Sixers rout Raps in Game 1 Blues clinch a playoff spot
Tyrese Maxey had the breakout game of his young career, scoring 21 of his playoff career-high 38 points in the third quarter to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 131-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 on Saturday night.
James Harden had 22 points and 14 assists in his first Eastern Conference playoff game as a Sixer. Joel Embiid, the NBA scoring champion, had 19 points and 15 rebounds. They combined to only make 11 of 32 shots from the floor.
Tobias Harris scored 26 points for the Sixers, trying to get past the second round for the first time since 2001. They host Game 2 on Monday.
Timberwolves 130, Grizzlies 117 —
Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in his postseason debut and the seventh-seeded Minnesota beat second-seeded Memphis in Game 1 of the firstround Western Conference series.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 and 13 rebounds. Malik Beasley had 23 points, and Jaden McDaniels 15. Patrick Beverley and D’Angelo Russell had 10 apiece.
The Timberwolves, fresh off beating the Los Angeles Clippers in a play-in game, won their first playoff opener since 2004.
Jazz 99, Mavericks 93 —
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 of his 32 points in the second half, Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 26 and Utah opened the playoffs with a victory over Dallas, which was without injured All-Star guard Luka Doncic.
The fourth-seeded Mavericks, starting the playoffs at home for the first time since their NBA title season 11 years ago, sorely missed their 23-year-old star. Doncic strained his left calf six days earlier in the regularseason finale. Coach Jason Kidd said he is day to day.
Brayden Schenn scored 56 seconds into overtime and the St. Louis Blues wrapped up a playoff spot, beating the Minnesota Wild 6-5 on Saturday for their season-high eighth straight victory.
Vladimir Tarasenko, Ivan Barbashev, David Perron, Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich scored in regulation.
Oilers 4, Golden Knights 0 —
Mike Smith made 39 saves for his second consecutive shutout and 44th overall and Edmonton beat Vegas.
Edmonton moved six points ahead of Los Angeles for second place in the Pacific Division.
Rangers 4, Red Wings 0 —
Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, Alexis Lafreniere scored twice and New York beat Detroit.
Predators 4, Blackhawks 3 —
Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist in Nashville’s victory over Chicago. Eeli Tolvanen, Roman Josi and Matt Duchene also scored.
Sabres 4, Flyers 3 — Tage Thompson’s go-ahead goal capped a four-goal, secondperiod outburst and Buffalo beat Philadelphia.
Stars 2, Sharks 1 — Tyler Seguin scored early, Michael Raffl added a short-handed goal and Dallas kept up its surge toward a Western Conference wild-card spot, beating San Jose.
Lightning 7, Jets 4 — Nikita Kucherov scored twice and added two assists, Victor Hedman had four assists and Tampa Bay tied a season high in goals to beat Winnipeg.
Maple Leafs 5, Senators 4 —
Mark Giordano scored 3:26 into overtime to lead Toronto past Ottawa.
Capitals 8, Canadiens 4 —
Anthony Mantha scored twice in a 34-second span midway through the second period and had two assists in Washington’s win.