The first round of the NBA Playoffs began with eight games on Saturday and Sunday, with the home team winning all eight games.
And in most cases, the home team won by a landslide. Six of the eight games were decided by at least 11 points, with the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers all winning Game 1 by at least 29 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers winning by at least 29 points. We had a 20 point lead. .
The best game was the final Game 1 of the weekend, Oklahoma City vs. New Orleans, 94-92, with 20 lead changes and 13 ties.
Here are the winners and losers from the first weekend of the NBA playoffs.
winner
Oklahoma City's tenacity
The fourth quarter was shaky for Oklahoma City, which was making its playoff debut with a young roster. The Thunder led by 10 points in the fourth quarter against New Orleans, but lost. There were six turnovers in the fourth quarter, including three by MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. However, they had enough offensive and defensive power to defeat the gritty Pelicans. Gilgeous-Alexander scored five straight points to give OKC a 93-90 lead, and Chet Holmgren had two of his five blocks in the fourth quarter.
dumb time
Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard almost single-handedly outscored the Pacers in the first half, scoring 35 points to Indiana's 42. Lillard finished with 35 points, giving the Bucks some breathing room and winning the game with Giannis Antetokounmpo out with a left calf injury. ) Lillard didn't need to score in the second half. The damage was done in the first two quarters, with Lillard going 11-of-19 from the field (including 6-of-10 from 3-point range).
Boston's business-like approach
Not only did the Celtics need a win in Game 1 against Miami, it had to be a resounding victory. And that's what the Celtics did, no question about it against the Jimmy Butler-less Heat. The Celtics scored 34 points, shooting 44.9% on 22 threes, and Jayson Tatum recorded a triple-double (23 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists).
Clippers without Kawhi
Even if the Clippers lost Game 1 to Dallas, no one would have hesitated to withdraw Kawhi Leonard (right knee inflammation) from the series opener. Instead, the Clippers destroyed Dallas. The final score of 109-97 was not indicative of how this game would play out. The Clippers led 56-30 at halftime and led 70-41 with 7:39 left in the third quarter. James Harden had 28 points and eight assists, Paul George had 22 points and Ivica Zubac had 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Timberwolves offense
Everyone knows the Timberwolves can play defense. The NBA's No. 1 defense held the Suns, the league's 10th-ranked offense, to 95 points. More importantly, the Timberwolves dropped 120 points against the Suns. Anthony Edwards has 33 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Karl-Anthony Towns has 19 points and four assists, Rudy Gobert has 14 points and 16 rebounds, Nickell Alexander-Walker comes off the bench with 18 points, Nas… Reed scored. 12 points. If the Timberwolves can do that regularly in the series, they will reach a playoff series for the first time since 2004, when Kevin Garnett won MVP at age 28.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic
Denver's Nikola Jokic had 32 points on 15-of-23 shooting, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals in Denver's 114-103 victory over the Lakers in Game 1. He appears to be aiming for his third MVP in four seasons, and Lakers great LeBron James called Jokic one of the greatest players of all time. The Nuggets have defeated the Lakers nine straight times, including a sweep in the Western Conference Finals last season, in which Jokic averaged 27.2 points, 55.7 percent shooting, 13 rebounds, and 10.8 assists. They outscored the Lakers by 104 points. He matched points with Jokic on the court.
knicks bench
New York's reserves outscored Philadelphia 42-7. Bojan Bogdanovic (13 points), Miles McBride (21 points) and Mitchell Robinson (8 points) combined for 14 of 29 from the field, including 8 of 13 from 3s for Bogdanovic and McBride. Robinson also had 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, Bogdanovic had seven rebounds and McBride had four assists, three rebounds and one steal. This type of production takes pressure off Jalen Brunson and other starters.
Cavaliers duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley
Whether it was the 23 minutes they played together on the court or the staggered time when one sat and the other was on the bench, Cavaliers big men Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley stepped up their defense. The Magic shot 33.3 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from three, with Allen (16 points, 18 rebounds, 2 steals) and Mobley (16 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks) splitting playing time and shooting 25 points per game. He was outrebounded with 16.
loser
Dallas disaster
Unexpected events happen in the NBA. That makes Dallas' performance against the Clippers an embarrassment. The Mavs scored 30 points on 9-of-41 shooting in the first half, including 2-of-21 in the second quarter. This happened with an offense as good as Dallas' offense with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. With Clippers All-Star Kawhi Leonard out, the Mavs had a great opportunity to take Game 1 on the road. Doncic had 33 points, Irving had 32 points, and only one other Mav had more than six points.
Pacers got off to a bad start.
Like Dallas, the Indiana Pacers had a chance to take advantage of a team missing a star player heading into Game 1. The Pacers failed. The Pacers, playing a team from Milwaukee minus Giannis Antetokounmpo, trailed by 30 points at the half. Concerns about the Pacers' defense persisted (they allowed 69 points in the first half), and their strong offense was absent in the first half.
lakers turnover
The focus is on D'Angelo Russell's shooting performance, with 6-of-20 success (including 1-of-9 3-pointers). But there's more to the loss than Russell's game. Anthony Davis had 32 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks, and LeBron James had 27 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block. That wasn't enough. The Lakers forced 12 turnovers (seven of them by James), leading the Nuggets to 14 points, and Denver outscored the Lakers in fast break points 21-14. Empty possessions are detrimental against the defending champions, who had just six turnovers, including zero by primary ball-handlers Jamal Murray and Jokic.
suns offensive line
Phoenix went 3-0 against Minnesota in the regular season, scoring 133 points, 97 points and 125 points. In Game 1, the Suns shot 32.1% from 3-point range, Devin Booker went 5-of-16 from the field, Grayson Allen missed three 3-point attempts after spraining his ankle, and Eric Gordon was scoreless. , 0 were successful. Down 4 on 3s, the Suns bench won 41-18. The Suns' main concerns against Minnesota's defense, depth, and size were spot on.
Sixers without Joel Embiid
Even under the best of circumstances, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid can't play 48 minutes a game against the New York Knicks. And since Embiid missed February and March with a knee injury and hasn't returned to 100%, this is the perfect situation. So the Sixers need to find a way to get better minutes from the units that are there when Embiid isn't on the court. In New York's 111-104 win in Game 1, Embiid had 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals, and the Sixers were plus-14 with Embiid on the court for 36 minutes. They lost 21 points in the 11 minutes and 27 seconds that Embiid didn't play. If the Sixers can minimize that gap, they have a chance against New York.
magic attack
The Magic held Cleveland to 97 points, shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from 3-point range. And we lost, which is almost impossible in today's NBA. But it highlighted Orlando's problems on offense. The Magic, running the No. 22 offense during the regular season, shot 32.6 percent from the field, 21.6 percent from 3-point range and 63.3 percent from free throws. No matter how good the Magic's defense is (No. 3), they still need points. Paolo Banchero's nine turnovers didn't help. Now that Game 1 is over, any playoff worries should be gone. Orlando's offense was a known problem going into the series, but they can't beat Cleveland unless they produce a better offense.
