Tatum Went Clutch, Amen Thompson Went Airborne, and Opening Night Was Perfect
By Dakota Jones
LD3 News Desk: Game Coverage & Stats
Friday’s 12-game NBA slate gave us a comeback scare in Boston, a game-saving leap in Austin, and enough drama to make the season feel fully awake. The short version: Jayson Tatum answered a rough opener with a closing stretch worthy of the spotlight, and Amen Thompson took the phrase “protect the rim” very personally.
Boston 107, New York 103: Tatum takes over late
The Knicks cut a 12-point deficit to one with a 16-5 run. Then Tatum took over.
With 1:24 left, he sank a fadeaway 19-footer over Josh Hart. At 49 seconds, he hit a deep corner two. With 35 seconds remaining, he pump-faked Karl-Anthony Towns and drained a three. Seven straight points in the final 1:24. New York had the comeback. Boston had the answer.
Tatum finished with 36 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals, shooting 14-for-26. That’s a sharp change from the opener, when he scored 13 on 6-of-23 shooting and went 0-for-7 from three in a loss to Detroit.
Coach Joe Mazzulla put the performance plainly: “14-for-26, 36 points, that's probably the game that everybody expects 82 nights a year.”
Tatum’s own explanation was more personal: “Just playing with a sense of joy and gratitude. Obviously, being injured, I feel like the game was taken from me. I have a new appreciation for it.”
For Boston, it was the first win of the season. For New York, it was a second close loss to start its title defense. The Knicks are 0-2, becoming the first defending champion to open 0-2 since the 2011-12 Dallas Mavericks. No need to panic yet. But it is a less-than-ideal banner-season follow-up.
Friday also marked the 503rd all-time meeting between the Knicks and Celtics. There was a former-Knick subplot, too: Mitchell Robinson faced his old team for the first time after signing with Boston in free agency. “I love y'all, but tonight, we're not friends,” he said before tipoff.
Robinson had 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a block in 22 minutes. His best stretch came in a 21-second burst: he blocked a Towns layup, then threw down a one-handed alley-oop. A brief reminder that friendship can wait until after the fast break.
New York got double-doubles from Towns (22 points, 10 rebounds), OG Anunoby (20 and 10) and Hart (10 and 12). Mikal Bridges went scoreless and is now 2-for-16 through two games. The shots will have to start falling.
Houston 114, San Antonio 110: Thompson rises to the moment
In Austin, on the University of Texas campus, Houston held off San Antonio in a game that came down to one spectacular defensive play.
Amen Thompson finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. In the closing seconds, he blocked Victor Wembanyama to seal the Rockets’ win. Wembanyama, the 7-foot-5 “alien” of the memes, finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds. The joke is funny. The block was real.
Kevin Durant scored 20 and called Thompson’s play “a game-saving block.” He added: “It's insane how he got up so quick to block the shot of a 7-foot-5 guy, being 6-foot-7.” Fred VanVleet’s scouting report was shorter: “There's not many people on the planet making that block.”
Houston also got 29 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists from Alperen Sengun. San Antonio’s Dylan Harper scored 20, including a poster jam that cut the lead to two with 46 seconds left. The finish had everything except a reasonable explanation for Thompson’s vertical leap.
Quick hits from a crowded NBA night
Friday’s results supplied plenty of side stories:
- Hawks 128, Hornets 81: Atlanta set a franchise record for largest win, surpassing its previous 46-point margin against Sacramento in 2017.
- Pistons 128, Heat 111: Detroit led wire-to-wire, even with Giannis Antetokounmpo putting up 36 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.
- Cameron Boozer: His 25 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists made him the third-youngest player to reach at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in a game, behind only Cooper Flagg and LeBron James.
- Cooper Flagg: The Mavericks rookie exited with a shoulder injury.
FAQ
Did Boston win its first game of the season?
Yes. The Celtics beat the Knicks 107-103 at TD Garden.
What sealed Houston’s win over San Antonio?
Amen Thompson blocked Wembanyama in the closing seconds.
Final Thoughts
The early-season lesson is simple: don’t overreact to two games, but do pay attention when stars respond under pressure. Tatum turned a rough opener into a clutch finish. Thompson turned a late Spurs chance into a highlight that may stick around all season. That’s a pretty strong start to the NBA night.
For more coverage, visit the LD3 News Desk.