Following an eventful first day of the NBA Playoffs this past Saturday, Day 2 proved to be just as intriguing. Four games tipped off on Sunday, including a star-powered showdown between LeBron James and Ja Morant that set not only the tone but the pace. The Los Angles Lakers faced off against the Memphis Grizzlies, as the underdogs. The 7-seed Lakers even managed to take the home court away from the 2-seed Grizzlies – which looks like it worked in their favor in the end. Despite barely making it into the Playoffs, the Lakers came into Sunday’s game having won 10 of their last 12 games – including the Play-In against the Timberwolves.
The Lakers came out firing, building a 10-point advantage in the first 10 minutes of action. In clawing their way back, the Grizzlies would see Jaren Jackson Jr. put on a standout performance. He would end the game with 31 points. Jackson Jr. showed up when it was needed the most, especially after Ja Morant seemingly injured his wrist, and didn’t return. On the opposing end, Anthony Davis also suffered a shoulder injury, but he’d eventually come back in the second half. Lebron had a relatively calm game throughout all four quarters but erupted for a series of threes in the final 12 minutes of play.
The Lakers would seal the deal, and take the Game 01 win, 128-112.
Following the Lakers’ upset, the Milwaukee Bucks hosted the Miami Heat in what was expected to be an easy win for Giannis and his team. What was supposed to be an effortless victory, turned out to be a battle of grit, as Miami put up a fight as the underdogs.
It was strange witnessing the Bucks struggling to find their pace at the beginning of the game. How could a dominant team be so sluggish, especially to kickstart the Playoffs? Well, Miami took advantage and built up their lead to double-digits – partly thanks to the Bucks and their seven turnovers in the first quarter, alone. In addition to their costly mistakes, the Bucks only shot 2-of-9 from deep, and both Giannis and Holiday got into foul trouble early.
The Bucks would cut into the lead and eventually be behind just one point, but the Heat turned it up even more and went on another run. To add to the turmoil that was unfolding on the court for the Bucks, it would be revealed that Giannis would not return to the game due to a lower back contusion. Ouch. Injuries would also plague the Heat as the second half went underway, and Tyler Herro ended up breaking his hand.
The game would continue on, in what would be a hard-fought game for the Bucks, but the Heat would eventually pull away with the 130-117 victory.
Back on the West Coast, the Clippers were in Phoenix at the Footprint Center for their match-up with the Suns. Heading into the game, nobody saw the underdogs stealing a win against the stacked Suns. But that’s exactly what the Clippers did. Kawhi Leonard would lead his squad to a 115-110 victory, notching 38 points while doing so. Kevin Durant would finish with 27 points for Phoenix, while Devin Booker also chipped in 26. The Suns’ bench couldn’t contribute much towards the dynamic duo’s offensive efforts – only chipping in eight points as a second unit.
As mentioned, Leonard carried his team to victory, while Russell Westbrook struggled on offense, shooting only 3-for-19 from the field. Westbrook did, however, finish with 10 rebounds and 8 assists as well.
Closing out the weekend of Game 1s, the Nuggets went head-to-head with the Timberwolves in Denver, and it would turn out to be a night for Jamal Murray. Despite only going 9-for-22, Murray made critical plays and contributions, finishing with eight rebounds and eight assists. His unselfishness was the key to Denver’s third-quarter burst. He would finish with 24 points, in addition to the aforementioned stats, in his first playoff game since the NBA “bubble” days a few years ago. (Time flew, geesh!)
Chris Conley on Murray, “Murray was Murray. He’s one of the better scorers, playmakers, from our position.” And he showed that in this first game. Also chipping in were Michael Porter Jr., who finished with 18 points, and Nikola Jokic, who added 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The well-rounded, 109-80, win snapped Denver’s five-game losing streak in playoff openers. They also became the ONLY higher seed to come out of Sunday’s lineup of games with a win on their home turf. Denver would come out victorious with a 109-80 win.
