NBA opening night 2021-22 – Warriors rally past Lakers, while Bucks take care of Nets

The last time we saw LeBron James and Stephen Curry facing off in a meaningful game at Staples Center, the longtime friendly rivals were duking it out for a chance to be in last season’s playoffs. It was a close game, but nowhere close to the main stage these two have played on over the course of their careers.

In their heydays, you could almost book NBA Finals appearances for James and Curry each year. But they have some work to do to get back there this season.

Curry and the Golden State Warriors won 121-114 in Tuesday’s season opener, but mostly because Curry’s supporting cast has had a bit longer to come together than James’.

The 2021-22 NBA season kicked off earlier in the evening with a rematch from the Eastern Conference semifinals, as the Milwaukee Bucks once again defeated the Brooklyn Nets, 127-104.

Curry led the Warriors with a 21-point, 10-assist, 10-rebound triple-double, but he hit just 5 of 21 shots from the floor. His saving grace was a perfect 9-of-9 at the free throw line and strong games from Jordan Poole (20 points), Damion Lee (15 points), Nemanja Bjelica (15 points, 11 rebounds), Andrew Wiggins (12 points) and Andre Iguodala (12 points).

James looked as good as he did before the ankle injury that cost him 27 games last season — hitting his first six field goals on the way to 34 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. According to ESPN Stats & Information, it was James’ most makes without a miss to start a season in his career.

The problem is, no one else on the Lakers but Anthony Davis (33 points) looked very good at all. James and Davis combined to score 67 points and shoot 57%. The rest of the team mustered just 47 points on 37% shooting.

No other Laker even scored in double figures, with newcomer Carmelo Anthony (nine points) coming the closest.

Russell Westbrook’s homecoming was underwhelming, at best. The L.A. native didn’t score until four minutes before halftime, missed nine of his 13 shots and ended with a game-worst plus/minus of…