2009-10 NBA Season now playing!

The 2009-10 NBA Season is now in full swing! The latest National Basketball Association season kicked off Tuesday October 27th, 2009 with four games on the schedule. Opening night featured plenty of stars including Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Lebron James and Gilbert Arenas. Here's a look at some of the top stories, stats and scores from the opening night's action on the hardwood.

The marquee matchup of Tuesday night featured the Cleveland Cavaliers hosting the Boston Celtics. It was the debut game for new Cav Shaquille O'Neal, but the Celts played spoilers as they won 95-89 behind a combined 52 points from the Big 3 of Pierce, Allen & KG. Garnett had 13 in his first regular game since last March while Pierce led with 23 pts. Lebron James scored 38 points along with eight assists, four blocks and two steals. His new frontcourt teammate Shaq added in 10 points and 10 rebounds. In other Celtics' news, Glen "Big Baby" Davis is out with a thumb injury caused by an altercation involving a former college teammate. The Celtics have reportedly suspended Davis for the injury as well. He received surgery on Tuesday for it and is out indefinitely as of this writing. More on that story here

The NBA champion Lakers started their season off with a nice home victory over the local rival Clippers, 99-92. Kobe put in 33 points with 8 rebounds and 4 steals, and center Andrew Bynum added 26pts and 13 boards. Ron Artest had 10 points in his debut for LA. The Clips were lead by Gordon's 21 point performance and helped by Chris Kaman's 18 points / 16 boards. Unfortunately the Clippers were without their prized rookie Blake Griffin who suffered a broken kneecap during the past few weeks. Griffin is reportedly out for 6 months and watched his team lose by 7 to the NBA champs.

Agent 0, Gilbert Arenas, is officially back in effect on the court. The star guard had been saddled by injury last season. Last night, his 29 points and 9 assists helped the Washington Wizards defeat the Dallas Mavericks 102-91.

The Portland Trailblazers look to build upon last season's success as they opened with a win against the Houston Rockets who are without Yao Ming for this season. Brandon Roy led the Blazers with 20 points. Former #1 draft pick Greg Oden recorded just 2 points but 12 rebounds in the win, while Houston was led by Aaron Brooks' 19 points.

Wednesday night will feature more teams in action with 12 games on the slate. A doubleheader on ESPN will see the Hornets take on the Spurs while the Jazz face last year's Western Conference runner-ups, the Denver Nuggets. See full schedule here.