Last night, the 2008-2009 NBA regular season officially kicked off in Boston, as the Celtics hosted LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just prior to the 8:00 pm ET tip-off, the defending champion Celtics raised the franchise’s 17th banner and collected their long sought after championship rings before the loud and cheerful TD BankNorth Garden crowd.

After an understandably flat start, the Celtics took control in the second half and went on to win the season opener 90-85. Paul Pierce led all scorers with 27 on 10-19 shooting while LeBron James tallied 21 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for Cleveland.

A pair of highly touted rookies made their NBA debuts on Tuesday night, as well. Derrick Rose helped lead the Bulls to a 108-95 victory over Scott Skiles’ Milwaukee Bucks, as the former Memphis Tiger put up 11 points, nine assists, four rebounds, and three steals in his initial outing. Michael Redd was the night’s highest scorer with 30 points, but that wasn’t enough for the new-look Bucks to pull out the W.

The number one pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, Greg Oden, also made his debut. Unfortunately, it didn’t go quite as peachy as he would have liked. Oden played 13 minutes in the first half, in which he pulled down five rebounds and blocked a shot, but did not see the floor in the second half on account of a sprained right foot he obtained after locking feet with Lakers guard Derek Fisher. X-Rays came back negative, but the seven footer is scheduled to undergo an MRI some time today.

To worsen Oden’s night, the Trail Blazers shot just 34.5% from the field against the Lakers in the game and ended up losing in blowout fashion, 96-76. Kobe Bryant led LA with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists while Pau Gasol chipped in an efficient 15 points and seven boards. Travis Outlaw, who started at small forward in place of the injured Martell Webster, led the Trail Blazers with 18 points, followed by 16 off the bench from rookie guard Rudy Fernandez.

The 2008-2009 NBA season resumes action tonight as 12 games are on tap, highlighted by a double-header on ESPN. Game one will consist of a 2008 first round rematch between Phoenix and San Antonio at 8:00 pm ET, followed by a Los Angeles battle of the Lakers and Clippers at the Staples Center at 10:30.