Raptors break Game 1 curse
TORONTO This isn’t the Toronto Raptors team that hadn’t won a NBA playoff opener in 17 years. Nor even the team that lost last season’s opener.
The Raptors proved that Saturday night when they opened the post-season with a solid 114-106 victory over the Washington Wizards, ending a woeful Game 1 losing streak that had stretched back to 2001 — and one the team had grown weary of hearing about.
“We got Game 1, as we should,” DeMar DeRozan said. “We’ve been great at home all year, and that’s something we’ve worked for and gained that reputation from the beginning of the season, how we ended up playing at the end of the season, so we already had that in our minds. On home court, we’re supposed to win. That’s our mindset.”
DeRozan, playing as much facilitator as scorer, had 17 points and six assists, while Delon Wright had 18 points, and rookie OG Anunoby and C.J. Miles scored 12 apiece. Kyle Lowry, who was battling a virus and coughed throughout the post-game press conference, finished with 11 points and nine assists for the Raptors.
John Wall had 21 points and 15 assists to lead Washington, while Markieff Morris added 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Bradley Beal finished with 19.
The Raptors had held the unfortunate league record for consecutive Game 1 losses — 10 — and had dropped all but one of the 13 previous playoff openers, beating Philadelphia in the second round in 2001.
Intent on ending the streak, Lowry had said the team’s approach was: “Our Game 1 is our Game 7.”
But there was no sigh of relief after the win, said coach Dwane Casey. The Raptors, who earned the No. 1 seed after an historic 59-win season, have always had bigger goals in mind than this one game.
“It’s not a sigh. It’s a journey, it’s a marathon,” Casey said. “Whatever it was that that first game was about, hopefully we got it off our back. But we’re not satisfied. We’re in this for the long run. We’re in a tough series against a very athletic, fast team, so we can’t, there’s not a sigh of relief.”
WARRIORS 113, SPURS 92
OAKLAND, Calif. — Kevin Durant helped the defending champions get defensive in a hurry, finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Golden State Warriors returned to their old dominant selves at playoff time to beat the cold-shooting San Antonio Spurs 11392 on Saturday.
76ERS 130, HEAT 103
PHILADELPHIA — Ben Simmons had 17 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds in his playoff debut, and Philadelphia romped again without Joel Embiid, beating Miami for its 17th straight win Saturday.
PELICANS 97, TRAIL BLAZERS 95
PORTLAND, Ore. — Anthony Davis had 35 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, and New Orleans beat Portland in Game 1 of their playoff series Saturday.
CELTICS 113, BUCKS 107 (OT)
BOSTON — Al Horford had 24 points and 12 rebounds and the Boston Celtics overcame Khris Middleton’s long 3 that beat the fourth-quarter buzzer, topping the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime Sunday.
PACERS 98, CAVALIERS 80
CLEVELAND — Victor Oladipo scored 32 points and the Indiana Pacers held off Cleveland’s second-half rally for a stunning victory Sunday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series, handing LeBron James and the Cavaliers’ their first loss in the opening round in eight years.
THUNDER 116, JAZZ 108
OKLAHOMA CITY — Paul George scored 36 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series on Sunday night.
ROCKETS 104, TIMBERWOLVES 101
HOUSTON — James Harden scored 44 points and powered a big fourth-quarter run that allowed the Houston Rockets to outlast the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night in Game 1.