SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The NBA Playoffs are finally here! 16 teams remain in the hunt for the NBA title, and day one of the postseason jumped into intense action right away.
Here’s everything you need to know about the first day:
Toronto vs Washington
Prior to game one of their series against the Brooklyn Nets last season, Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri got into trouble for screaming “F— Brooklyn!” to Raptors fans outside the Air Canada Center. It didn’t go well for Ujiri. He was fined by the NBA not long after and worse, his Raptors fell to the Nets thanks in large part to a clutch basket by Paul Pierce.
Naturally, the 7-game series between the Nets and Raptors created a rivalry between Toronto fans and Pierce, who hit big shots throughout the series and talked trash as much as he could. Before Pierce’s new team, the Wizards, took on the Raptors in game one of their series, the 37-year-old veteran said Toronto doesn’t have the “it” factor.
Ujiri responded, and once again did so in front of a large Raptors crowd outside their arena. What did he say?
#MasaiUjiri was back on stage at #JurassicPark …listen to what he said this time pic.twitter.com/bswzVaOXzd
— BarDown (@BarDown) April 18, 2015
Well, that should go well.
Related: Raptors fans really do not like Pierce:
Towards the end of the first quarter, Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry thought he could sneak in a layup just before the clock would expire. But the problem for him was, John Wall had other plans:
John Wall with the big rejection to close out the 1st quarter on @espn! #NBARapidReplay http://t.co/ERhG7tClE6
— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2015
Pierce started to heat up toward the end of the second quarter, making three of four shots, silencing the Raptors crowd, and putting the Wizards on top:
raps led 34-27 when Pierce checked in with 7:13 left in the second q. it’s halftime and the wiz lead 46-42.
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) April 18, 2015
At the half, the Wiz led the Raptors 46-42. Pierce was already up to 10 points. Also, we got a Drake update for you guys:
No Drake at Raps game, he’s performing at Coachella. He couldn’t pull a Vince Carter – be at the game and fly a jet to Cali? #NBAPlayoffs
— Tas Melas (@TasMelas) April 18, 2015
Remember when they said the NBA was moving forward with a new direction focusing on outside shooting? Toronto and Washington didn’t really follow suit in the first half:
First half shooting from outside the paint…
TOR: 6-for-22
WAS: 6-for-27
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) April 18, 2015
The third quarter did not go well for the home team. Toronto went down by 9 entering the final quarter, and a horrible attempt by Lou Williams 35 feet away from the rim with 18 seconds left in the shot clock is a great image of how bad those 12 minutes were.
Early in the fourth quarter, Toronto big man Jonas Valanciunas was denied at the rim by Drew Gooden, who’s nearly twice Valanciunas’ age.
The Raptors, with 8:38 left in the game, had missed 11 of their last 14 shots and trailed 74-59. But just when it looked like Washington would cruise to an easy win, Toronto rallied to make it interesting.
An and-one by DeRozan trimmed the deficit to 76-69, capping off a 10-2 run. Not long after, Williams hit a pair of triples to cut the Washington lead to two, 77-75.
Off a time-out, Bradley Beal completed an and-one play to put his squad up five and foul out Kyle Lowry (and wave him good-bye, literally).
Grievis Vasquez hit a floater to trim the lead to two, and both teams exchanged baskets after. After the Raptors got a stop, Vasquez pulled up for a 3-ball with 27 seconds left and tied the contest at 82-all (plus points for the shimmy):
Regulation finished with Wall missing a 19-footer and Terrence Ross missing on a tip. In overtime, Washington took a 5-point advantage thanks to a Pierce triple and Nene dunk with 2:20 to go. Both teams went scoreless until the 36.5 seconds mark, then Porter nailed a floater to extend his team’s lead to 7 and seal the win.
The Wizards took game one, 93-86. Pierce finished with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Wall and Beal put up 26 points on 11-of-41 shooting.
For the Raps, DeRozan, Lowry, and Williams combined to go 12-of-46. Both teams shot below 40% from the floor, and below 30% from downtown.
Paul Pierce, 77 playoff wins.
Toronto Raptors, 14 playoff wins.
