It’s opening night, which means the official debut of the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving pairing, and a ring ceremony for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The N.B.A. is back (so soon!) with a doubleheader on opening night, featuring several of the league’s biggest names: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Kawhi Leonard. For Durant, it’s a much-anticipated regular-season debut with the Nets, alongside Kyrie Irving. And it’s a reunion, as the Nets face off against his former team, the Golden State Warriors, and former teammate in Curry. For James, it’s ring night: His Los Angeles Lakers will have the official ceremony for the championship they won just over 10 weeks ago. Then they will take on Leonard and the Clippers in the night’s second game. We’ll be updating live. What: Warriors @ Nets,7 p.m. Eastern time; Clippers @ Lakers,10 p.m. How to watch: TNT Extras: Western Conference preview| Eastern Conference preview| Times staff predictions Click here to refresh for live updates. It’s rare that an N.B.A. preseason game is must-see television. But a matchup featuring the Nets and Washington Wizards might have been the most anticipated preseason game in New York basketball history. The Nets won,119-114, at Barclays Center, but what mattered was the product on the floor: Durant and Irving looked every bit the All-Stars they have been their entire careers. But Durant showed minimal sign of that injury. He made all three of his field goals in the first quarter and looked spry running up and down the court. He finished the first half with 15 points on eight shots. One of the best scorers in the history of the N.B.A., Durant pulled out moves he had refined before his injury, like his one-footed fadeaway. He was also active defensively, blocking two shots and taking a charge. Durant said afterward that he didn’t think he had played particularly well, but that the game was a “good first step.
