ORLANDO, Fla. -- Opening Night on the NBA calendar, at least down here in central Florida, somehow took the look of a first-round doubles match.
Sixers at Magic, at the finish, essentially became a game of 2-on-2.
You could say the new team lost and won.
You could say so because these were both new partnerships: Allen Iverson and Keith Van Horn on one side, Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill together at last on the other. You could also say so because the winners -- McGrady and Hill -- didn't get much leeway to celebrate Orlando's 95-88 triumph over Philadelphia, especially from their own coach.
"Now we just wait until tomorrow," Doc Rivers said.
Translation: Let's see how Hill's ankle responds to the first week of four games in five nights.
"Looking forward to seeing how I feel when I get up in the morning, and going from there," Hill said, echoing the cautious tone.
Wait-and-see is the approach Orlando wisely force feeds itself in these early days of Hill's third comeback from ankle surgery. Rivers admits that it'll take a lot more than one harmonious evening -- good as Hill looked racking up 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists -- to beat away the skepticism. Rivers' own skepticism.
"I don't know when I'm going to get over that," Rivers said with a smile.
That's because, after having No. 33 for only 18 games the past two seasons, Orlando always carries a what-next fear when it comes to Hill. It kicked in even more than usual late Tuesday because Hill's 33 minutes against the Sixers ended so well, which only reminded Rivers of the kind of twosome he'd have if Hill could finally make it through a full season.
"The answer is, he's still a player," said Rivers, who also described Hill as "a triple-double player."
With Hill dominating the ball for generous portions of the second half, once he convinced Rivers to let him stay on the floor, the Sixers couldn't clamp down on McGrady as tightly as they would have liked. That helped open holes for McGrady to score 16 of his 31 points during decisive third- and fourth-quarter surges.
Iverson and Van Horn, by contrast, combined to shoot 1-for-8 in the fourth quarter, to cap an awkward first dance. A.I. needed 25 shots to score a mere 18 points. Van Horn, meanwhile, looked as clumsy as he could have totaling a deceptive 19 points and 10 boards. He was called for traveling three times, fumbled two balls out of bounds and clanked an uncontested dunk off a nifty Iverson feed in the third quarter.
Iverson and Van Horn, mind you, deserve more time for a fair assessment. This isn't the NFL. It was only one game, their first real game together, with six more months to sort out fourth-quarter symmetry.
In Orlando, no one dares to exaggerate about where Hill might be in six months. Last season's comeback lasted only 14 games, meaning that the tag team with T-Mac really is in its infancy. Rivers, meanwhile, acknowledges that Hill clearly still has "some doubt" about attacking the rim the way coaches and teammates keep saying he does in practice.
A realistic Rivers surely noticed that arguably the two Sixers best equipped to guard Hill -- Monty Williams and Greg Buckner -- were out injured Tuesday. Also worth noting: Hill's two standout scoring drives, including a lefty banker with 3:50 to go for an 87-82 lead, came against a kid who couldn't guard him both times: Philly rookie John Salmons.
"He almost feels like one of your kids now," Rivers said, asked about one Hill leap into the stands for a loose ball. "You don't want anything bad to happen to him. You're scared every time he does something."
Rivers is thus intent to limit Hill to the low 30s in minutes, and probably less in the second half of back-to-backs like Wednesday's visit to Miami. That means using Mike Miller more in the first two quarters to get Hill rest. Hill, meanwhile, doesn't deny that he will fight the coach's stance, as seen against the Sixers when Hill implored Rivers to leave him on the floor.
"The conversations almost get comical," Rivers said. "I think that's going to be a dilemma all season with Grant."
It's up to the coach to be the responsible one, to pretty much doubt the player who says he's fine. Rivers, though, does admit that his confidence level is higher now than it was this time last October, when Hill clearly wasn't as healthy as he was claiming.
"Monty Williams was blocking his shot in practice," Rivers said. "You haven't been seeing that happen."
At first glance, true, the progress is evident. No less impressive than the two-man game with McGrady was Hill's determination on defense. Hill was no stopper out there, but you noticed him playing it.
McGrady called it "just special for us to be out there together." It wasn't as special, perhaps, as the thought of having an accomplished big man out there with them, but encouraging surely.
"I know everybody's concerned -- I know everybody loves me," Hill joked after surviving the usual postgame media ankle inquest. "I anticipate this all season. It's fine with me."
As for the doubles match …
"You have Tracy, who's unbelievable," Hill said. "Once I get my act together, I'll be a guy who can be able to get my own shot, make my own plays. Philly doesn't really have that except for Allen. If we get it working, we'll be pretty good."
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. E-mail him at marc.stein@espn3.com.