Hence, I don’t think the "Paul Pierce Sucks" chant really works.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) April 18, 2015
Related: many are asking for Washington head coach Randy Wittman to be replaced after this season. This doesn’t help him:
Golden State vs New Orleans
New Orleans started the game ahead 4-0, with their second field goal being Anthony Davis’ first ever playoff basket: a mid-range jumper. But it didn’t take long for the Warriors to rally, going on a 10-0 run to take control of the match early and get the Oracle Arena up on their feet.
The Pelicans went 3-of-19 from the field after starting 2-of-2, and were down 28-13 after 12 minutes of play.
Golden State led by as much as 25 and looked like they had head coach Steve Kerr’s first ever playoff victory in the bag, but Davis, a future NBA superstar and quite possibly the next greatest player in the world, took over.
In his first postseason game, the Pelicans big scored 20 points in the final quarter and finished with 35 – just 3 shy of the scoring record in a playoff debut – to go with 7 boards and 4 blocks.
Just look at how easy he makes this look:
Anthony Davis 4th-quarter breakdown (20 pts) so far: two jumpers, two dunks, a layup, a tip-in, a floater, 6-6 free throws. GSW ball. 103-99
— Jim Eichenhofer (@Jim_Eichenhofer) April 18, 2015
Golden State eventually sealed the win even as they missed 8 free throws in the final period. Curry was spectacular with 34 points and 5 assists. Draymond Green finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Quincy Pondexter stepped up for the Pelicans with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists, but the team lost starting forward Tyreke Evans with a left knee contusion in the first half and he did not return to the game.
The same has been said for years now: if Chicago is healthy, they can be as deadly as any team in the NBA. In game one against the Bucks, the Bulls looked healthy, and they certainly looked deadly.
Derrick Rose finished with 23 points – 10 in the second period – while Jimmy Butler put up 25 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. Aaron Brooks came off the bench to put up 13 markers. Milwaukee played Chicago tight in the first quarter, but Rose’s explosion in the second frame put out the young playoff newbies.
So, is D. Rose back to the old D. Rose?
Derrick Rose gets loose on the break and elevates for the jam on @espn! #NBARapidReplay http://t.co/ekt4KJivJ3
— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2015
If Rose continues to play like this, being aggressive and asserting his will by attacking the rim, Chicago can beat anyone. The question is, as always, can he stay healthy?
We don’t know for sure. But what we do know is that Pau Gasol is one crafty Spaniard.
Pau Gasol somehow bounces it to Gibson for the 2-handed flush on @espn! #NBARapidReplay http://t.co/NzJIuPw6oo
— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2015
Houston vs Dallas
A lot of people despise Mark Cuban for obvious reasons: he’s brash and cocky, and he’s rarely shy of voicing out his opinion, as controversial as it may be. Remember when he suggested the Lakers amnesty Kobe Bryant?
Well, before his Mavericks’ playoff series against Houston, Cuban said James Harden should be NBA MVP this season because he doesn’t have a very good team – which just so happens is the number two seed.
Houston won game one over Cuban’s Mavs, 118-108. Harden was great with 24 points and 11 assists, but he received more than enough help from teammates. Trevor Ariza had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Terrence Jones put up 19 and 9. Cory Brewer scored 13 points in the final quarter, each one playing a big part in stopping Mavericks rallies. Even Jason Terry, a former Dallas champion, scored 18 points.
Dwight Howard didn’t have a huge game with just 11 points and 5 rebounds in 17 minutes, but he was tremendous in the first quarter:
Harden connects with Howard for the alley-oop early on @espn! #NBARapidReplay http://t.co/ncn4BBcu2t
— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2015
Dirk Nowitzki was tremendous with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons but struggled from the field, going 10-of-31. Rajon Rondo had 15 points and 5 assists.
Here are some highlights:
Monta Ellis drills a triple at the BUZZER as we head to the 4th quarter on @espn! #NBARapidReplay http://t.co/1VHXv3gCwc
— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2015
Rondo to Tyson for the OOP! #NBARapidReplay http://t.co/KtQwtGZjn9
— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2015
Chandler Parsons EXPLODES to the rim and crushes it with one hand on @espn! #NBARapidReplay http://t.co/BmHKHH2IRm
— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2015
– Rappler.com
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