New season, good old Denver, but also Phoenix, which immediately announced big stories - the NBA league started and brought a spectacle already in the first two matches.
Champion Denver, after "ringing" at the start of the game, defeated the LA Lakers (119:107) on the wings of MVP Nikola Jokić until the end, while Phoenix led by Devin Booker was better than Golden State away from home (108:104).
Jokić reminded why he was the best basketball player in the strongest league on the planet last season with a new triple-double (29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists).
It was the Denver center's 106th career triple-double and is now sixth on the all-time list - behind LeBron James and Jason Kidd, who each have one more. Russell Westbrook is uncontested with 198.
"I think we controlled the events on the field throughout the game," said Jokić after the first triumph of the season.
As expected, he was followed by Jamal Murray with 21 points and six assists, as well as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 20 points, while Aaron Gordon added 15 points with seven rebounds and five assists.
On the other side, the unreal LeBron James is still the best (21 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes) - Tauren Prince scored 18 points in his debut for the Lakers, and Anthony Davis scored 17 points with eight rebounds and four assists.
The Suns silenced "Chase Center" and San Francisco, and Devin Booker had a phenomenal game - 32 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Another great Phoenix star, Kevin Durant, had a good evening (18 points, 10 rebounds), and Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkić, who reached a double-double (14 points, 14 rebounds), had an excellent start to the season.
At Golden State, Steph Curry scored 27 points, Klay Thompson 15 (with seven rebounds), and Chris Paul 14 points (nine assists)...
The Phoenix team was without Bradley Beal - a guy who should be a big boost missed the game with a sore back.
"I believe he will play on Thursday against the Lakers," said Frank Vogel, coach of the Suns.
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