Drexler Dominant; O’Neal Victorious
Around the NBA
Shaquille O’Neal’s debut with the Los Angeles Lakers may have been the star attraction as the NBA opened its 50th season Friday night, but Clyde Drexler of the Houston Rockets turned in the star performance.
Drexler came within one assist of a rare quadruple-double as Houston defeated Sacramento 96-85.
Drexler, who missed three days of practice this week with a sprained left knee, had 25 points, nine assists, 10 rebounds and 10 steals.
Only three players in NBA history have registered a quadruple-double: Hakeem Olajuwon against Milwaukee in 1990, San Antonio’s Alvin Robertson against Phoenix in 1986 and Chicago’s Nate Thurmond against Atlanta in 1974.
At the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif., the Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns 96-82 as O’Neal scored 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.
After playing four years with Orlando, O’Neal signed a seven-year, $120 million free-agent contract.
Bulls struggle, but win
The Chicago Bulls actually struggled in their first game since posting the best record in NBA history. Then the second half began.
The Bulls began their quest for their fifth championship in seven seasons with a 107-98 victory at Boston.
Chicago erased an 11-point halftime deficit by outscoring Boston 22-6 at the start of the third quarter for a 70-65 lead.
Michael Jordan scored a game-high 30 points.
Free agent returns
Free-agent acquisition Dikembe Mutombo, who signed a five-year, $56 million contract with Atlanta, had 16 rebounds and nine points in the Hawks’ 94-81 loss at Miami.
Mutombo was overshadowed by former Georgetown teammate Alonzo Mourning, who scored 26 points and collected 12 rebounds in his first game since signing a seven-year, $105 million contract to stay with the Heat.
Add free agency
Playing without O’Neal, the Orlando Magic suffered a rare defeat at home, as Washington defeated Orlando 96-92.
Rod Strickland, acquired in an off-season trade with Portland, scored 20 points and Juwan Howard and Chris Webber made three free throws in the closing seconds for the Bullets.
Kenny Anderson, Strickland’s replacement at point guard in Portland, had 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Trail Blazers beat the Vancouver Grizzlies 114-85 at Vancouver, British Columbia.
Kiddie corps
No. 1 draft pick Allen Iverson (Georgetown) scored 30 points, but his college rival Ray Allen (Connecticut), who finished with 13, made a crucial free throw and 3-pointer as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 111-103.
Two high-profile rookies, Stephon Marbury (Minnesota) and Marcus Camby (Toronto), turned in low-profile performances in their NBA debuts.
Camby scored five points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter of the Raptors’ 107-99 loss to New York.
Marbury sprained his right ankle after missing a shot 5 minutes into Minnesota’s 82-78 victory over San Antonio. He might be available for Sunday’s game at the L.A. Lakers.
He’s not a rookie, but Kevin Garnett, just two years out of high school, had 17 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four blocks for the Timberwolves.
Rookie coaches
Jim Cleamons was a winner in his coaching debut as Jim Jackson scored 28 points and Chris Gatling hit a layup with 7.1 seconds left to give the Dallas Mavericks a 92-91 victory over the Nuggets at Denver.
Rookie coaches were 1-3 on opening night. The losers were John Calipari (New Jersey), Darrell Walker (Toronto) and Johnny Davis (Philadelphia).
At Toronto, Walker’s debut as coach of the Raptors resulted in the loss to New York. The Knicks are coached by Jeff Van Gundy, who has 22 more games of head-coaching experience than Walker, after going 13-9 at the end of last season.