Playoffs roundup:
Cavaliers’ first loss in opening round in eight years.
LeBron James figured he had experienced everything in 12 postseasons.
Turns out, there was something new.
Victor Oladipo scored 32 points and visiting Indiana outplayed Cleveland from the start while pulling off a stunning 98-80 victory Sunday in the series opener, handing James and the Cavaliers their first loss in the opening round in eight years.
It also was the first playoffopening loss for James, who came into Sunday 12-0 in Game 1s and didn’t realize he had been perfect starting the postseason.
Though he knows the narrative before Wednesday’s Game 2 will be on the struggles of Cleveland’s playoff newcomers, James isn’t worried.
“I’m down 0-1 in the first round,” he said. “I was down 3-1 in the Finals. So, I’m the last guy to ask about how you’re going to feel the next couple of days.”
The Pacers are feeling confident after beating the Cavs for the fourth time this season.
Indiana took control from the outset, opening a 21-point lead in the first quarter and pushing it to 23 in the third. The Cavs cut the margin to seven in the fourth, but Oladipo, once a role player who has blossomed into an All-Star in his first season with Indiana, hit a big three-pointer and Bojan Bogdanovic helped put away Cleveland with a three to make it 88-71.
“We believe that we can win,” Oladipo said. “We came into this game with a mentality that we wanted to attack on both ends of the floor and play the way we’ve been playing all year, and we did a great job of that. It’s only one game. It’s only Game 1.”
The Pacers completely outplayed the three-time defending conference champions, whose turbulent regular season has carried into the playoffs.
James scored 24 points with 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his 20th playoff triple-double. He got little help as Cleveland’s four other starters, Kevin Love, Jeff Green, Rodney Hood and George Hill, combined for 25 points.
Cleveland went 8-for-34 from beyond the arc and missed 8 of 20 free-throw tries.
James had won 21 consecutive first-round games. He lost a postseason opener for the first time in his 13th playoffs. The 33-year-old is trying to get to his eighth straight Finals, and already the path is tougher than imagined. Cleveland had won 14 straight first-round games, last losing April 22, 2010.
Celtics 113, Bucks 107: Al Horford had 24 points and 12 rebounds and host Boston overcame Khris Middleton’s long three that beat the fourthquarter buzzer to top Milwaukee in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series. The Celtics led 99-96 with 0.5 of a second left in regulation when Middleton took an inbounds pass on the far right wing and hit a contested 35-footer. Terry Rozier added 23 points, four rebounds and three assists for Boston in his first career playoff start. Jaylen Brown finished with 20 points, and rookie Jayson Tatum added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 35 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists before fouling out in overtime. Middleton had 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Game 2 is Tuesday night in Boston.
Rockets 104, Timberwolves 101: James Harden scored 44 points and powered a big fourth-quarter run that allowed host Houston to outlast Minnesota. The Timberwolves had a one-point lead with about seven minutes left when Houston used a 9-0 run, with the last seven points from Harden, to make it 94-86 with about four minutes to go. Houston kept All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns in check, limiting him to eight points after he’d averaged 21.3 in leading the Wolves to their first playoff appearance since 2014. Andrew Wiggins scored 18 points to lead Minnesota. Game 2 is Wednesday night in Houston.
Thunder 116, Jazz 108: Paul George scored 36 points, including a franchise-record eight three-pointers, as host Oklahoma City defeated Utah. Russell Westbrook had 29 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists and Carmelo Anthony added 15 points for the Thunder, who host Game 2 on Wednesday. Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell had 27 points and 10 rebounds, but he left in the second half with left foot soreness. He returned in the fourth quarter, noticeably hobbling.