After what was heading to be a quiet debut for Victor Wembanyama – the most anticipated NBA debut in recent memory – the prodigal No. 1 draft pick burst to life in the fourth quarter with nine of his 15 points.
But it wasn’t enough as Luka Doncic’s triple-double (33 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists) spoiled the party to see the Dallas Mavericks defeat the San Antonio Spurs 126-119 in the team’s season opener on Thursday (all times AEDT).
Wembanyama had been stuck in foul trouble for most of match, limiting the 19-year old’s time on the court to just 23 minutes in total.
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However he came out with renewed freedom after checking back into the game with seven minutes remaining on five fouls.
Wembanyama immediately finished an alley-oop dunk then drilled a three-pointer within a minute of being back on the court. A fadeaway jumper with under four minutes left made it nine points in three minutes and tied up the ball game at 115 apiece.
Doncic and Kyrie Irving then got to work, with the former completing an and-one play to give Dallas back the lead.
Irving drilled a huge triple on the wing followed by a layup and Doncic hit the crucial three-point dagger to close the door on San Antonio.
Irving scored 22 points and Mavs rookie big man Derek Lively added 16 points and 10 boards off the bench, while Aussie Josh Green had 11 points also in the second unit.
Amid so much hype around Wembanyama, Doncic showed Lively some love post match, accidentally letting off a cheeky F-bomb in the process.
“I don’t remember a rookie playing that amazing for their first game,” Doncic told ESPN.
“I remember My first game I was nervous, he didn’t seem nervous, he played f***ing amazing–” instantly covering his mouth and apologising.
Wembanyama’s full line included 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, with three triples, five rebounds and two steals.
Devin Vassell meanwhile top-scored for the Spurs with 23 to lead all five of the home side’s starters in double figures.
“It was a lot of emotion. It would have been perfect to win,” Wembanyama said. “Tonight really marks the beginning. It’s still a dream, I hope to keep that dream feeling.”
He continued: “I was happy. It’s representative. This in itself is not exceptional. But I hope what I do next will make it special.”
Wembanyama had two fouls in the first quarter, two more early in the third quarter and his fifth only 26 seconds into the fourth quarter.
“Maybe I wanted to do too well, not to put my energy into the right things,” he said.
“I don’t need to put that much energy into defence. I’m learning for a first game. These are simple things.
“I was just focused on being the best I can be when I step back in the court,” Wembanyama said. “We’re hungry already for the next game.”
“Wemby” began drawing huge cheers from a sellout crowd after only 38 seconds, blocking a jump shot by eight-time NBA All-Star guard Irving.
“Fortunately for us he’s a very tooled, prioritised young man,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Wembanyama. “I don’t have to teach him what is it to be a pro.”
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PORZINGIS SHINES IN C’S DEBUT
Kristaps Porzingis shined in his Boston Celtics debut with 30 points to lead his side to a big road win over the New York Knicks 108-104.
It marked the most ever points by a Celtic on debut, with Porzingis adding eight rebounds and four blocks, while Jayson Tatum poured in 34 points with 11 rebounds.
With the Madison Square Garden showdown tight down the stretch of the fourth quarter, a contentious play with two minutes left saw Porzingis elbow Isaiah Hartenstein in the face after the pair got tangled up after the Boston recruit grabbed a rebound.
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Knicks fans let their thoughts be known on their former player, chanting ‘F*** Porzingis’ afterwards.
While Porzingis gave away a technical foul, Hartenstein committed a regular foul, sending Porzingis to the line as he tied the game up at 101-101 apiece with two free throws.
Porzingis then stepped up again with a huge go-ahead three-pointer inside two minutes remaining before making a pair of clutch free throws to ice the win for Boston.
Immanuel Quickley starred for New York with 23 points off the bench and RJ Barrett also scored 24, but it wasn’t enough for Tom Thibodeau’s side.
THUNDER’S PERFECT START AMID CHET’S ‘WELCOME TO NBA MOMENT’, BULLS ‘CONFLICT’
Josh Giddey’s OKC Thunder got their season off to a perfect start in a 124-104 road win over the Chicago Bulls.
The Thunder ran away with the game in the second half behind a game-high 31 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to go with five rebounds and 10 assists.
Jalen Williams (16 points) and Giddey (16 points, six rebounds, six assists) also had important cameos, while rookie Chet Holmgren added 11 points in his NBA debut.
It was an ideal opener for the Thunder in the franchise’s bid to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2019/20 season.
