Brooklyn Nets' Big Three secure early lead over Boston Celtics; Luka Doncic dominates against Los Angeles Clippers; Damian Lillard stars in Portland Trail Blazers victory; Milwaukee Bucks overcome Miami Heat in overtime
Sunday 23 May 2021 10:43, UK
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden combined for 82 points to help the Brooklyn Nets claim an early lead over the Boston Celtics in the opening game of their first-round playoff series, while Luka Doncic delivered a triple-double to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Kevin Durant recorded 32 points and 12 rebounds to help the Nets notch a 104-93 victory over the visiting Celtics in the opening game of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
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 marked just the ninth in which Durant, Harden and Irving played together.
Jayson Tatum scored 22 points for seventh-seeded Boston but he was just six 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. Game 2 is Tuesday on the Nets' home floor.
Joe Harris added 10 points for Brooklyn, which shot 41.7 per cent from the field, including eight of 34 from three-point range, while Evan Fournier had 10 points for the Celtics, who made 36.9 per cent of their shots and hit 11 of 30 from behind the arc.
Boston, who had led 53-47 at half-time, were within 82-79 after two free throws by Jabari Parker with 7:27 left before the Nets responded with nine straight points. Irving scored five in a row and Durant followed with a fast-break dunk to make it a 10-point margin with 5:48 left, the former capping the burst with two free throws to make it 91-79 with 5:08 remaining.
A tip-in by Irving boosted the score to 94-81 with 3:37 left and the Nets led by as many as 17 en route to closing it out.
Khris Middleton's pull-up jumper with 0.5 seconds left in overtime lifted the host Milwaukee Bucks to a 109-107 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their 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.
Holiday was one of the key acquisitions this offseason for the Bucks, who are seeking payback against Miami for last year's second-round playoff defeat in five games. He finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. Brook Lopez meanwhile had 18 points and eight rebounds and made one of two free throws to break a 104-104 tie with 1:04 left in the extra period.
Dragic, who led the Heat with 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting, tied the game with a three-pointer with 20.6 seconds left in the extra period.
Butler struggled mightily from the field, shooting 4-for-22, but sent the game to overtime tied at 99 when he drove past Antetokounmpo and made a layup as time expired. He finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Dorian Finney-Smith hit two late three-pointers, one triggering a 7-0 burst that broke a tie and propelled the visiting Dallas Mavericks to a 113-103 victory over the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers. Game 2 in the best-of-seven is scheduled for Tuesday, also in Los Angeles.
Hitting four of his five three-point attempts, Finney-Smith finished with 18 points, while Luka Doncic had a game-high 31 as part of a triple-double, alongside 10 rebounds and 11 assists, and Tim Hardaway Jr. 21 for the Mavericks, who won the season series 2-1 over the Clippers.
Kawhi Leonard had a team-high 26 points along with 10 rebounds and Paul George scored 23 for the Clippers, who beat Dallas 4-2 in a first-round series last year in the bubble.
Finney-Smith's first crucial three-pointer came during a stretch in which the Mavericks, who led for almost the entire first 39 minutes of the game, and Clippers exchanged leads seven times over the course of 4:12.
His shot gave Dallas a 95-94 advantage with 6:55 left. The Clippers rallied to go up by as many as three, and a George jumper with 3:12 remaining forged the game's final tie at 100 before Dallas made its last surge.
Finney-Smith's second three-pointer broke the tie with 2:50 remaining, after which Kristaps Porzingis added two free throws and Hardaway a layup to complete the seven-point run and put the Mavericks in charge at 107-100 with just 1:24 to play.
The Clippers got no closer than five after that. Doncic and Hardaway bombed in five three-pointers apiece as the Mavericks outscored the Clippers 51-33 from beyond the arc.
Damian Lillard finished with 34 points and 13 assists, CJ McCollum scored 21 points, and the visiting Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 123-109 in the opener 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. Game 2 is Monday night, also in Denver.
Nikola Jokic posted 34 points and 16 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, Aaron Gordon tallied 16 points and eight boards, and Monte Morris finished added 10 points off the bench for third-seeded Denver.
Lillard scored eight of his 15 third-quarter points in the final 1:26 to give Portland a 96-86 lead heading into the fourth, during which the Trail Blazers hit two three-pointers early on to go ahead 102-90, prompting the Nuggets to call a timeout.
From there Denver tightened up and scored eight straight to get within four points with 8:14 remaining. Simons and Markus Howard traded three-pointers, and Jokic hit a turnaround jumper to make it 107-103, but Portland responded again.
Anthony converted a three-point play, Lillard hit another from behind the arc and Nurkic's three-point play made it 116-103. Jokic then missed on the other end and Nurkic scored off of an offensive rebound to make it 118-103, and the Trail Blazers closed it out.
