Top Game 1 Performances

All sixteen playoff teams have completed their first games, and every game was close. Incredible individual performances were aplenty.

Recap:

May 22:

Bucks (3) defeat Heat (6) 109-107, MIL leads series 1-0

Mavs (5) defeat Clippers (4) 113-103, DAL leads series 1-0

Nets (2) defeat Celtics (7) 104-93, BKN leads series 1-0

Blazers (6) defeat Nuggets (3) 123-109, POR leads series 1-0

May 23:

Sixers (1) defeat Wizards (8) 125-118, PHI leads series 1-0

Suns (2) defeat Lakers (7) 99-90, PHX leads series 1-0

Hawks (5) defeat Knicks (4) 107-105, ATL leads series 1-0

Grizzlies (8) defeat Jazz (1) 112-109, MEM leads series 1-0

Khris Middleton and Trae Young hit go-ahead field goals that proved to be game winners in their respective games, Luka led Dallas past the Clippers in LA, the Nets rallied to defeat the Celtics after a slow start, the Blazers beat the Nuggets by the largest margin out of all the games, the Sixers survived a battle with the feisty Wizards, the Suns outplayed the Lakers wire to wire, and the Grizzlies showed their grit in a huge upset over the Jazz.

There were so many good games, and with that came lots of great individual performances. There were 38 players who qualified for the field of top performers, 19 from Saturday and 19 from Sunday. (Qualifiers had a sum eclipsing 25 units of points, rebounds, or assists)

Saturday's top performers:

Miami fell just short of giving Milwaukee nightmares of their last series in the Bubble, but Duncan Robinson and Goran Dragic put on a dazzling offensive display while Jimmy Buckets had a typical all-around night, notching a near triple double. The Bucks might have figured out their answer to deep playoff success in Jrue Holiday, who has been an astronomical improvement over Eric Bledsoe. Holiday scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Milwaukee. Middleton had 27 points, including the game winner in OT, and Giannis put on a rebounding clinic with 18 to go along with 26 points. The Bucks big three did not shy away from the moment, and perhaps having fans in the stands will be the catalyst for them that was not available in Orlando last year.

Of course Luka got his triple double, and he led the Mavs past the Clippers in a rematch of last year's first round. The Clippers have a better team on paper and are surely still favored in the series, but this Dallas team has revenge on its mind and won't go down easily. Tim Hardaway provided great scoring as a starter, and if Porzingis can get going, the Clippers will certainly have a long series ahead of them. Kawhi will look to be more efficient next time around as he only shot 9 for 22, and the Clippers will need more production from Marcus Morris Sr., who was only able to score 4 points in 32 minutes. Playoff P had a solid night like his superstar teammate Kawhi, but would also like to improve on his 8 for 18 line.

The Celtics severely missed Jaylen Brown against the Nets, and Tatum was the only option with Kemba playing very poorly (15 points on 5 for 16 shooting). Brooklyn's big 3 was too much for the Beantown boys, (Trey Kerby voice) scoring 81 combined points out of the team's 104. If there's any bright side for Boston, they held a team with a trio of generational scorers to a low scoring night, but we'll see if that holds.

The Joker might be the best passing big man of all time, right? Unless there was tampering with the box score, he only tallied 1 assist on Saturday versus Portland. Perhaps the tamperer gave some of Jokic's assists to Lillard, who had 13. Both players had 34 points to lead their squads. Portland scored 123 points, the highest of the 8 games, which was a pretty balanced effort from its rotation. Denver saw MPJ step up on offense in the absence of Jamal Murray, but without him, Denver might not be able to keep up with the firepower of the Blazers.

Sunday:

Sunday's games were all entertaining, and both 8 seeds turned some heads. The Wizards made the entire game interesting versus Philly, but Tobias Harris was one point shy of his playoff career high at halftime, and he would not be stopped, scoring 37 by the final horn. Simmons had 15 assists and 15 rebounds, and Embiid reached the 30 point mark. Westbrook only shot 7 of 17, and maybe the Wizards pull out the win if he scores more efficiently. Regardless, Washington showed they aren't an easy out as a bottom seed.

The Suns controlled this game from the start, hounding the Lakers on defense, and the defending champs couldn't handle the ball or score. They held Phoenix to just 99 points, something that AD noted as a success. Davis did take the blame for LA's loss, and had an awful night, going 5 for 16 from the floor, scoring just 13 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. The Lakers may have gotten their wake up call from the legit Suns. Devin Booker did not disappoint in his first playoff game, with a line of 34 PTS/7 REB/8 AST. Chris Paul endured a shoulder injury after a collision with teammate Cam Johnson, and his team's success in this series could be contingent on his health.

The highly anticipated series between the Knicks and Hawks was, in my opinion, the best game so far. The 4th quarter was as back and forth as you can get, and MSG's energy was incredible as Alec Burks put the team on his back and hit big shot after big shot. Trae Young and Bogi didn't shy away from the moment either, and after a Derrick Rose go-ahead floater, Trae Young responded with one of his own with 0.9 seconds left, lifting the Hawks to the victory which effectively gave Atlanta home court advantage. Spike Lee and the crowd got to witness a classic matchup despite the Knicks' losing effort. If that game was any indication, this series is going to be one for the books. Ice Trae loved his "F*** Trae Young" chants.

Memphis stunned Utah, who needs Donovan Mitchell to return ASAP, and the Grizzlies can be motivated by a group effort against the NBA's top team. The grizzlies have defeated a 1 seed as the 8 seed before, and certainly looked capable of doing it again. Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant carried the team while Desmond Bane hit a huge three late.

It's only been 2 days of playoff basketball!