NBA Results Live : Defending NBA champions Raptors thrash Nets, Celtics overcome 76ers
On the day1 of the NBA Playoff’s, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics showed their class as Raptors won a one sided game against Brooklyn Nets. Celtics won against Philadelphia 76ers 109-101
Defending NBA champions Raptors off to a winning start, defeats Nets
Fred Van Vleet scored 30 points and led Toronto’s sizzling 3-point attack as the defending NBA champion Raptors beat the Brooklyn Nets 134-110 in the opening game of their first-round playoff series Monday.
VanVleet went 8 of 10 from 3-point range and the Raptors shot 22 of 44 from beyond the arc as a team as they maintained playoff intensity even without any fans attending postseason games at Disney’s Wide World of Sports. The Raptors’ 22 3-pointers matched a season high and set a franchise playoff record.
“We didn’t really get that playoff atmosphere in terms of that, but I thought we hyped ourselves up,” VanVleet said. “I thought this is the most locked in we’ve been all year. It felt like guys were amped up and energized. Having won one (title), it kind of puts you at a peace throughout the year, and now it’s time to kick it into gear. I thought we were pretty engaged. I loved our energy, our attentitiveness and focus. That’s all you can ask for.”
VanVleet had 11 assists with only one turnover, becoming the first Raptor in franchise history to combine 30-plus points and 10-plus assists in a playoff game.
Toronto, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, grabbed a 68-35 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half. Brooklyn got that margin all the way down to eight late in the third quarter, but the Raptors regained control and won convincingly.
“Everything was rolling, right?” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “It’s an NBA game (against) a team that’s been playing extremely well, you know they’re going to make their run a little bit. I was certainly happy to see us answer back once we kind of regrouped.”
NBA Results Live : Murray helps Nuggets hold off Jazz, Mitchell 135-125 in OT
Jamal Murray showed up for his postgame Zoom call wearing a shirt featuring the image of boxing great Muhammad Ali.
Almost fitting, given the Denver Nuggets withstood blow after blow from Donovan Mitchell before landing the knockout punch.
Murray scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime on a day Mitchell erupted for a Jazz playoff-record 57 points and the Nuggets beat Utah 135-125 on Monday in Game 1 of their first-round series.
“It was just lights, camera, action and come on we’re trying to get this win,” Murray explained.
Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds for Denver. He had a chance to win it in regulation at the buzzer, but his right-handed hook shot over Utah’s Rudy Gobert was off the mark. Murray took over in the extra period, sealing the game on a 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds remaining.
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