Top trio leads Nets to win over Celtics
- 3 years ago
Kevin Durant recorded 32 points and 12 rebounds to help the Brooklyn Nets notch a 104-93 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics in the opening game of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Saturday night.
Kyrie Irving scored 29 points and James Harden added 21 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals for the second-seeded Nets. The contest was just the ninth in which Durant, Harden and Irving played together.
Jayson Tatum scored 22 points for seventh-seeded Boston but he was just 6 of 20 from the field.
Marcus Smart scored 17 points and Kemba Walker added 15 for the Celtics. Robert Williams III contributed 11 points, nine rebounds and nine blocked shots, with the rejections falling just one shy of the NBA postseason record.
Bucks 109, Heat 107 (OT)
Khris Middleton's pull-up jumper with 0.5 seconds left in overtime lifted host Milwaukee over Miami in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Middleton led the Bucks with 27 points, six rebounds and six assists while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The Heat had one final chance after Jimmy Butler took the inbound pass from Goran Dragic, but could not get his shot off thanks to tight defense from Jrue Holiday as time expired.
Mavericks 113, Clippers 103
Dorian Finney-Smith hit two late 3-pointers, one triggering a 7-0 burst that broke a tie and propelled visiting Dallas over fourth-seeded Los Angeles in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven is scheduled for Tuesday, also in Los Angeles.
Hitting four of his five 3-point attempts, Finney-Smith finished with 18 points, while Luka Doncic had a game-high 31 as part of a triple-double and Tim Hardaway Jr. 21 for the Mavericks, who won the season series 2-1 over the Clippers.
Trail Blazers 123, Nuggets 109
Damian Lillard finished with 34 points and 13 assists, CJ McCollum scored 21 points, and visiting Portland beat Denver in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.
Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony scored 18 points, Anfernee Simons had 14 and Norman Powell scored 10 for the sixth-seeded Trail Blazers.
Source: Reuters
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