The NBA Playoffs resumed in Orlando after an extended gap of 16 months as 2nd seed Los Angeles Clippers overcame a tough contest against the Dallas Mavericks that saw Kristap Porzingis ejected after being involved in a confrontation with Marcus Morris.
Defending NBA champions, Toronto Raptors made a winning start over the Brooklyn Nets. Freddie VanVleet became the first Raptors player in franchise history to combine 30-plus points and 10-plus assists in an NBA playoff game.
Donovan Mitchell scored a franchise playoff-record 57 points on 19-33 shooting from the field but the Utah Jazz lost to the Denver Nuggets 135-125 in overtime. Jayson Tatum had career playoff highs of 32 points and 13 rebounds as the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-101 in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference series. Jaylen Brown put up 29 points and Kemba Walker added 19, while the 76ers were led by Joel Embiid’s 26 points and 16 rebounds.
MJ's 63, Elgin's 61, Donovan's 57.
Donovan Mitchell puts up the 3rd most points in a game in #NBAPlayoffs history! pic.twitter.com/0w9JxmVI22
— NBA (@NBA) August 17, 2020
LA Clippers 118 – 110 Dallas Mavericks
Despite the controversial ejection of Kristaps Porzingis after a second technical foul on Marcus Morris Sr. – in the third quarter and an early injury to Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks put up a tough fight to keep the game competitive all the way through the fourth quarter. The LA Clippers fought back and prevailed in the first-round matchup, 118-110, thanks to their superior depth and impressive performances from their star players. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 56 Clippers points.
Luka Doncic finished with 42 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and kept the Mavs in the game throughout on his playoff debut. Doncic’s 42 points set a new record for most points scored in an NBA Playoffs debut.
Highest scoring postseason debut in @NBAHistory!@luka7doncic tallies 42 PTS, 7 REB, 9 AST in his first #NBAPlayoffs contest for the @dallasmavs.#Drop40 x #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/8vxYoQP74K
— NBA (@NBA) August 18, 2020
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 points and Porzingis finished with 14, along with Seth Curry.
Clippers Leave It Late
Marcus Morris was impressive in his overall game and had his best game of his career in the hard-fought win over the Mavs. He played physical defense on the duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis and chipped in with five steals. He shot 8-of-13 from the field, including 3-6 on 3-pointers for a total of 19 points on the night. Single-game plus-minus indicated +25 in his 32 minutes displaying the impact he had on the game.
Leonard’s double-double of 29 points and 12 rebounds, and George’s 27 points proved to be enough as the second-seeded Clippers, who will be aiming to take a 2-0 lead on Wednesday and put in a much improved performance than in Game 1.
Dallas may have the best offense in the league, but the Mavericks have struggled in clutch situations, and Clippers made the most of their struggles in shooting to overtake them in the lead and win the first match of the 7 Game series.
Big games to open the postseason!@spidadmitchell, @BeMore27, @FredVanVleet, @jaytatum0 & @luka7doncic all with #NBAPlayoffs career-highs…
Which was your favorite performance of the day? pic.twitter.com/cDAzFYdbyg
— NBA (@NBA) August 18, 2020
Other NBA playoffs results of the Day :
Denver Nuggets 135 – 125 Utah Jazz
Boston Celtics 109 – 101 Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto Raptors 134 – 110 Brooklyn Nets
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