Tuesday, October 28 marked the commencement of the 2014-15 NBA regular season. Six teams took part in three games, and the results did not disappoint.
One of the association’s fastest rising stars joined the ranks of legends just one game into the new campaign. He wasn’t alone in what was an extraordinary day of basketball for some of the game’s biggest and most under-appreciated players.
Whether you saw it all or missed it, these are the 10 facts that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Anthony Davis, Omer Asik and Ryan Anderson combined for 62 points, 43 rebounds, 23 offensive rebounds, 14 blocks and three steals as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Orlando Magic 101-84. Anderson tallied 22 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes, while Asik put up 14 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks in 34 minutes of action.
As for Davis, all he did was drop 26 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, nine blocks and three steals.
2. Asik and Davis are the first teammates to record at least 15 rebounds and five blocks in the same game since Tim Duncan & David Robinson on March 10, 1998.
3. The last player to put up at least 25 points, 17 rebounds, nine blocks and three steals was Hakeem Olajuwon on March 3, 1990. Olajuwon achieved the feat five times.
Davis and Olajuwon are the only players in NBA history to put tally those numbers, per Basketball-Reference.com.
4. Davis is the first player in NBA history to record at least 25 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks on opening night. Blocks were first recorded in 1973-74.
5. New Orleans pulled down 26 offensive rebounds. Only two teams reached that mark in all of 2013-14.
6. Not to be outdone by his opponents, Magic center Nikola Vucevic went off for 15 points, 23 rebounds, four blocks and a steal. There were only three instances of a player securing at least 15 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks in all of 2013-14.
DeAndre Jordan did it twice and Serge Ibaka achieved it once.
7. The San Antonio Spurs raised their fifth championship banner and followed it up by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 101-100. Tony Parker led the way with 23 points, Manu Ginobili scored 20 and Tim Duncan tallied 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Monta Ellis led Dallas with 26 points.
Duncan has 14 double-doubles in a season-opening game—the most in NBA history.
8. San Antonio has won 17 of its past 18 season-opening games.
9. James Harden put up 32 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 108-90 blowout of the Los Angeles Lakers. Terrence Jones added 16 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a pair of steals, while Dwight Howard had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Tragically, the lasting memory of this game was rookie Julius Randle suffering an fractured tibia. Here’s hoping for a quick and full recovery.
10. Kobe Bryant returned to the NBA with 19 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 29 minutes of action. He started well, but ultimately shot 6-of-17 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
With Bryant’s season debut, he tied John Stockton for the most consecutive seasons with the same team at 19.
GIF: Kobe Bryant to Dwight Howard after tussle: “Try Me” http://t.co/lzgVr20L4P
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) October 29, 2014
Bonus Fact: Bryant and Howard nearly came to blows. Bryant’s reaction is in the above Tweet.
Bonus Fact: Gregg Popovich’s win percentage of .944 in season-opening games is the best of any head coach with at least 10 appearances. The second-best is Phil Jackson at .800.