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It was Day 1 of the 2015 NBA Playoffs and as expected every one of the four games were played at an exceptionally high level. Seeds wise the Washington Wizards were the one to upset a higher seed when the stole home court from the Toronto Raptors. Read the match report for that game here.
Meanwhile the rest of the games, the home team took Game 1 and the series lead. Here’s the match report from the rest of the games on Saturday night, Day 1 of the 2015 post-season:
[1] Golden State Warriors vs [8] New Orleans Pelicans [Golden State won 106-99 and lead series 1-0]
After leading by 25 at one point in the game, it eventually finished a lot closer than the league leading Golden State Warriors would have liked. Nonetheless the young and inexperienced New Orleans Pelicans should receive all the credit they can get for putting up a fight. It took some time for him to settle into the Playoff atmosphere but Anthony Davis in his Playoff debut finished with 35 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Losing Tyreke Evans to a right knee contusion, Davis struggling to find his rhythm in the first quarter and the Warriors clicking well on both ends on the floor resulted in the Pelicans falling behind very early in the game. Stephen Curry finished with 34 points while the Warriors front court of Draymmond Green (15 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists) and Andrew Bogut (12 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists) had useful double doubles.
Being down 25 midway through the 3rd quarter, New Orleans Head Coach Monty Williams will surely have lot of notes to discuss with his team. Having said that, the same can be said for the Golden State Head Coach Steve Kerr who will see this game as a wake up call for his team, as the Warriors not only lost the lead but almost handed the game away in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter.
The series should be an easy one for the Warriors to wrap up but that will not stop the Pelicans from giving it a fight. Game 2 will be played in Oracle Areana on Monday.
[3] Chicago Bulls vs [6] Milwaukee Bucks [Chicago won 103-91 and lead series 1-0]
For the first time since 2012 Playoffs, the Chicago Bulls had a healthy starting line-up at their disposal for the first round. Both teams were placed high on the league’s defensive rankings yet the game started with both teams trading baskets to finish the first quarter with the Bulls leading by 1 at 30-29.
The big front court of the Bulls (starters and bench) were huge as Pau Gasol finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds, Joakim Noah had 6 points and 11 rebounds while back-up Taj Gibson had 8 points and 11 rebounds. The team’s starting big combined for 8 assists and 4 blocks however the talk of the game was the performance of former MVP Derrick Rose who has spent last two full years in rehab recovering from multiple injuries.Rose had 23 points and 7 assists including a dunk after a blowby which really got the crowd going at the United Center.
Undermanned talent wise, the young Milwaukee team gave it their all but failed to pose a challenge to the Bulls.Giannis Antetokounmpo was the lone star performer for the Bucks with his 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Bucks shot a combined 36% percent from the field and 67% from the free throw line. The gap between two teams can be made just by looking at the box score, the Bulls won comfortably despite committing 19 turnovers.
Bucks Head Coach has made it to another post-season but this ones is sure to be a short one given the strength of the two rosters. Game 2 will be played in Chicago on Monday night.
[2] Houston Rockets vs [7] Dallas Mavericks [Houston won 118-108 and lead series 1-0]
Role players Jason Terry, Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer helped the Houston Rockets win a crucial Game 1 at home against interstate rivals the Dallas Mavericks.The trio shot a combined 9 of 13 from long range but Brewer’s 3 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as it helped the Rockets pull way just at the right time. Superstar James Harden (24 points, 11 assists) delivered as per plan and Dwight Howard made a huge impact on the game in his limited 17 minutes.
Despite a knee injury, Chandler Parsons suited up for the Dallas Mavericks but that didn’t make much of a differnce as the team was playing from behind throughout the game. Dirk Nowitzki had a team high 24 points, Center Tyson Chandler registered a double double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The turnovers, shooting percentages and rebounding numbers are more or less the same, so what the game for the Rockets? It was their ball movement. The team had a combined 26 assists as compared to 17 by the Mavericks. Can Dallas make a series out of this? If Game 1 was anything to go by the Mavericks will have to play out of their skins to compete with the Rockets.
Game 2 will be played in Houston on Tuesday night.
Catch Stephen Curry’s tough reverse lay-up at the Top 10 plays of the Day:
Guess the Lakers players!
