There were two close games on opening night, as well as a heartbreaking injury for one NBA superstar, and joy for last year’s champions as they unveiled their championship banner and received rings.  Here’s a recap of NBA Opening Night 2017.

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics 102-99 last night in Cleveland to open the season.  It was Kyrie Irving’s first game as a Celtic, and he played against his former team.  Irving finished with 22 points and 10 assists, but missed what would’ve been a game-tying 3 at the buzzer with LeBron’s arm in his face.  Irving and LeBron hugged after the game, showing their friendship that they still have despite Irving leaving Cleveland.  When LeBron was interviewed, he said, “I’m out of shape.  Very out of shape for my expectations, and rightly so. I haven’t been able to play throughout the preseason.  I played one game and re-injured my ankle.  I don’t like where I’m at right now, but you know, we got some practice.  These games are gonna help me out.  I’m out of shape, but the most important thing is that we got the win.  It’s gonna be a learning experience for us because we’ve got 7 new guys working in a new system, every game is gonna be a learning experience.  We’ll get an opportunity to watch this film, but it’s good to get a win in day one.”

Gordon Hayward suffered arguably the most serious injury since the Paul George injury a few years ago.  Hayward landed on his leg awkwardly, and everyone instantly knew it was serious.  When LeBron James was asked about it, he said,”My thoughts and prayers go out to Gordon’s family. Hope for a speedy recovery, a healthy recovery.  Those are the injuries that you never see coming, you never want to happen, no matter who it is, no matter what the stature, no matter how much competitive nature that you have. It’s just very unfortunate.” Hayward’s ankle was bent at such a weird angle that teammates stood in shock as Hayward motioned for help.  Cavs guard Dewyane Wade knelt with his hand on his head as Celtics players huddled together in shock of what had taken place.  Kyrie Irving buried his head in chests of teammates Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum.  Haywards ankle was popped back into place while he was on the stretcher on the court, reducing pain.  LeBron James came over to Hayward and shook his hand as he was being taken off the court.

The Golden State Warriors were defeated by the Houston Rockets 122-121 on Tuesday night after a controversial call took away the buzzer beater that Kevin Durant made that would’ve won Golden State the game.  On replays, it was found that the ball was touching Durant’s fingertips as the buzzer sounded, meaning the Warriors lost the game.  The Warriors Nick Young had a big game, scoring 23 points on 8 of 9 field goals, including 6 3-pointers.  It was Young’s first game as a member of the Warriors.  Young finds himself as a spot-up shooter.  When interviewed, he said, “My thing is that I have to pick my spots and get out of the way.”  The Warriors play the Pelicans at 9:30 ET on Friday night on ESPN.