Both the top seeds of the Western and Eastern Conference lost to the eighth seeds in Game 1 of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday night. The Milwaukee Bucks first lost to the Orlando Magic, who had never beaten the Bucks this season. It was followed by the Los Angeles Lakers falling to the Portland Trail Blazers. This is the first time since the 2002-03 NBA season, that both top seeds have lost to the eighth seeds in the first-round matchup.
Meanwhile, James Harden scored 37 points to lift the Houston Rockets to a 123-108 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jimmy Butler went for a game-high 28 points and Goran Dragic 24 points to lead the Miami Heat to a victory over the Pacers for the second time in three meetings since the NBA restart.
Los Angeles Lakers 93 – 100 Portland TrailBlazers
The Portland Trail Blazers have been the story of the bubble with Damian Lillard dominating and leading his team into the postseason. It looks like they have continued their scintillating form into the post-season after upsetting top seed Los Angeles Lakers, 100-93, in Game 1 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Since seeding began in the playoffs in 1983-84, the only other season where both 1 seeds lost their respective opening games is 2002-03 (Pistons, Spurs).
The Pistons and Spurs went on to win their 1st-round series, with the Spurs eventually winning the NBA Finals pic.twitter.com/52EsuaPI6p
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 19, 2020
While the Lakers won two of three regular-season matchups, the Trail Blazers are playing with plenty of momentum and are 8-2 in the NBA bubble.
Portland had won the first play-in postseason NBA game since 1956 to reach the playoffs.
Damian Lillard scored 34 points (9 for 21 from the field, 6 for 13 from three-point range, 10 for 10 from the line), 5 rebounds, 5 assists and provided the game-ending assist to Jusuf Nurkic to close out the game.
James had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists, becoming the first player to have as 20+ points, 15+ rebounds and 15+ assists in the playoffs. It was his 24th postseason triple-double and his assists were a career playoff high.
Lillard won the bubble MVP by averaging 37.6 points and 9.6 assists during the eight seeding games as Portland went 6-2 and played its way into the play-in matchup beating the Memphis Grizzlies.Â
”We had a couple of breakdowns, which you can’t have down the stretch, especially against a team like Portland,” James said.
LeBron James is the FIRST player in NBA history to have at least 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists in a playoff game.#LakeShow pic.twitter.com/llmrBg2aaz
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) August 19, 2020
The Blazers shot 39.2% to 35.1% for Los Angeles. The Blazers converted 13 of 34 three-pointers while the Lakers shot 5-of-32 from three-point range; a shocking strike rate for the Lakers, who have struggled considerably in shooting inside the bubble.
Dame's range is UNLIMITED 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LeDHyX4OdM
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 19, 2020
Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and 15 rebounds for Portland, who led by as many as 16 points in the first half, while Anthony Davis finished with 28 points and 11 boards.
There was some reason for concern for the Lakers as they moved to a 3-5 record with an offensive rating that was 20th of 22 teams, per NBA.com.
Other NBA Results of the Day :
Indiana Pacers 101 – 113 Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks 110 – 122 Orlando Magic
Houston Rockets 123 – 108 Oklahoma City Thunder
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