Home teams continue to prevail in NBA Playoffs opener

TUKURAN, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR — The Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Oklahoma City Thunder all hailed victorious as they secured the Game 1 of their first-round matchup of the 2024 NBA playoffs, Sunday, April 21.

During the first match, Eastern Conference top-seeded Boston Celtics dominated the eighth-seeded Miami Heat, pulling a 14-0 lead during the first 3 minutes, continuously breezing off to an 114-94 victory.

Jayson Tatum held control over Miami in Game 1 while logging his first career playoff triple-double, finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, with the latter two numbers standing as the top marks of the game.

“That was a beautiful game from him. Getting those assists, especially early on — he wasn’t forcing anything at all, getting everyone involved. Huge credit to him,” Teammate Kristaps Porzingis comments on Tatum.

Miami deferred the Celtics’ NBA finals dream last season, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the conference finals and then blowing them out in Boston in Game 7.

In their first game of this playoffs, Celtics fed off the energy, knocking down 22 three-pointers and outscoring the Heat 31-14 in the third quarter, which grew as high as 34 points in the fourth. Miami used a late run to get as close as 14, but Boston was able to close it out.

In the West, Los Angeles Clippers proceeded to dismantle the Dallas Mavericks with their strong defense that resulted in them as victors in their first match in a best of four series on a 109-97 lead in the first round of the playoffs.

With Kawhi Leonard’s injury forging an absence, James Harden put effort, knocking down 28 points while Zubac’s double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds contributed to help take the first game advantage.

“I can score with the best of them — still,” Harden said.

“My role for this team is generating good shots and making guys’ jobs easier. And when my number is called, score the basketball. Obviously Kawhi is out, so my volume is going to go up,” he added.

The Clippers displayed high-level defense, holding Mavericks to just eight points in the second quarter and 30 in the first half.

The Mavericks revived their chances in the third quarter, scoring 34 points to top its first-half total, but this still went into the final period with an 87-64 deficit. 

Scoring advantages were quickly pushed by the Clippers to a 100-78 on a 3-pointer from Mann with six minutes and 12 seconds remaining, coasting to the victory.

Along with the anticipation of the Fiserv Forum crowd, Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard buried six three-pointers prevailing a 104-94 win over the Indiana Pacers during their first round of the playoff series.

Lillard made 11 of 24 shots with six of 11 from the three-point range for the Bucks, who dominated the Pacers 39-21 in the second quarter. 

The Bucks needed Lillard to step up without Antetokounmpo, whose return date is uncertain due to an injury that caused him to miss Milwaukee’s final three regular-season games. 

“I don’t think that it’s all on me, but I know that I’ve got to be a little bit more aggressive, and I’ve got to step forward a little bit more assertively,” Lillard said. “In the playoffs … it’s about setting a tone. We’re going to see this team a lot of times, and you want to establish yourself, especially on your home floor. That was just my mentality, to come out and try to set the tone.”

Meanwhile, Pascal Siakam’s 36 points and 13 rebounds came to waste as the Pacers got demolished by the Antetokounmpo-less Bucks.

Indiana, which had won four of its five regular-season meetings with the Bucks, is making its first playoff appearance since 2020. The Pacers haven’t advanced beyond the opening round since 2014.

The third quarter ended with Indiana garnering nine straight points to get the gap to 83-71, but the Bucks regained control.

Jae Crowder and Malik Beasley made three-pointers on consecutive possessions to start an 8-0 run that extended Milwaukee’s led to 99-77 with eight minutes left. Milwaukee stayed ahead by at least 14 the rest of the way.

For the last match, the Thunder and Pelicans came face-to-face, with the Thunders surviving in a close game, taking the home-court advantage, scoring 94-92. 

Entering the playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the youngest team in NBA history to secure a top seed since seeding began in 1984.

Playing in their first playoff game, were seven of the 11 Thunder players who took the floor Sunday night. The relative inexperience was reflected at times in the fourth quarter, but the team also came through when they most needed to.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put the Thunder up on a three-point play with 32.5 seconds remaining in regulation, while rookies Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace came up with great defensive plays to help Oklahoma City secure victory in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

“It’s playoff basketball, it’s full of lead changes. Every possession matters. We didn’t execute down the stretch where we wanted to. We’re one game close to our goal.” Alexander beans after snatching their first win on the playoffs.

The second day of the NBA Playoffs concluded with teams preparing to set the battle ring on fire for Game 2 of their playoffs journey.