By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
For the first time ever the two eighth-seeded teams got to beat the top teams both in East and West in the opening game of the NBA playoffs. The Magic beat the Bucks and Giannis and the Portland Trail Blazers prevailed over the Los Angeles Lakers (100-93).
Damian Lillard had 34 points and the Bosnian Beast Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and 15 rebounds for Portland, which led by as many as 16 points in the first half. However, the Lakers tied the score in the start of the last period, but Lillard, Nurkic, and CJ McCollum who finished the game with 21 points made all the big plays down the stretch.
LeBron James had 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 16 assists, becoming the first player to have as many points, rebounds, and assists in the playoffs. It was his 24th postseason triple-double and his assists were a career playoff-high.
“We had a couple of breakdowns, which you can’t have down the stretch, especially against a team like Portland,” James said. Anthony Davis had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers.
Earlier in the day, James Harden had 37 points and 11 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets rolled past the Oklahoma City Thunder 123-108 getting the 1-0 lead in their series.
Russell Westbrook was out with a quad injury, Italian forward Danilo Gallinari matched a playoff career-high with 29 points for the fifth-seeded Thunder, but it was not enough.
German guard Dennis Schroder added six points and four assists for the losing side.
The Miami Heat also started their playoffs with a win thanks to Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic.