"Then there was Heat versus Celtics."
"The villains, the Heat Big Three, lost to Blake and the Suns last season."
"But after another offseason of developing chemistry and improving together, Miami is even stronger this year."
"As for Boston, Shaq retired, but he was already at the very end of his career and wasn't giving the Celtics that much anymore."
"So even without him, the Celtics' four stars still make them a dangerous team."
"And last night's matchup between those two teams was incredible."
"LeBron and his longtime rival Pierce went right back to trading buckets."
"In regulation, LeBron put up 33 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists, almost a 30-point triple-double."
"Pierce hit six threes and scored 35."
"At the same time, the Heat Big Three combined for 70 points, while Boston's four stars combined for 80."
"Seven stars going back and forth all night."
"It was spectacular."
"Late in regulation, The Flash used his signature Eurostep, finished the layup through contact, and converted the and-one."
"That tied the game and forced overtime."
"And once overtime began, the game turned into a superstar stage."
"More specifically, it became a scoring duel between King James and Paul 'The Truth' Pierce."
"With one minute left in the first overtime, LeBron charged at the rim like a tank."
"He powered through two Celtics defenders and hammered down a huge dunk to put Miami ahead."
"It was an incredibly important basket."
"But Boston pushed right back in transition."
"Pierce drove through the combined defense of Bosh and LeBron and forced in a tough finish."
"Tied again."
"Only 17.4 seconds remained."
"Miami had possession."
"Wade brought the ball up, gave it to LeBron, then cleared to the side."
"LeBron held the ball on the left side above the arc, slowly dribbling the clock down."
"He looked at Pierce."
"Then he glanced at the rim."
"Whoosh!"
"Suddenly, he stepped back to his left, gathered, and launched a three right over Pierce."
"It was an incredibly tough shot."
"But LeBron didn't hesitate."
"Swish!"
"Nothing but net."
"LeBron buried a devastating overtime three."
"Only 5.3 seconds remained."
"Boston had no time to waste."
"They inbounded quickly from the baseline, and Pierce raced all the way to the right side above the arc."
"One step beyond the three-point line."
"Screech!"
"Whoosh!"
"Pierce stopped on a dime and forced up a three."
"It was even more difficult than the one LeBron had just made."
"The result?"
"Good!"
"Pierce buried the ridiculous clutch three too."
"He tied the game again and dragged Boston into another overtime."
"So the first overtime still couldn't decide anything."
"They went to a second."
"And in the second overtime, LeBron and Pierce kept trading baskets."
"Especially once the clock dropped under two minutes."
"They hit clutch shot after clutch shot."
"With 15.5 seconds left, LeBron knocked down a jumper from the left low post to give Miami a two-point lead."
"Then Pierce missed from three."
"After two full overtimes, the Heat Big Three finally escaped with the win behind LeBron's game-winning jumper."
"It was brutal."
"And it was incredible."
"The teams fought through two overtimes before the final score settled at an absurd 152-150 in Miami's favor."
"More than 300 combined points."
"Just looking at that total is enough to make your jaw drop."
"Heat versus Celtics was an all-out war."
"And the individual numbers were just as ridiculous."
"King James finished with 48 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists, almost a 50-point triple-double."
"As the winner, LeBron reminded the entire league that this year's Heat Big Three is still one of the favorites to win the championship."
"Paul 'The Truth' Pierce finished with 54 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists."
"That stat line was just as eye-catching."
"In the very first game of the new season, he used a 50-plus-point explosion to tell the league that Boston's veterans have not given up on chasing another championship."
"So what do you think?"
"Wasn't that game incredible?"
"And there was still one more matchup."
"Raptors versus Wizards."
"On paper, those two teams might not have looked especially exciting."
"But last night, DeRozan and Wall both exploded and turned it into a great game."
"DeRozan is one of the best players from the Class of '09."
"Wall was last year's number-one overall pick."
"Both are highly talented young players."
"After months of a quiet offseason, both of them erupted in the first game of the new season."
"DeRozan scored 38."
"Wall had 35."
"Wall scored three fewer points, but he was the one who laughed last because he hit the game-winning three at the end."
"Either way, both of them were excellent."
"And both represent part of the NBA's next generation."
"So tell me."
"Was opening night not a battle of the gods?!"
Buzz!
By the time that fan finished laying everything out, the rest of the comment section had practically gone silent.
Everyone suddenly realized just how absurd the previous night had been.
"My God. It really was a battle of the gods."
"Hahaha! It almost feels like everyone agreed beforehand to explode on opening night."
"Seriously."
"Maybe it was the long, quiet offseason."
"Or maybe Blake winning a championship as a rookie and carrying the Suns by himself last season shocked the entire league."
"Everyone went back and trained like crazy."
"And now the new season is here, everyone came back stronger, and they're finally letting it all out!"
"What a ridiculous night!"
"Wow... opening night was really this crazy?"
"King James: 48 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists."
"Pierce: 54 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists."
"DeRozan: 38 points."
"Wall: 35 points and the game-winning three."
"DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins went toe-to-toe with GDP and put up a monster double-double: 33 points, 20 rebounds, and 4 blocks."
"Little AI Andre Iguodala scored 42 and hit the game-winner, taking down New York's STAT + Melo duo almost by himself."
"The Point God Paul had 37 points and 15 assists."
"And Black Mamba Kobe opened the new season with a 61-point performance."
"Tsk, tsk..."
"One night."
"And this many stars exploded."
"This many insane performances in just a few hours."
"Hey, brother, didn't you forget someone?"
"Hey, don't interrupt me."
"Yes, opening night gave us a ridiculous number of stars playing above their usual level."
"Insane performances everywhere."
"It turned the whole night into a battle of the gods."
"But..."
"Whether we're talking about LeBron, Pierce, Paul, Kobe, or anyone else, no matter how godlike they looked..."
"They were all overshadowed by The Emperor Blake."
"Eighty-two points."
"And a game-winner."
"No matter how well the other stars played, no matter how breathtaking their performances were, next to The Emperor Blake..."
"They could only be supporting characters."
"Background scenery."
"There's no question about it."
"On this unbelievably wild opening night, this night of divine battles, the most valuable player and the brightest star had to be Blake."
"The man who exploded for 82 points!"
"Exactly!"
"That's right."
"Eighty-two points in one game. He crushed everybody."
"No explanation needed."
"Blake: Sorry, but I'm still the best!"