Hachimura powers Lakers past Grizzlies in Game 1
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Rui Hachimura had a career-best playoff scoring performance with 29 points, including 21 in the second half, and LeBron James added 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-112 on Sunday in the opening game of their Western Conference playoff series.
Austin Reaves added 23 points, including nine straight in the closing minutes as the Lakers pulled away. Anthony Davis had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and D’Angelo Russell, who scored only two points in the Lakers’ play-in win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, finished with 19 points.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 31 points, while Desmond Bane scored 22. Ja Morant had 18 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with an injured right hand.
Los Angeles wrested home-court advantage from the Grizzlies, who had the NBA’s best home record at 35-6. Game 2 is Wednesday at FedExForum.
It was Hachimura from Japan who provided Los Angeles some breathing room in the third quarter, connecting on all four of his 3-point attempts. Hachimura’s only previous playoff experience was in 2021 with Washington, which lost a first-round series to Philadelphia. The Lakers acquired him from the Wizards in a midseason trade.
The Lakers earned the seventh seed in the West by beating Minnesota in the play-in tournament. Los Angeles missed the playoffs in 2022 and was eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns a year earlier.
Memphis finished with 51 wins, its second straight 50-victory season, to earn the No. 2 seed.
The Lakers led by as much as 10 in the first half as Memphis faced some early ballhandling woes. Jarred Vanderbilt’s defense kept Morant out of the paint for a while. But Memphis outscored the Lakers 38-27 in the second quarter to carry a 65-59 lead into the break.
CLIPPERS 115, SUNS 110: Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points, including a pair of late 3-pointers, and Los Angeles beat host Phoenix in the opener of its first-round playoff series.
Eric Gordon added 19 points and hit a late 3 that kept the Clippers ahead. Russell Westbrook shot just 3 of 19 from the floor for Los Angeles but made a pair of free throws with 17.7 seconds left for a three-point lead, then blocked Devin Booker’s layup attempt at the other end.
Kevin Durant scored 27 points for the Suns, who lost for the first time with him on the floor.
NUGGETS 109, TIMBERWOLVES 80: Jamal Murray scored 24 points and dished out eight assists in his first playoff game since the 2020 bubble and top-seeded Denver routed visiting Minnesota.
Nikola Jokic added 13 points, 14 rebounds and a half dozen assists in 28 minutes and Michael Porter Jr. scored 18 points as the Nuggets snapped a five-game skid in playoff openers.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwovles with 18 points. Karl-Anthony Towns missed 10 of his first 12 shots and finished with 11 points.
Morry Gash, Associated Press
Milwaukee Bucks' Wesley Matthews knocks the ball from Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler during the first half Sunday's Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series in Milwaukee.
Eastern Conference
HEAT 130, BUCKS 117: Jimmy Butler scored 35 points and Miami capitalized on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s early exit to beat top-seeded Milwaukee on the road in an Eastern Conference playoff opener featuring two notable injuries.
The top-seeded Bucks lost Antetokounmpo to a lower back bruise early in the second quarter. Miami’s Tyler Herro broke his right hand later in the period.
No. 8 seed Miami had built a 68-55 halftime advantage before Herro’s departure and stayed ahead by shooting 59.5% (50 of 84) from the floor. The Heat were 15 of 25 and the Bucks 11 of 45 from 3-point range.
Antetokounmpo was driving to the basket with 4:13 left in the first quarter when he got fouled by Kevin Love and landed hard on his backside. The two-time MVP got up slowly, stayed in the game to take his free throws and then headed to the locker room about 2 1/2 minutes later after picking up his second foul.
Although he returned to the game with 9:56 remaining in the second quarter, Antetokounmpo went to the locker room again with 8:33 left in the half and was ruled out for the rest of the game shortly afterward.
Herro appeared to hurt his hand while diving for a loose ball late in the first half. He was in obvious pain while standing in front of Miami bench during the final minute of the second period, and the Heat disclosed the severity of his injury at halftime.
Herro had scored 12 points before his injury. Antetokounmpo ended up with six points and three rebounds in 11 minutes.
