Pistons, 76ers, Thunder Win on NBA Opening Day
The NBA’s 80th season started Tuesday with a three-game opener on NBC and Peacock. It began with an afternoon game in Detroit, moved to a championship celebration in New York and finished with a rematch in San Antonio. All three games produced big storylines.
Pistons Erase 22-Point Deficit as Paul George’s Big Debut Falls Short
Detroit and Boston played at 3 p.m. ET, the first afternoon season opener in league history. For most of the game it looked like a Celtics win. Boston built a 22-point lead. Then Detroit went on a 23-0 run, sparked by a big fourth quarter from Duncan Robinson, and won 121-113. ESPN called it the NBA’s largest comeback on the first day of a season. It was also the Pistons’ biggest comeback against the Celtics in the past 30 seasons, according to ESPN Research.
Jalen Duren had 22 points and nine rebounds, his first game since signing a contract extension worth about $200 million earlier this month. Cade Cunningham added 22 points and eight assists on 8-of-18 shooting. “It was great, great energy,” Duren said after the game.
Paul George was the best player on the floor in his first game for Boston, who got him in the trade that sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia. George scored a game-high 38 points on 12-of-21 shooting, with seven 3-pointers and five steals. “The game found him,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. Jayson Tatum had a hard night. He finished with 13 points and 11 assists but shot 6-of-23 and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts, with Ausar Thompson doing much of the work guarding him.
LeBron, 76ers Spoil the Knicks’ Championship Night
Madison Square Garden celebrated before tipoff. The defending champion Knicks raised their first championship banner in about 50 years and received their rings. Then the 76ers won 106-100.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 28 points, four rebounds and five assists. Jaylen Brown scored 19 in his 76ers debut, and Joel Embiid added 13 points and 11 rebounds. LeBron James began his record 24th season with 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in his first game for Philadelphia. ESPN reported that he spent some time playing center and helped slow down Karl-Anthony Towns. James is 27 regular-season wins away from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most wins in NBA history.
New York struggled to score. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 21 points but missed 13 of his 19 shots. Towns had 19 points and 12 rebounds, but foul trouble held him to 24 minutes. OG Anunoby went 3-of-12 from the field, while Andre Drummond had 12 points and 14 rebounds off the bench.
Thunder Wins Heated Rematch as Wembanyama Struggles
Five months after San Antonio beat Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, the Thunder won the rematch 116-104. Back-to-back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC with 32 points on 13-of-27 shooting. The Thunder’s bench combined for 48 points, including 20 from Jared McCain.
Victor Wembanyama had the worst shooting night of his career. He scored 12 points on 1-of-13 shooting, though he still had 13 rebounds and six blocks. Thunder rookie Aday Mara, the No. 12 pick in the 2026 draft, spent time guarding him.
The rivalry got physical in the second quarter. De’Aaron Fox was called for a flagrant 1 foul for throwing Chet Holmgren to the ground. In the shoving that followed, three Thunder players received technical fouls: Jalen Williams, Jaylin Williams and Kenrich Williams.
What’s Next
The Pistons came back from a big deficit, the 76ers showed off their new star group, and the Thunder and Spurs picked up right where they left off. It’s only one night, but the 2026-27 season is already full of storylines.