The San Antonio Spurs (1-0) clash with the Sacramento Kings (1-0) on Thursday, Oct. 27 in a 2016-2017 NBA regular season match as the latter unveils their new home court of Golden 1 Center.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 10:30 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
With the basketball world thinking that the Golden State Warriors' super team is unbeatable, San Antonio immediately proved it to be false when they crushed them on opening night, 129-100, right at their home court of Oracle Center last Tuesday.
It was head coach Gregg Popovich's first game without Tim Duncan since his initial head coaching season in 1996-1997 and he made it a memorable one.
"He (Duncan) was like a security blanket for everybody. Even if things went awry," said Popovich, as per ESPN. "He was like the center of the universe and everybody knew how to act around that. With that pivotal guy gone, we'll have to wait and see who accepts that role."
Kawhi Leonard has become the Spurs' main man now that Duncan has retired and the small forward delivered as expected, scoring 35 points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out three assists, and getting five steals in a brilliant all-around performance.
LaMarcus Aldridge backed him up with a huge double-double of 26 points and 14 boards. The power forward also had three assists and one steal.
Off the bench, D-League product Jonathon Simmons contributed a career-high 20 points that went along with four boards and three assists to lead the Spurs' stunning bench play.
Meanwhile, the Kings also had an impressive opener, beating the Phoenix Suns, 113-94, at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix on Wednesday.
It was the first time in three years that Sacramento won a season-opening match, which also gave new head coach Dave Joerger a win in his debut game for the club, according to CBS Local Sacramento.
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 24 points, six rebounds, and two assists while controversial forward Rudy Gay had 22 points, three boards, and two assists as well. Ty Lawson started at the point guard spot and contributed nine points, six boards, and seven assists in a game-high 36 minutes.
Prediction
The Kings are undermanned with Darren Collison suspended for the first eight games of the season. Gay and Lawson were great, but it remains to be seen whether they could duplicate that performance against Popovich. The Spurs are favored to win with Leonard and Aldridge again in starring roles.