Harden powers Rockets past Westbrook’s Thunder
Bulls upset Celtics, Warriors beat Trail Blazers
James Harden scored 37 points as the Houston Rockets routed Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-87 in the opening game of their NBA playoff series on Sunday. Harden outclassed fellow MVP candidate Westbrook also delivering nine assists and seven rebounds for the Rockets who take a 1-0 lead into game two on Wednesday. “Tonight was a good game but it is just one win,” Harden said. “We have to be ready to go for Wednesday.” Westbrook tallied 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists but he also made nine turnovers and missed 17 of 23 shot attempts.
Harden and Westbrook are considered the frontrunners in the league MVP race. But Westbrook’s individual brilliance doesn’t always translate into Thunder victories. The Rockets held Westbrook to just seven points in the second half as they stretched a five point halftime lead to 33 points. As good as Harden was Sunday he also got plenty of help from a strong supporting cast. Patrick Beverley scored a postseason career high 21 points while Nene chipped in 15 points off the bench for Houston. Beverley also shut down Westbrook defensively when it mattered the most.
BULLS 106, CELTICS 102
Jimmy Butler scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, including five during an 8-0 run midway through the final period that put Chicago in control, and the Bulls held on to beat the Boston Celtics 106-102 on Sunday in the opener of a first-round Eastern Conference playoff series. Chicago prevailed on an emotional night in Boston, as Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas played the day after his younger sister, Chyna, was killed in a car crash. Thomas played through tears with “RIP Lil Sis” written in tribute on his shoes. He paced Boston with 33 points. Thomas led a lastgasp effort for the Celtics, hitting a layup with 7.5 seconds left to cut Chicago’s lead to 104-102, but Butler dribbled off a few seconds and sealed it with a pair of free throws with 3.3 seconds to go.
WIZARDS 114, HAWKS 107
John Wall had 32 points and 14 assists as Washington controlled the second half to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Bradley Beal scored 22 points and Markieff Morris had 21 points for the Wizards, and Marcin Gortat finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Dennis Schroder scored 25 points and Paul Millsap had 19 for the Hawks. Atlanta made 32 of 39 free throws, but only shot 43.6 percent from the field and committed 21 turnovers.
WARRIORS 121, TRAIL BLAZERS 109
Draymond Green led a defensive surge early in the fourth quarter and backup point guard Ian Clark contributed seven points to a 15-2 flurry as Golden State won Game 1 of the series.
The eighth-seeded Trail Blazers never trailed by more than eight points in the first three quarters and used a three-point play by backup Pat Connaughton in the final seconds of the third period to draw even at 88-all.— Agencies