The NBA Playoff officially began with Saturday night’s slate of games.
The night kicked off with the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets winning in the Eastern Conference, while the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trail Blazers won in the Western Conference.
Final scores for the Eastern games were 109-107 and 104-93, respectively. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in their victory over the Miami Heat, finishing with 26 points, five assists, and 18 rebounds. The Nets were led by Kevin Durant , who finished with 32 points, one assist, and 12 rebounds in a Game 1 win over the Boston Celtics.
Final scores for the Western games were 113-103 and 123-109, respectively. The Mavericks were led by Luka Doncic in their victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, finishing with 31 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers in their over the Denver Nuggets, finishing with 34 points, 13 assists, and two rebounds.
While the first night of the tournament has come to a close, the Playoffs are far from over. There will be plenty of other games to watch as teams hash it out to see who will be named the 2021 champion. Fans could even expect some potential underdog wins from the Lakers and Washington Wizards. The defending champion Lakers, who enter as the No. 7 seed, open against the Phoenix Suns
Although the Lakers and the Wizards are the amongst the lower seeds in their conference, both teams have recently had excellent games to get into the Playoffs.
The Lakers finally have all their key players back from injury, as do the Wizards. However, these games won’t come easy for either team as both of their opponents are favorites in their individual conferences.