NBA Weekly Recap: The Postseason Is Upon Us
The NBA regular season is over and just one week into the postseason, there is a lot to talk about.
The play-in games kicked off the week and the first game was the Atlanta Hawks versus the Miami Heat for the seventh seed to face the Boston Celtics.
These two teams faced off in last year's playoffs and the Heat came out on top in that series.
However, this year was a different story as the Hawks dominated and got the win 116-105.
The Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors battled for a chance to play the Heat for the eighth seed.
The Raptors led for most of the game, but Zach LaVine took over in the second half and led the Bulls to a 109-105 victory behind his 39 points.
The Bulls then traveled to Miami to take on the Heat.
It was an all-out effort on both sides, but the Heat were victorious 102-91 as Max Strus and Jimmy Butler had 31 points each.
In the West, the play-in games were just as competitive, starting with an overtime thriller between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves who were playing for the seventh seed.
It was a sloppy game with multiple turnovers down the stretch, but it was ultimately LeBron James and the Lakers who secured the win 108-102.
The No. 9 seed New Orleans Pelicans and No. 10 seed Oklahoma City Thunder faced off to keep their playoff chances alive and it went down to the wire.
The Thunder prevailed and went on to face the Timberwolves, who they then lost to 120-95.
Round one of the playoffs got underway over the weekend and each team played game one of their series.
In the East, the Heat upset the Milwaukee Bucks 130-117 to secure the 1-0 series lead.
There were some major injuries in this game as Giannis Antetokounmpo left with a back contusion for the Bucks, while the Heat lost Tyler Herro who injured his hand and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
In the fourth versus fifth seed matchup, the New York Knicks stole game one on the road 101-97 against the Cleveland Cavaliers as Jalen Brunson’s heroics took over down the stretch.
The Brooklyn Nets made the playoffs as a six-seed and have a tough matchup in the opening round with the Philadelphia 76ers.
In game one, MVP candidate Joel Embiid led the charge with 26 points as the Sixers came out on top 121-101.
In the final series in the East, the Boston Celtics dominated the Hawks 112-99 and got the early series lead.
In the tightly packed Western Conference, the action kicked off Saturday with the Golden State Warriors against the Sacramento Kings.
The atmosphere in Sacramento was electric as the team made its first postseason appearance since 2006.
It was a closely fought contest, but it was De’Aaron Fox who took command and led the Kings to the 126-123 victory.
Another competitive game was between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Phoenix Suns.
The star power was on display and the game-deciding play was a block by Russell Westbrook on Devin Booker in the final moments to seal the 115-110 win.
The Memphis Grizzlies hosted the Lakers for game one of the series and it was back and forth until Los Angeles pulled away.
It was the role players who stepped up, most notably Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, who took over in clutch time.
Ja Morant left the game in the fourth quarter with a hand injury, and his status for game two is unknown.
Playoff action on Sunday saw the Denver Nuggets blow out the T-Wolves 109-80.
The Nuggets had six players in double figures, leading to a group effort win in game one.
Week one was quite eventful, which gives hope of exciting playoffs.
Christopher Reynolds is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email him at clr5971@psu.edu.
