns led by eight. However, by the end of the third, the Clippers would take a two-point lead. With a minute and 14 seconds remaining, this game would be tied at 101. James Harden hit two free throws with 42 seconds left. Kevin Durant knocked a fadeaway jumper to tie the game at 103. Harden had the last shot and missed a driving floating layup. During overtime, Los Angeles only connected with three shots from the field. With a minute and 16 seconds left in overtime, Normal Powell scored a layup to make it a 114-112 game. It wouldn’t be until there were five seconds in the game for Harden to go to the free throw line. At the line, the former MVP hit one of two free throws. This allowed Jusuf Nurkić to go to line and nail both of his free throws, giving the Suns a huge win on their opening night. Durant finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and seven turnovers. Bradley Beal had 24 points in the win. Harden recorded 29 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and a steal, yet, he finished this game with eight turnovers.
