Nets recover from stars’ slow start to beat Celtics in Game 1
Mavs draw first blood against Clippers
NEW YORK, May 23, (AP): Maybe it was Boston’s defense. It could have even been Brooklyn’s own fans.
Whatever the reason, something had the Nets’ Big Three out of rhythm to start the playoff opener.
Once the second half arrived, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden went from way off to off and running.
Durant had 32 points and 12 rebounds, Irving scored 29 points and the Nets recovered from their superstars’ frigid start to beat the Celtics 104-93 on Saturday night.
Harden finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in just the ninth appearance of the season for the trio. The three combined to go 0 for 11 from 3-point range in the first half, then stormed out of the locker room with an 18-4 run to open the third and swing the lead the Nets’ way for good.
The Nets announced a sellout crowd of 14,391 after playing in fully or mostly empty arenas for most of the season. Harden said the loud crowd was an adjustment.
Durant, Irving and Harden scored 28 of the Nets’ 31 points in the period, with Joe Harris - who made Brooklyn’s only 3-pointer of the first half - hitting another for the other points.
Harris had 10 points for the Nets, who host Game 2 on Tuesday night.
Jayson Tatum scored 22 points, but shot just 6 for 20 and couldn’t come to his 50-point effort in the play-in tournament, when Boston beat Washington to earn the No. 7 seed.
The Celtics managed just 40 points in the second half and shot 37% for the game.
Mavericks 113, Clippers 103
In Los Angeles, it took three quarters before Luka Doncic finally went quiet. The damage was already done, although his teammates kept the pressure on in the fourth.
Doncic scored 31 points and the outshot the NBA’s leading team from 3-point range, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 113-103 in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.
Doncic was held to one point in the fourth on a free throw.
BASKETBALL
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 21 points and Dorian Finney-Smith had 18 for the Mavs, who led most of the game. Doncic and Hardaway Jr. made five 3-pointers each, and Finney-Smith had four to help Dallas shoot 47% from long-range.
The Clippers gave up 68 points to four other players besides Doncic, including 14 to 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis.
Kawhi Leonard had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, and Paul George added 23 points. But they were a combined 3 of 14 on 3-pointers. As a team, the Clippers were 11 for 40 after leading the NBA at 41% during the regular season. Marcus Morris missed all six of his attempts.
Game 2 is Tuesday night at Staples Center.
The Clippers didn’t make more than three 3-pointers in a quarter until the fourth, when they hit four. Dallas controlled the closing minutes, ending the game on an 18-5 run. The Clippers were limited to two baskets - both by George - over that stretch.
The Clippers tied it at 60 early in the third on Patrick Beverley’s 3-pointer before the Mavs scored eight in a row to go up 68-60.
Trail Blazers 123, Nuggets 109
In Denver, what had Damian Lillard so excited wasn’t his 34 points or 13 assists or how he led Portland’s 3-point barrage that sparked the Trail Blazers’ win over the undermanned Denver Nuggets in their playoff opener.
It was holding NBA MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic to a single assist. That’s something no opponent had done all year against the Nuggets superstar center who averaged a careerbest 8.3 assists this season.
Jokic matched Lillard’s scoring output, but wasn’t nearly the same facilitator.
The Blazers hit 19 of 40 shots from beyond the arc, and Lillard, sporting silver sneakers that were a fitting choice for his sterling performance, had five of them.
Subs Carmelo Anthony and Anfernee Simons added four each as the Blazers outscored Denver by 24 points from beyond the arc.