NBA Makes a Triumphant Return with Two Heart-Stopping Games

Games are played in a neutral environment. Players and coaches knelt when the national anthem played. Fans are virtually present. And most importantly, we all witnessed not one but TWO exciting games that were decided in the final seconds. Yes, basketball is back into our lives.

Playing their first official games since the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)  pandemic forced the league to go on a hiatus last March were the Utah Jazz going up against the New Orleans Pelicans that was followed by another round of the "Battle of Los Angeles" between the Lakers and the Clippers. 

Serving as the curtain riser of the NBA restart, the slugfest between the Jazz and Pelicans didn't disappoint like their two previous encounters as this one went the distance as Rudy Gobert nailed the winning free throws with six seconds to go while Brandon Ingram missed the Pelicans' last attempt that enabled the Jazz to come away with a 106104 win. Three Jazz players scored 20 points or more led by our very Jordan Clarkson who led Utah with 23 points off the bench. He shot eight for 17 from the field and finished with five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell each had 20 points. Gobert added 14 points and 12 rebounds while Joe Ingles added 13 points. Royce O' Neale added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Jazz who won despite shooting 34% from the three-point line.

Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 23 points while JJ Reddick added 21 points as he overtook LeBron James in the all-time three-point field goals made list. Jrue Holiday came up with 20 points while Zion Williamson was limited to 13 points in 15 minutes. Williamson didn't grab a single rebound.

The second game of the restart was almost the same and yet, it had a lot at stake as it featured two of the top teams in the Western Conference. While the dynamic duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard combined 58 points, it wasn't enough as LeBron James was able to grab his own miss and scored what went down as the winning putback and on the other end, James defended both George and Leonard in the dying seconds to secure the Lakers' 103-101 victory over their fellow tenants at Staples Center. The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis' 34 points with 16 points coming from the free-throw line. James added 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, a steal, and a block but he and Davis combined for nine of the Lakers' 16 turnovers. The Lakers also got contributions from Kyle Kuzma who had 16 points and seven rebounds while newcomer Dion Waiters added 11 points despite going one for six from three. 

With the first two games in the book, we can now say: "The NBA is back!" 

Photo is from CBS Sports