NETS 111, 76ERS
102
PHILADELPHIA -- D'Angelo
Russell flashed some postseason magic, playing like the
All-Star leader Brooklyn needed with 26 points, and Caris LeVert scored
23 to lead the Nets to an impressive 111-102 win Saturday over the Philadelphia
76ers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff
series.
The sixth-seeded Nets turned Philly in the city of 20,000
boos -- and that's just counting the ones echoing throughout the Wells Fargo
Center -- as they smoked a Sixers team that resembled one straight out of the
early Process era.
Jimmy Butler scored
36 points and saved the Sixers, widely considered a favorite to at least reach
the East semis, from losing by 25. Joel Embiid slogged
his way through 24 forgettable minutes on his bum left knee. Ben Simmons was
a postseason dud against Russell, his high school teammate.
Russell, LeVert and Spencer
Dinwiddie gave the Sixers fits off the dribble, buried open
looks from 3-point range, and suddenly a team that got hot late just to make
the playoffs has the upper-hand on the road over a 51-win team stocked with
stars.
MAGIC 104, RAPTORS 101
TORONTO -- D.J. Augustin scored
25 points, including the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left, and
Orlando beat Toronto in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Kawhi Leonard got
a final shot for Toronto, but missed the rim with his 3-pointer from the top.
Aaron Gordon had
10 points and 10 rebounds, Evan Fournier scored
16 points and Jonathan
Isaac had 11 as the No. 7-seeded Magic became the latest team
to beat Toronto in the opening game of a playoff series. The Raptors are 2-14
in playoff openers.
Leonard scored 25 points, Pascal Siakam had
24 and Fred VanVleet had
14 for the second-seeded Raptors, who reclaimed the lead after trailing by 16
points in the second quarter, but couldn't hold on down the stretch.
WARRIORS 121, CLIPPERS 104
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Stephen Curry scored
38 points and made eight 3-pointers to give him the most in postseason history,
and top-seeded Golden State began its quest for a three-peat by running away
from frustrated Los Angeles in their playoff opener on a night tempers flared.
Kevin Durant and Patrick
Beverley were ejected with 4:41 to go, just 19 seconds after
they received double-technicals when Durant stripped Beverley and the Clippers
guard fell into the scorer's table. They both became enraged again and official
Ed Malloy immediately sent them both to the locker room. Durant high-fived fans
as he exited and the home crowd went into chants of "Beat L.A.!"
Curry shot 8 for 12 from deep to pass Ray Allen (385) for
career postseason 3s with 386, had a postseason career-high 15 rebounds, seven
assists and the 31st 30-point postseason performance of his career.
Montrezl
Harrell scored 26 points and fellow reserve Lou Williams contributed
25 points and nine assists as Los Angeles returned to the playoffs after
missing last season following six straight appearances.
SPURS 101, NUGGETS 96
DENVER -- DeMar DeRozan scored
18 points and Derrick White had
a key steal in the closing seconds in San Antonio's victory over Denver in Game
1 of their playoff series.
White stole the ball at midcourt from Jamal Murray with
1.3 seconds left after LaMarcus
Aldridge sank a pair of free throws following his key defensive
rebound of Murray's errant shot that would have given the Nuggets a 98-97 lead
with seven seconds left.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Denver, where the second-seeded
Nuggets failed to parlay the NBA's best home-court record (34-7) into a win
against the seventh-seeded but much more seasoned Spurs.
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