The Houston Rockets made a remarkable fourth quarter come back to beat Golden State Warriors 122-121 and spoil their title celebration on Tuesday night at the Oracle Arena.
The Warriors were dominant throughout and led for as many as 17 points but the Rockets chased the game. The Rockets had three players who finished with over 20 points, James Harden who had 27 points, 6 rebounds 10 assists, P.J. Tucker had 20 points and Eric Gordon finished 24 points while Chris Paul had four points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists in his debut with the Rockets.
Warriors were led by Nick Young who scored 23 points. They also had 22 and 20 points from Steph Curry and Kevin Durant respectively. Draymond Green got a near triple double, finishing with 9 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists, but Green was forced out of the game in the fourth quarter after suffering a sprained knee, and the Rockets took advantage of his injury. When Kevin Durant appeared to have won the game at the buzzer, replay showed the ball was still in his hands when the clock hit zero so it didn’t count.
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Earlier, the 2017-18 NBA season started disappointingly as Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward got injured taking off the excitement of the new season.Hayward sustained a fractured left ankle with 6:45 left in the first quarter and had to be stretched off the court.
The Cavaliers defeated the Celtics 102-99 in the opening game of the new campaign. LeBron James missed most of preseason with a sprained left ankle, but was fit enough to play.He had 29 points,16 rebounds and nine assists. Kyrie Irving finished with 22 points and 10 assists but it wasn’t enough to win on the road against James and the Cavaliers.
Cavs fans at the Quicken Loans Arena booed Irving in pregame introductions and throughout the game when he touched the ball. It was Irving’s return to Cleveland for the first time since requesting a trade from the Cavs in the summer. Cavs new recruits struggled on their debut, point guard Derrick Rose scored 14 points while Dwyane Wade had 8 points.
