Update: 21/04/2024 08:10
Issued by: 21/04/2024, 08:10
New York – Denver basketball players entered the NBA playoffs with a 114:103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The defending champions thus took the lead in the eight-final series 1:0. At the beginning of the 1st round, the role of favorites was also confirmed by three other home teams. Cleveland won over Orlando 97:83, Minnesota beat Phoenix 120:95 and New York beat Philadelphia 111:104.
The Lakers started well and led Denver by 12 points, but gradually the favorite took control of the game mainly thanks to Nikola Jokic, who collected 32 points and 12 rebounds. The Nuggets went on a 13-0 run in the third quarter and led by as many as 15 points. In the last part, they calmly guarded the lead. Anthony Davis’ 32 points and 14 rebounds and LeBron James’ 27 points were not enough for the Lakers to avoid their ninth straight defeat against Denver.
New York against Philadelphia was greatly helped by the performance of players from the bench, led by Miles McBride. The 23-year-old point guard hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points, setting a playoff record. The team’s stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart contributed just one more point. In total, the Knicks bench outscored the Sixers bench 42-7.
“The guys off the bench helped us a lot today. They’re the reason we won. We didn’t feel like it that much today, then you have to have the others show up. And they did,” Hart said. “The opposition tried to keep our best player off the ball. Then you have to take advantage of that and make them pay for leaving space for others,” added McBride after one of the games of his life. Philadelphia was led by Tyrese Maxey with 33 points and Joel Embiid with 29 points, despite the fact that he is still not 100 percent healthy.
Minnesota had no mercy with Phoenix and dictated the nature of the game from the second quarter. Then, when Anthony Edwards scored 18 of his 33 points in the third quarter, the winner was decided. Even Kevin Durant’s 31 points weren’t enough for the Suns. “We wanted to show how much we want to succeed this year. But it’s not going to be easy to get past these guys. It’s still just one game and we have to keep working,” Edwards said.
Cleveland never lost at home against Orlando and gradually increased the lead to 20 points. Especially Donovan Mitchell took care of it with 30 points. Jarrett Allen had 16 points and 18 rebounds. “We have to play a lot better. Shooting was a problem for us today. We were just throwing it at the basket,” said Paolo Banchero, Orlando’s leading scorer with 24 points as the Magic shot just 32 percent.
NBA Playoffs Round 1:
Eastern Conference – 1st matches:
Cleveland – Orlando 97:83, New York – Philadelphia 111:104.
Western Conference – 1st matches:
Minnesota – Phoenix 120:95, Denver – LA Lakers 114:103.
