Google News NBA Playoffs: Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets and Heat Emerge Victorious
by | VIEW 276
The first two playoff games of the world's strongest basketball league took place last night, with the Lakers, Miami, Clippers, and Denver emerging victorious.
Clippers Edge Out Suns for Surprise Victory
The Clippers' 115-110 victory over the Suns in Phoenix was a surprise result, with Kawhi Leonard leading the team to victory with 38 points.
On the other side, Durant performed well with 27 interceptions. Leonard commented on his team's performance, saying(via ESPN), "Making winning plays, getting deflections on balls, offensive rebounding, getting us into our sets — that is playoff basketball.
You might not have the best night shooting, but you've got to impact the game some type of way, and he did that tonight." Despite shooting just 3 of 19 from the field, veteran guard Westbrook made his presence felt with nine points, ten rebounds, eight assists, three blocks, and two steals.
He stated, "My whole career, I pride myself every season on doing everything. Whatever is needed of me to win the game, I'll do it."
Nuggets Cruise to Victory Against Timberwolves
The Denver Nuggets had no problems at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with a final score of 109-80.
Murray led the Nuggets to a 1-0 lead in the series with 24 points. He said, "That was the game right there. It wasn't even offense. I think Mike and I struggled early, but we were still playing defense. We were running the floor, playing defense, boxing out, playing physical.
Everybody made an impact." Lakers Shine in Memphis In a slightly earlier period, the Lakers made a surprise victory in Memphis. Japanese player Hachimura was the most effective for the team from Los Angeles, scoring 29 points.
Hachimura said, "The second half, we were in a good rhythm. We were sharing the ball, and all the shots just came to me." Lakers coach Darvin Ham praised Hachiumura, saying, "He's multifaceted. He's strong. He has great hands.
He can get out and run, go up top. Very, very athletic and can really put the ball in the hole, as you saw today. Just encouraging him to be assertive, aggressive." Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins reflected on his team's performance, saying, "We didn't execute the priorities of the game plan.
Get back. Execute half-court defense and get rebounds." Memphis player Bane added, "It's one game. It's the first of four games for a reason. You want to win every game, but most of the time, that doesn't happen. We obviously wanted to start it off with a win, but they won, and we get another opportunity on Wednesday."
Heat Dominates Bucks on the Road
In Milwaukee, Miami was very convincing with a 130-117 victory.
