Stephen A. Smith told Perkins why he preferred Curry over Morant. (0:56) There are four Game 1s in the NBA playoffs. The Boston Celtics were the first team to lose in the playoffs, and they were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks. This is the only highlight you need if you didn't catch the game. The Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzles put on a show in the first game of their series. The Warriors survived after Ja Morant missed a layup in the final second, despite Draymond Green getting ejected. Tyler Herro scored a team-high 25 points off the bench as the Miami Heat overcame a one point halftime deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers. The Phoenix Suns overcame 45 points from Luka Doncic to take care of business in Game 1, where Chris Paul finally missed a shot after going 14-for-14 in the first round. What did the Game 1 showdowns reveal about each series? NBA experts talk about what to expect in the second round. There is no such thing as a must-win Game 1 in a best-of-seven series. Despite a rare 3-point advantage over the Warriors, Memphis was unable to take advantage when Draymond Green was ejected. Golden State was able to grind out a win in a similar fashion to the one they had against the Denver Nuggets in the first round, coming up with 16 offensive boards and surviving when Ja Morant missed a game-winning layup at the buzzer. Draymond Green celebrates with his team after Ja Morant misses at the buzzer. Memphis needs to earn a home split. Should the starting five be changed in Game 2? In place of Steven Adams, who has been unavailable the past two games due to the NBA's health and safety protocols, the coach decided to go with the more paint-bound X-ray man. After starting the second half with a three-guard lineup, Golden State was able to target Tillman in pick-and-rolls. At the other end, the Warriors were perfectly comfortable changing their smaller guards on Tillman, who didn't return after the Grizzlies were down 13-5 in the first 3:53 of the third quarter. The best option for Memphis is Brandon Clarke, who has 888-492-0 888-492-0 888-492-0s in every close one. Kyle Anderson would give the Grizzles more playmaking and defensive versatility if he were to return to the small forward position. Steve Kerr has a choice about his lineup with Green back to start. After going small to close out the Nuggets with Green at center and Stephen Curry back in the starting lineup, Kerr decided to stick with Green at center Monday but replace Poole with Gary Payton II. Both of them were on the floor in the second half. In the closing minutes, Memphis did a good job attacking the Warriors small lineups, forcing switches to shake Morant free from Payton. Morant was able to break down the two players off the dribble as he scored six points and gave three assists in the final four minutes. Is it possible for the Grizzlies to get Dillon Brooks going? The man who averaged 25.8 PPG in the playoffs last year is down to 15.3 this year on 36% shooting. He was 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 888-270-6611 Kevin Pelton. The Bucks dominated in the first game. Boston was forced to rush through offensive sets and settle for a playoff franchise-record 50 3-point attempts because they were the more aggressive and physical team. They were all good shots. There was a stretch in the fourth quarter during which the Celtics got back-to-back wide-open looks -- and hit two of them -- to cut it to a 12-point game. Friday, May 6
Heat at 76ers, Game 3 (7 p.m.)Warriors 1, Grizzlies 0: Why Memphis might need a lineup change
Bucks 1, Celtics 0: Why Boston needs to dominate the non-Giannis minutes
On Saturday, May 7.
Celtics at Bucks, Game 3 (3:30 p.m., ABC)
All times Eastern.
Boston got the looks it wanted, but coach Ime Udoka said the key to Game 2 will be getting the Celtics to fall.
The Celtics shot 10-of-34 on 2-point field goals and were 0-of-3 on their 2s outside the paint. Their previous low for made 2-point field goals in a game was 14.
In the first game of the series, Antetokounmpo finished with 24 points, 13 rebound and 12 assists, but had an off night percentage-wise, going just 9-of-25 from the floor. His teammates shot 12-of-18 off his passes with seven 3s, but he was able to make plays to account for 55 points.
Boston planned to send multiple looks and defenders at Antetokounmpo, and that created 14 looks for his teammates.
Bobby Portis Jr. nails the 3.
On the other end of the floor, Antetokounmpo and Lopez combined to be defensive anchors in the paint, forcing Boston to shoot 3-of-20 when either of them contested a shot.
