Kevin Durant led the Houston Rockets to a 101-128 exhibition victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday, while the Indiana Pacers, last season’s NBA finalists, won their first game over the Golden State Warriors 114-109 after starting the campaign with five losses.
26 points (20 of them before halftime), 4 rebounds, 2 steals, a block and an assist were the numbers of Durant, who is smiling again after a season to forget in Phoenix.
Kevin Durant leads Rockets to victory
“When you play with Kevin Durant, he does Kevin Durant-type of things…”
KD’s got 17 & counting on 6-7 shooting in the 1H vs. the Celtics 🚀.
📺 NBA League Pass
📲 https://t.co/5tt3KA8yNj pic.twitter.com/0V9lrtFYqX– NBA (@NBA) November 2, 2025
The Rockets showed a display of scoring (54.5% from the field and 65.5% in three-pointers), inside play (64 to 45 in three-pointers and 11 to 2 in blocks) and collective play: seven of their players, including their starting five, scored more than 10 points.
For the Celtics, today’s game was a nightmare. They played with wet powder, shooting a poor 38.8% from the field and 31.8% from the perimeter. For Boston, the 2024 ring is a long way off.
Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez finished with 7 points, one rebound and one assist in 16 minutes and 57 seconds of play. Gonzalez came off the bench in the first half with the task of defending Durant, but accumulated three personal in less than 5 minutes, so Joe Mazzulla sat him again until the last quarter.
Quenton Jackson dresses up in Haliburton
Quenton Jackson became the third player in franchise history with 25 PTS, 10 AST & 0 TO in a game.
25 PTS
10 AST
6 REB
3 STL
0 TO
🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/1nA3ggXxiO– Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) November 2, 2025
The Pacers point guard led the comeback in the fourth quarter that gave Indiana its first win of the season after a devastating 0-5 start marred by the absence of star Tyrese Haliburton.
Jackson signed a double-double with 25 points and 10 assists for the Pacers, while Aaron Nesmith scored 31 points and Pascal Siakam 27.
The Pacers face a very complicated season. In addition to the setback of losing in the last Finals in the seventh game, they will have to go through it without Haliburton, who injured his Achilles tendon precisely in that seventh game.
For the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry scored 24 points, Jimmy Butler 20 and Jonathan Kuminga 17.
Pistons win in Mexico
Mexico City dub ✅ pic.twitter.com/JeJHD79ZoT
– Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) November 2, 2025
Jalen Duren led Detroit with 33 points and 10 rebounds in a 122-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks in a game played at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City. Cade Cunningham signed another double-double with 21 points and 18 assists.
Jason Kidd could not count on Anthony Davis, injured, for the Mavericks, while Cooper Flagg, number 1 in the draft and Dallas’ great hope, finished with 16 points, although he was 3 of 14 from the field (21.4%).
In Milwaukee, the Sacramento Kings defeated the Bucks 133-135 with 31 points from Zach LaVine, 29 from DeMar DeRozan and 24 each from Dennis Schröder and Domantas Sabonis.
The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Charlotte Hornets 105-122, while the Orlando Magic won 94-125 over the Washington Wizards.
With information from EFE