For Chicago, DeMar DeRozan led the way with 20 points and Zach LaVine scored 16 in a forgettable first game for Billy Donovan’s squad.
It wasn’t without one particuarly grim moment for OKC though.
Andre Drummond wound back the clock during one play in the second term, showing up Holmgren in the Thunder rookie’s first game.
The Bulls centre stripped Holmgren on the defensive end, ran the floor, crossed over Holmgren and dunked.
And while only one game into the 82-match season, Donovan confirmed Bulls players were “in hearted conversations” when he entered the locker room post-match, per Chicago Tribune’s Julia Poe.
Donovan also noted players asked him to leave for them to handle the “conflict”, but emphasised that doing so was something he wanted his team to embrace this season.
Still, LaVine reportedly said the team ‘didn’t play with enough heart’ in the second half, which is never ideal in the first game of a new campaign.
MITCHEL’S MATCH-WINNER BURIES NETS
The Nets packed a bunch into their season opener, going from blowout loss to gritty win to heartbreak at the buzzer.
By the time Cam Thomas missed an off-balance 3-pointer and Cam Johnson a desperate put-back attempt at the buzzer, Brooklyn had suffered a tough 114-113 loss to Cleveland in front of a sellout crowd of 17,931 at Barclays Center.
The Nets had erased a 13-point first-quarter deficit and had a six-point cushion in the fourth.
They led with 14 seconds left until Westchester native Donovan Mitchell — whose name will be linked in trade rumuors with both New York teams — drilled a 3-pointer to put Cleveland ahead.
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Brooklyn missed not one but two looks.
Thomas poured in 36 points — tied for the most off the bench in a season opener in NBA history — including 24 in the first half.
But he missed a 3-point heave, and Johnson couldn’t pull off an acrobatic putback attempt.
Mikal Bridges had 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, but it went to waste as they blew the lead.
-This story was originally published by Brian Lewis in The New York Post
ELSEWHERE …
In other NBA openers, Zion Williamson (23 points, seven rebounds) and CJ McCollum (24 points, six assists) led the New Orleans Pelicans to a 111-104 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Williamson got back to some of his best form with several exciting plays including dunking on reigning Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr.
The Grizzlies, who lost Steven Adams on the eve of the season to injury and will be without Ja Morant for the first 25 games due to suspension, were led by 31 points from Desmond Bane.
Aussie youngster Dyson Daniels added six points, five rebounds, two steals and a block in 18 minutes off the bench for the Pels.
Elsewhere, the Sacramento Kings comfortably downed the Utah Jazz 130-114 as Harrison Barnes lit it up with a game-high 33 points and Domantas Sabonis tallied 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Jordan Clarkson top-scored for the Jazz with 24, while Lauri Markkanen put up 19 points with 10 boards.
But it was a rim-rattling Malik Monk posteriser that stole the show in Utah.
Late in the third quarter, De’Aaron Fox stripped the ball away from Kris Dunn, ran the floor then dished to Monk, who slammed the ball in over Dunn.
Joe Ingles’ Orlando Magic took down Jock Landale’s Houston Rockets in a 116-86 rout, though neither Aussie had much of an impact.
Ingles went scoreless with four rebounds and five assists off the bench, while Landale scored three points with two dimes in the second unit.
In the last game, the LA Clippers put away the new-look Portland Trail Blazers 123-111 behind big games from Kawhi Leonard (23 points, six assists), Paul George (27 points, six assists, three steals) and Ivica Zubac (20 points, 12 board, four blocks).
Pick 3 draftee Scoot Henderson put up 11 points, three rebounds and four assists in his first NBA game.
Charlotte’s Pick 2 draftee Brandon Miller also made his debut, scoring 13 points in his team’s 116-110 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
PJ Washington (25 points) Terry Rozier (24 points) and LaMelo Ball (15 points, 10 rebounds) came up big for the Hornets, while Trae Young tallied 23 points and nine assists for Altanta.
ALL RESULTS
ROCKETS 86 – MAGIC 116
CELTICS 108 KNICKS 104
WIZARDS 120 PACERS 143
HAWKS 110 HORNETS 116
TIMBERWOLVES 94 RAPTORS 97
PISTONS 102 HEAT 103
CAVALIERS 114 NETS 113
THUNDER 124 BULLS 104
PELICANS 111 GRIZZLIES 104
KINGS 130 JAZZ 114
MAVERICKS 126 SPURS 119
TRAIL BLAZERS 111 CLIPPERS 123