Heat Sizzle Past Injury-Plagued Bucks in Epic Game 1 Showdown: NBA Roundup

In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series, the Miami Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 130-117. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 35 points and 11 assists, while Bam Adebayo contributed 22 points. The Heat, who had just qualified for the playoffs, was also without Tyler Herro in the second quarter due to a broken hand. Milwaukee played most of the game without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who suffered a lower back contusion and finished with six points and three rebounds in 11 minutes. Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 33 points, with Bobby Portis adding 21 points and Jrue Holiday contributing 16 points and 16 assists. Despite several attempts to close the gap in the fourth quarter, Milwaukee was unable to overcome Miami’s 24-point lead in the third quarter.

Lakers 128, Grizzlies 112

The Lakers, seeded seventh, secured a road win against second-seeded Memphis thanks to Rui Hachimura’s remarkable performance off the bench where he scored 29 points, the highest in the team. Hachimura achieved a playoff career-high by shooting 11-for-14, including five 3-pointers in the second half. Along with him, three other Lakers players scored at least 21 points, with Austin Reaves contributing 23, Anthony Davis with 22 and LeBron James scoring 21. In the fourth quarter, Los Angeles seized the game’s control by scoring two significant runs, one of which was a 15-0 game-ending outburst three minutes after Memphis’s Ja Morant left the court with a hand injury. Memphis played the final minutes without Morant, who finished with 18 points.

Clippers 115, Suns 110

In the first game of the Western Conference first-round series, Los Angeles won against Phoenix, led by Kawhi Leonard who scored 38 points. This was Leonard’s first playoff game in 22 months, after tearing the ACL in his right knee against the Utah Jazz in June 2021. He had an impressive 13 of 24 from the field and contributed five rebounds and five assists. Eric Gordon also helped the Clippers with 19 points. On the other side, it was Kevin Durant’s first playoff game for the Suns, where he scored 27 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds. However, this was the first time Phoenix lost in nine games with Durant on the court. Devin Booker also played well with 26 points, and Torrey Craig added 22 points, while Deandre Ayton had 18 points and eight rebounds.

LeBron James visited the 'LeBron James of feet' to evaluate — LeBron James visited the ‘LeBron James of feet’ to evaluate

Nuggets 109, Timberwolves 80

In Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series, the Denver Nuggets dominated Minnesota, with Jamal Murray contributing 24 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, and Nikola Jokic adding 13 points and 14 rebounds. The top-seeded Nuggets also had strong performances from Michael Porter Jr. who scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 15 points, Bruce Brown with 14 points, and Aaron Gordon with 13 points. On the other side, Anthony Edwards scored 18 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 10 rebounds, Jaylen Nowell scored 12 points, Kyle Anderson added 11 and Rudy Gobert pulled down 13 rebounds for Minnesota.