Boston will need to do better in the minutes Antetokounmpo sits if it wants to win the game. In the 37:47 he played on the court, the Bucks were plus-23 and minus-11. There were few and far between breaks.
Budenholzer sat Antetokounmpo for less than a minute multiple times. He picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter and was forced to sit the final 3:37 of the quarter.
The Celtics were limited from doing damage off Milwaukee's because of Boston's mistakes. The Celtics scored six points off of 14 Bucks turnovers, while the Bucks scored 27 points off of 18 Boston turnovers.
You have to be the smarter team. Celtics guard Jaylen Brown said after Game 1 that they would learn from it and come back better.
Andrew Lopez.
Without Embiid, the 76ers were going to be in trouble. For the second year in a row, Embiid is a finalist for the NBA's most valuable player award.
The Heat and their own All-Star center in Bam Adebayo are the worse opponent to draw without Embiid, who will miss at least the first two games of this series.
Adebayo was the one who made sure the Heat would escape, because Miami couldn't get out of its own way and gave the 76ers every chance to steal the opening game of these Eastern Conference semifinals.
His final stat line of 24 points, 12 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in 34 minutes doesn't tell the whole story of his dominance. His plus-26 does.
The reaction from the 76ers after the first game.
76ers coach Doc Rivers said that they had an impact on the team.
P.J. Tucker is near the basket when he gives a two-handed jam.
It was similar to the way Adebayo helped lift the Heat to the NBA Finals in 2020.
Adebayo was more of a factor against the Celtics in the East finals than Jimmy Butler was against the Bucks in the East semifinals.
It is a reminder of what the Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers could have been had Adebayo not been hurt.
Adebayo left Philadelphia center DeAndre Jordan hopelessly overmatched and posted a minus-22 in 17 minutes. In 13 minutes, Paul Reed put up 4 points, 9 rebound and 4 assists, but had five fouls.
Adebayo created fouls by taking control of the interior because Reed gets into foul trouble a lot.
Adebayo helped anchor a defense that limited the 76ers to 6-for-34 from 3-point range and saw them have little success inside.
Compete for $40,000 in the NBA playoffs. Pick your favorites.
As long as he is out, that will not change. Adebayo is one of the few centers in the NBA who can contest him in single coverage, which allows Miami's other defenders, such as P.J. Tucker and Butler, to stay plastered on James Harden and Tobias Harris.
The 76ers believe they can win Game 2 and get back in the series. If Adebayo keeps dominating the paint like he did in the opener, this series could be short.
Tim Bontemps.
The Dallas Mavericks did not face the Suns in the first round. Ayton showed in the first three quarters of Monday's Game 1 that he is capable of being a dominant scorer.
Ayton scored 25 points on 12-of-16 shooting through three quarters, a significant factor in the Suns 121-114 win.
Ayton missed all four of his shots in the fourth quarter. Dallas might have found a small-ball solution.
The Mavericks played a small lineup with a big man in the fourth quarter. In the fourth, starting center Dwight Powell did not play at all, and backup big man Maxi Kleber only played108 seconds. In the 10 minutes and 12 seconds with Finney-Smith in the center, Dallas scored 12 points.
The Mavs are optimistic that their small lineups can be an asset in this series, despite Ayton's complaints about the Suns taking their foot off the gas pedal with a comfortable lead.
The Suns overcame 45 points from Luka Doncic to take the first game.
The coach of the Mavericks thought thatinney-Smith was great at the 5. I think he was good for us playing the 5, and we will continue to put that lineup out there.
It isn't a look that the Mavs used a lot this season, but Finney-Smith has had some success playing center. In the fourth quarter of the comeback win, he held the Kings big man to zero points. If the Mavs provide the right help, he will be willing to take on Ayton, who is 6-foot-11, 250 pounds and has a soft touch.
We played with a lot more fight in the fourth quarter. We have to be that way the whole game because it was everyone moving and talking.
I think we can play that lineup, but we have to rebound. Play fast and rebound.
The issue with playing Finney-Smith at center is that it takes him off Booker, the All-Star shooting guard. When you are facing the team with the best record in the NBA, you have to figure out which problems are the most important.
Tim MacMahon.
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