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The Celtics began their march to NBA title No. 19 with a convincing 103-86 win over the Orlando Magic in game one of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series. The Magic are the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, following their 120-95 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in portion of the NBA playoffs.
The Magic gave the second seeded Celtics a game for the first 24 minutes of action before the home team exploded in the third quarter. A 15-4 run by the Celtics pushed them to a double-digit advantage they enjoyed the rest of the way. The run was generated by solid, physical team defense.
Jrue Holiday was the leader as the Green put the clamps on the young Magic team. And while Holiday was making superior defensive plays, he and his backcourt mates Derrick White, who had a team-high 30 points, and Payton Pritchard, who had 19 points, hit key three-point shots as the Celts took charge of the proceeding. The combination of White, Pritchard, and Holiday offset subpar shooting games from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the team’s top two scorers.
Tatum, who scored 17 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, and Brown, who had 16 points and five rebounds, struggled to get their points. But to their credit, this Celtics team has the offensive balance to offset such nights by their two top stars.
Jayson Tatum takes a mid-range jumper against the Magic. PHOTO: CLN MEDIA
After the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzula said, “It’s a sign of our team depth that we can win when our two star-players don’t have their best games.”
The Magic got a superior offensive game from Paulo Banquero, who had 36 points and 11 rebounds. He and teammate Franz Wagner, who scored 23 points, were particularly troublesome in the first half.
But this young Magic team showed its postseason inexperience when the NBA defending champion Celtics turned up the pressure during their third quarter run. The battle-tested Celtics will meet the Magic again on Wednesday and Friday of this week.
Elsewhere on the NBA playoff scene, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, blasted their way past the eighth-seeded Miami Heat, 121-100, in game one of their best-of-seven series. Donovan Mitchell, who had 30 points, four assists, four rebounds and four steals, and reserve guard TY Jerome, who had 28 points in his first playoff game, led the Cavaliers offensive attack.
The third-seeded New York Knicks took the measure of the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons, 123-112, in game one of their best-of-seven series. Jalen Brunson recovered from a 4-for-15 shooting start to help rally his Knicks team. He finished with 34 points and eight assists as the home team scored 40 points in the fourth quarter to rally from a 98-90 deficit to win going away. Reserve guard Cameron Payne, who scored 14 points, played a key role in the Knickerbockers’ 21-0 spurt.
The fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers made quick work of the fifth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, 117-98, in the opening of their best-of-seven series. Pascal Siakam, who had 25 points and seven rebounds, Miles Turner, who scored 19 points, and Andrew Nembhard, who had 17 points and five assists, led a balanced Pacers offensive attack that overcame a one-man offensive display by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 36 points and 12 rebounds.
In the Western Conference playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the No. 1 seeded team in the conference, destroyed the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, 131-80, in the opening matchup of their best-of-seven series. While team star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the odds-on favorite to win the NBA regular season Most Valuable Player Award, had an off night with 15 points, his teammates more than covered his back.
Jaylen Williams, who scored 20 points, had six assists and grabbed five rebounds, stepped into the starring role, leading six double-figure scorers for the winners. A 20-0 blitz in the second quarter put this contest out of reach before halftime. By the time the massacre ended, the Thunder had recorded the most significant win in franchise history and the largest game-one victory in NBA playoff history. Ja Morant, who had 17 points, was the only Grizzlies player to score in double figures.
The fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets and the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers turned in the most exciting game of the opening round of the playoffs.
Orlando Magic Forward Paolo Banchero shoots over The Green’s Luke Kornet. PHOTO: NBA/CELTICS
The Nuggets rallied back from 10 points down to send the game into overtime. Nikola Jokic, who had 29 points,12 assists and nine rebounds, was his usual spectacular self, while teammates Aaron Gordon, who had 25 points and eight rebounds to go along with solid inside defense, and Jamal Murray who had 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, did just enough to offset the heroics of James Harden, who had 32 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard, who had 22 points but only two points in the stretch moments of the game. The Nuggets held on for a 112-110 win.
The sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves hit a team record 21 three-point shots to embarrass the home team Los Angeles Lakers, 117-95. The third seeded Lakers, coming off a week’s rest, looked like they were running in mud as the Timberwolves ran them off their home court, taking away the Lakers home court advantage in the best-of-seven series. Anthony Edwards, who had22 points, Jaden McDaniels, who scored 25 points, and Naz Reid led the Wolves’ potent offense. Luka Doncic, who had 37 points, and LeBron James, who scored 22 points, led the Lakers offensive attack.
The seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors took the measure of the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets in their Western Conference series-opening game by a 95-85 decision.
The Warriors, fresh from their play-in victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, rode the playoff experience of Stephan Curry and Jimmy Butler to build leads as much as 20 plus points and hold tough down the stretch minutes to wrestle the home-court advantage from the young Rockets team.
Curry worked his customary playoff wizardry with 31 points — his 59th NBA playoff game with 30 points. Butler, a native of Houston, backed his play with 25 points to go along with five steals, seven rebounds and six assists.
The Curry/Butler duo scored 56 of the team’s 95 points; however, as good as Curry and Butler were on offense, the story of this game was the Warriors’ defensive work, which held the Rockets to their lowest scoring output of the season. Alperin Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points.
Golden State has won at least one road playoff game in 29 of their last 30 postseason series. They also hold the NBA record for 28 road wins in 28 consecutive NBA playoff series. Since the trade that brought Jimmy Butler to Golden State, the Warriors are 25-7 and 15-4 on the road.
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