Simmons, Sixers extinguish Heat in opener
Warriors dismantle Spurs. Raptors end Game 1 futility by beating Wizards. Pelicans edge Blazers
Ben Simmons narrowly missed a triple-double, and the Philadelphia 76ers punished the visiting Miami Heat from long range en route to an easy 130-103 victory Saturday in an Eastern Conference first-round series opener.
Simmons had 17 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds for the Sixers. J.J. Redick scored 28 points and Marco Belinelli added 25 off the bench, and Philadelphia sank 18 of 28 (64%) three-point attempts in the win.
Dario Saric tallied 20 points and Ersan Ilyasova had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the third-seeded 76ers, who played without star center Joel Embiid (orbital fracture). Redick, Belinelli and Saric each made four three-pointers apiece and Ilyasova knocked down three.
Kelly Olynyk scored 26 points off the bench for the sixth-seeded Heat. Goran Dragic tallied 15 points, James Johnson had 13 and Dwyane Wade added 11 for Miami, which committed 18 turnovers.
The 76ers, who shot 47.4 percent from the field, were playing in their first playoff game since 2012 but looked more ready for the stage than a Miami franchise that is part of the postseason for the eighth time in coach Erik Spoelstra’s 10 seasons. The Sixers outscored the Heat 74-43 in a dominant second half effort.
Philadelphia used a 34-18 third quarter burst to turn a four-point halftime deficit into a 90-78 lead. The Heat were just 5-of19 shooting in the quarter.
Game 2 is Monday in Philadelphia.
Warriors 113, Spurs 92
Klay Thompson scored a game-high 27 points and Kevin Durant chipped in with 24 as the Golden State began its title defense with an easy win over San Antonio in Oakland, Calif.
Thompson (11-for-13) and Durant (9-for-17) combined to hit 20 of their 30 shots for the No. 2 seed Warriors, who burned the Spurs’ defense for 54.3 percent shooting.
Rudy Gay had 15 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge and Bryn Forbes added 14 apiece for the Spurs, who fell into the No. 7 seed when they lost their regular-season finale at New Orleans.
Durant had 11 points in the first quarter and surprise starter JaVale McGee gave Golden State an unexpected lift with nine points, helping the Warriors, the second seed in the Western Conference, take command from the start en route to as many as an 18-point lead in the first half.
Down 57-41 at halftime, the Spurs used two hoops by Rudy Gay early in the third period to get within 59-50. But Thompson hit a momentum-killing three-pointer and the Golden State defense held San Antonio to one field goal over the next 5½ minutes to re-establish control at 73-55.
San Antonio allowed the fewest points in the NBA this season (99.8 per game) and had held Golden State to a season-low 75 in the clubs’ most recent meeting March 19 in San Antonio.
McGee finished with 15 points and Draymond Green recorded a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double for the Warriors, who swept the Spurs 4-0 in the Western finals last May en route to a 16-1 run to their second championship in three years.
Raptors 114, Wizards 106
Serge Ibaka scored 23 points as host Toronto stared down its postseason demons, earning its first opening playoff win in the franchise’s history.
Delon Wright and C.J. Miles each had big games off the bench, combining for 30 points for the top-seeded Raptors, who snapped a streak of 10 straight Game 1 losses. Toronto’s bench outscored Washington’s reserves 42-21.
John Wall led eighth-seeded Washington with 23 points and 15 assists, and Markieff Morris scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Toronto led 86-85 after a back-and-forth third quarter, setting up a pressure-packed finish for the top seed in the East. The Raptors grabbed the momentum early in the fourth quarter after Wizards forward Mike Scott was called for a flagrant foul on Kyle Lowry. The Toronto point guard hit two free throws and assisted on a three by Miles to cap a 7-0 spurt for the Raptors.
Miles’s second three-pointer of the quarter put Toronto up 103-96 with just over six minutes to play. Miles finished with 12 points, and Wright added 18 points, 11 coming in the decisive fourth quarter.
Lowry set up Ibaka for a layup that gave the Raptors a 10-point lead with 1:42 to play. Washington got back within seven, but couldn’t catch back up.
Lowry had 11 points and nine assists, and DeMar DeRozan finished with 17 points for Toronto.
Pelicans 97, Trail Blazers 95
Anthony Davis scored 35 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as visiting New Orleans held off Portland to win the opener of their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Jrue Holiday scored 21 points, Nikola Mirotic collected 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Rajon Rondo contributed six points, eight rebounds and 17 assists for the sixth-seeded Pelicans.
C.J. McCollum scored 19 points and Damian Lillard 18 for the Trail Blazers, who rallied from a 19-point, third-quarter deficit, but could never take the lead.
Ian Clark buried a three-pointer to hike the Pelicans’ edge to 91-85 with 2:25 to go. Jusuf Nurkic sank a pair at the line for Portland, and it was 91-87 with 2:15 left. Rondo scored on a driving layup to make it 93-87, but Evan Turner hit a reverse layup, and McCollum followed with a trey from the corner to bring Portland to within 93-92 with 59.8 seconds on the clock.
When Davis missed a three-point attempt, the Blazers rebounded with 25.5 seconds left. After a timeout, Lillard missed a floater in the key. Davis rebounded and was fouled with 12.4 seconds remaining.
Davis made both free throws to give the Pelicans a 95-92 lead.
After a timeout, Portland’s Pat Connaughton tried for a dunk and was blocked from behind by Holiday. Davis sealed the verdict with a pair of free throws with 4.9 seconds left.
McCollum made a meaningless three-pointer in the final second.
(Reuters)