Last night

Portland hoped to debut a young, fearsome lineup this year with Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Travis Outlaw and LaMarcus Aldridge. But an early injury to the 47-year old Oden scuttled plans and the stifling Lakers defense held the Blazers in check most of the night. Los Angeles cruised to a 96-76 victory, with former Horn Chris Mihm providing an easy bucket and a block in mop-up duty. Aldridge had a tough night in the loss, shooting only 33% from the field and finishing with eight points and four boards.

Cleveland gave the defending champs a run for their money in Boston, even taking a lead to the locker room at the half. But the Celtics turned it on in the final 24 and iced away the game with a last second dunk, winning 90-85 at TD Banknorth Garden. Daniel Gibson came off the bench for the Cavs, scoring six and dishing out three dimes in his 22 minutes of play. D-Gib only had two attempts from long range and missed both.

Tonight

Royal Ivey debuts in the City of Brotherly Love when the Philadelphia 76ers host Atlantic Division rival Toronto. (5 PM CDT)

Atlanta travels to the horribly-named Amway Arena to take on Orlando tonight, giving former Longhorn Maurice Evans a chance to enact a bit of revenge against his old team. (6 PM CDT)

The offseason saw T.J. Ford cross the border and join the Pacers, where the point guard will no longer have to jostle for playing time with Jose Calderon. Tonight he debuts with Indiana in a road game against the Detroit Pistons. (7 PM CDT)

Remember when David Stern thought it would be cool to steal a franchise away from a large market and move them to a “city” in a dust bowl solely to appease his good buddy? And then he let them choose a lame mascot and design uniforms better suited for Rainbow Brite? I’m thinking Kevin Durant might be a little pissed about that when the Oklahoma City Thunder host Milwaukee tonight. (7 PM CDT)

Chris Mihm and his 6 Million Dollar Ankle look for some PT when the Lakers “travel” to the other bench at Staples Center in a match-up against the cross-town Clips. (9:30 PM CDT, ESPN)