NBA Double-Header On ESPN

On October 28, 2015, ESPN nationally televised two NBA games on the second night of the NBA season. All four teams that played came from the Western Conference of the NBA, which is the conference most believe to be the stronger of the two. The first game of the night saw 2013-2014 MVP Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder go head-to-head against the 2013-2014 NBA Champions the San Antonio Spurs at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City at 7:00 PM Central Time. The second game of the night saw the "Black Mamba" Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers go to battle against the Number One Overall Pick in the NBA Draft Karl Anthony-Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Staples Center in Los Angeles at 9:30 PM Central Time.
In the first game, fans were able to witness the return of Kevin Durant, who played only 27 games last season due to multiple injuries. San Antonio fans also go to take a look at LaMarcus Aldridge and David West in their season debuts with the Spurs. Throughout the first three quarters, the game went back and forth a few times, but the Spurs were in control of the game for the most part. During these three quarters for the Spurs, both Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were struggling offensively, not being able to find a rhythm under the noise of the rowdy Thunder fans. Luckily for San Antonio, Kawhi Leonard was having a monstrous game on both the offensive and defensive sides as no one could stop him from scoring, and he was effectively stopping Durant from scoring as much as he is used to and even blocking the former MVP. For the Thunder, Kevin Durant was not playing to his capabilities after being a little rusty in his return to the regular season as well as being bothered by Leonard's feisty defense. Fortunately for OKC, KD's partner-in-crime Russell Westbrook was having a fantastic game, driving past just about anyone who the Spurs tried putting in front of him. Westbrook helped the Thunder put together a nice run near the end of the third quarter to bring the game to 83-81 in favor of San Antonio. The final quarter of the game was basically a cat and mouse game, as every time the Thunder tied the game or came close to the Spurs, they quickly increased the lead. Leonard looked unstoppable scoring for the Spurs almost every time he touched the ball. When Westbrook re-entered the game with 7:20 left to go in the final quarter, he made some nice plays to keep his team in the game. With just 4:16 left in the game, Durant finally pulled everything together with a key three point basket to put the Thunder up 99-97. After finally regaining the lead, the Thunder were determined not to let it go again, scoring every time they needed to. With just 54 seconds left in the game, Russell Westbrook hit a dagger three-pointer to put Oklahoma City up 108-103. The fans were going crazy when none other than Kawhi Leonard hit a nice and-one basket on a questionable foul called on Durant where there was minimal contact. However, the foul was still called an Leonard hit the free throw for a career high 32 points to bring the game to just 108-106 Thunder with just 42 seconds remaining. The Spurs knew all they needed was a stop, and they would have a chance to either tie the game or potentially win it with a three pointer. Thunder rookie coach Billy Donovan drew up a nice play for the Thunder and Westbrook had a wide open jumper that could most-likely end the game. Unfortunately for the home crowd, Westbrook's shot clanged off the backboard and Spurs hero Kawhi Leonard corralled the rebound with just 21 seconds left. This meant that if Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich wanted it, San Antonio would have the last shot of the game potentially either ending it, or sending it to overtime. In a frantic play for the Spurs, Danny Green ended up taking a contested three with 12 seconds left that missed and went out of bounds after Aldridge was unable to hang on to the rebound. The Thunder had posession and needed just two free throws to end the game unless there was a Spurs miracle. Although he was struggling, Durant was the obvious choice for the Thunder to take the free throws, and Leonard was unable to keep Durant from getting his hands on the ball. After KD made two clutch free throws, Aldridge was unable to knock down a three in a designed play for him drawn up by Coach Pop. Russell Westbrook got hold of the ball and was fouled, and he knocked down two more free throws for the Thunder to seal the victory on opening night 112-106 in an exciting ending.
The second game of the night was played in L.A. as the hometown Lakers played the visiting Timberwolves. Before tip-off, everyone in Staples Center joined in a moment of silence to honor long-time Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders, who had recently died after a battle with cancer. Many of the players on both teams knew Flip, and were very saddened by his unexpected sudden death, including Kevin Garnett, who had played for Flip and learned from him during his rookie seasons. During shootaround, the players even wore shirts with the name Flip on them to commemorate his life. I did not watch all of the game, due to how late is was being played, but I was able to catch the first half. In the first half, Kobe Bryant lit up the floor taking shot after shot, but it was a good sign for L.A. fans who have seen him go out to injury in the past few seasons. At the end of the game, the Timberwolves came out on top 112-111 in a disappointing ending to fans at the Staples Center. Number One Overall Pick Karl Anthony-Towns, who scored 14 points and snagged 12 rebounds, credited the win to the "Sixth Man on the floor", paying homage to Flip. Garnett only scored 4 points for the Timberwolves in 13 minutes, but it didn't seem to affect the Wolves who fought there way to the top. For the Lakers, Kobe ended up with 24 points and Number Two Overall Pick D'Angelo Russell out of Ohio State only scored 4.
These were two great games, that continued the great start to this new NBA season. It was nice to see the Spurs and Thunder go at it for me because those are two of my favorite teams. I cannot wait to see how the rest of this season unfolds.