Lakers take series opener
Rui Hachimura had a career-best playoff scoring performance with 29 points, including 21 in the second half, and LeBron James added 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers beat the Grizzlies 128-112 on Sunday in the opening game of their Western Conference playoff series in Memphis, Tennessee.
Austin Reaves added 23 points, including nine straight in the closing minutes as the Lakers pulled away. Anthony Davis had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and D’Angelo Russell, who scored only two points in the Lakers’ play-in win over the Timberwolves, finished with 19 points.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 31 points, while Desmond Bane scored 22. Ja Morant had 18 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with an injured right hand. X-rays were negative.
The Lakers wrested home-court advantage from the Grizzlies, who had the NBA’s best home record at 35-6. Game 2 is Wednesday at FedExForum.
It was Hachimura who provided the Lakers some breathing room in the third quarter, connecting on all four of his 3-point attempts. Hachimura’s only previous playoff experience was in 2021 with the Wizards.
Fox lifts Kings: De’Aaron Fox scored 38 points in his long-awaited playoff debut and the Kings celebrated their return to the postseason after a record 16-year drought by beating the defending champion Warriors 126-123 on Saturday night in Sacramento.
The first playoff meeting between the Northern California neighbors lived up to the hype and delighted the crowd that had been waiting for a playoff game since 2006.
The inexperienced Kings closed the game strong against a Warriors team that won four titles in the previous eight seasons.
After Stephen Curry hit a corner 3 to give the Warriors a 114-112 lead with about four minutes left, the Kings responded with seven in a row starting with a 3 from Fox, who led the league in clutch points in the regular season.
The Warriors didn’t go away and cut the deficit to one on a layup by Curry in the final minute. But Andrew Wiggins missed a corner 3 for the lead in the closing seconds of his first game in more than two months.
Malik Monk made two free throws to make it 126-123 with 2.9 seconds left. Curry missed a runner from 3 at the buzzer, giving the Kings their first playoff win since April 30, 2006, against the Spurs.
Monk finished with 32 points off the bench and Domantas Sabonis had 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Curry led the Warriors with 30 points, Klay Thompson added 21 and Wiggins and Poole scored 18 apiece.
The Kings are back in the playoffs after a record 16-year drought.
George still out: All-Star forward Paul George likely will miss the Clippers’ opening-round series against the Suns because of his sprained right knee, ESPN reported.
George suffered the injury on March 21. He averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 34 minutes a game this regular season.