The NBA Playoffs are back, and have not disappointed so far! The 8 teams from the Western Conference, and 8 from the Eastern Conference have gone hard at each other during the series openers. This year, a new record was set as 5 out of the 8 teams took game-one of their series on the road, these include: the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards and Portland Trail Blazers.
On Saturday, the entire city of Toronto, Ontario came together at the Air Canada Centre to cheer their No. 3 seed Raptors on as they battled No. 6 Nets. The young Raptors put up quite a fight; however, the experienced Nets outlasted them 94-87.
Immediately following that contest, the young squad of the No. 6 Golden State Warriors topped the No. 3 Los Angeles Clippers 109-105. LA Point Guard Chris Paul struggled down the stretch as he turned it over 6 times and missed a couple of costly free-throws, ultimately handing the game to the Warriors—who played without star Center Andrew Bogut.
Later that night, the top seeded Indiana Pacers fell to the bottom seed, the Atlanta Hawks, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. Though it ended as only an 8 point victory for Atlanta, this game was never close, to say the least. Indiana trailed by over 20 points for most of the contest.
On Sunday, No. 5 Washington’s 102-93 win over the No. 4 Chicago Bulls. Nene had 24 points and 8 rebounds to lead the way for the Wizards.
The NBA definitely saved the best series opener for last, as the No. 5 Portland Trail Blazers knocked off the No. 4 Houston Rockets 122-120 in Overtime. Power Forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored a franchise-playoff high with 46 points and 18 boards, while Point Guard Damian Lillard chipped in 31 points, 9 boards, and 5 dimes for Portland.
These playoffs can easily become a classic with all the intensity shown this weekend.