After acquiring Kevin Durant via a midseason trade with the Brooklyn Nets, the Phoenix Suns became one of the prohibitive favorites to win the title. But someone forgot to pass the memo along to the Los Angeles Clippers.
However, the biggest story of the night was Draymond Green stomping on Sabonis, leading to an ejection and, ultimately, a Game 3 suspension for Green. Moreover, Sabonis is dealing with a sternum contusion, making his status for the game – and the series – a giant question mark for Sacramento.Â
Jimmy Butler led the way for the Heat with 35 points and 11 assists and Bam Adebayo had 22 points and 9 rebounds. Four Heat starters had double figures, but Tyler Herro broke his hand and is expected to be sidelined for the next month, at minimum.Â
In his playoff debut, Reeves scored 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the floor, and he connected on three of his five attempts from distance. This includes a personal 9-0 run in the waning moments of the game when the outcome was very much still in doubt.Â
With day one of the playoffs now in the rearview mirror, our game from the second day of the opening weekend features the Los Angeles Lakers (No. 7 seed) taking on the Memphis Grizzlies (No. 2 seed). Without further delay, we will break down this matchup to determine which team has the edge.
My beloved Chicago Bulls fell to the Miami Heat 102-91. Chicago held a 90-87 lead with 3:47 left to play, but produced just one point the rest of the way. That’s kind of how their season has been, never knowing which team will show up on a given night. Miami’s reward for clinching the final playoff berth is first-round with the league’s best team – The Milwaukee Bucks.Â
The Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors in their first play-in game on the road. The Bulls were down 58 to 47 at halftime but stormed back in the fourth quarter on the back of their defense. They had nine steals and 10 blocks in the game and outscored the Raptors 37 to 24 in the fourth quarter.
The fourth and final play-in game was a thriller, with the 10-seed Oklahoma City Thunder becoming the second such seed (the first two in history) to win in the Play-In.
The Thunder have been off and on down the stretch but are one of the more exciting teams in the NBA. Furthermore, the Thunder have made the playoffs with one of the youngest rosters and without No. 2 pick Chet Holmgen for the entire season.Â