NBA Triple Threat: Your daily roundup of last night's action in the Association.

Boston 90 Cleveland 85 Boston raised banner number 17 to the rafters and then went out and showed that this season, there will be no let down. Cleveland jumped out to a 50-43 halftime lead, but Boston turned up the defensive pressure and outscored Cleveland 24-13 in the 3rd and never looked back. Paul Pierce led the way with 27 points while holding LeBron to only 22 on 9-21 shooting. Boston was able to force 21 turnovers and score 18 points off of those turnovers, which proved to be the difference in this somewhat sloppy opening game for both squads. Cleveland's big offseason acquisition, Mo Williams, had 12 points on 4-10 (3-5 from three point land) shooting. Pierce's 27 points allowed him to pass Bob Cousy for 5th place on the all time scoring list in Celtics history.

Los Angeles 96  Portland 76 Kobe and the Lakers asserted themselves as the team to beat out West with a beatdown of everyone's new favorite team Portland. Portland cut the Lakers lead to 8 early in the 3rd quarter but the Lakers used a 20-5 run to push the lead back up to 23 and it was over. Kobe led the way 23 and Pau Gasol chipped in with 15. Bad news for Portland, other than the loss, was the loss of Greg Oden to an apparent foot or ankle injury in the 2nd quarter. Oden will have an MRI early Wednesday morning so we'll know more by then. Portland's other Rookie sensation Rudy Fernandez scored 16 points and seemed very comfortable on the floor. Look for him to eat into and eventually take most, if not all, of Steve Blake's minutes.

Chicago 108 Milwaukee 95 Derrick Rose made his Bulls debut and he didn't disappoint. Rose had 11 points and 9 assists, the second most for a rookie in his debut. Luol Deng led the way for a balanced Bulls attack with 21 while Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich added 18 and 15 repectively off the bench. Michael Redd had a game and opening night high 30 points but it wasn't enough as the Bulls handed former coach Scott Skiles his first defeat as head coach of the Bucks.

Best Lines

• Kobe Bryant: 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists
• Tyrus Thomas: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals
• Rajon Rondo: 14 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals
• Michael Redd: 30 points on 10-19 shooting and 4-8 from three
• Paul Pierce: 27 points, 4 assits, 3 rebounds, and held LeBron to 22

Rumors and Random Notes

• Eddy Curry said he was "stunned" he wasn't in the Knicks lineup. I think he said that in between bites of a donut.
• George Karl doesn't see playing A.I, Carmelo, and J.R Smith at the same time during crunch time....because they don't play defense. Instead of all those other times that those 3 play defense?
• Charles Barkley plans on making that run for Governor of Alabama in 2014. Barkley, not McCain, would be driving the real Straight Talk Express.
• The 2010 NBA All-Star Game will be played at Jerry Jones' new Cowboy Stadium. Wow, that should be interesting. Better hope Pacman isn't still playing in Dallas in 2010 though.

Now it's your turn. Share your thoughts on opening night.