The NBA play-offs are in full swing, and on the Western side, the Lakers eliminated the Pelicans to advance to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, and they will face the defending champion Nuggets in the first round, while the Pelicans will face the Kings who eliminated the Warriors in a do-or-die battle for the No. 8 seed in the West. On the Eastern side, the first round of the play-offs also officially began, and the specific situation was as follows: the 76ers narrowly defeated the Heat 105-104, and the Hawks lost to the Bulls 116-131. As a result, there have been some subtle changes in the play-off pattern of the East and West, let's take a look.
The Heat went to the away game to challenge the 76ers, this life-and-death battle was mixed with new and old hatreds, ups and downs! In the first quarter of the game, the 76ers took the lead, and the Heat relied on joint defense to set off waves of counterattacks, and the 76ers dug a 12-point hole in the half. Yibian fought again, and the 76ers accelerated their counterattack, focusing on the Heat's joint defense, which had an unstable foothold, and quickly chased the score difference to single digits inside and outside. The Heat relied on the three-point shots of Love and others to stop the bleeding, but they still failed to stop the 76ers from overtaking the score. The two teams then fell into a tug-of-war, and the suspense of the game dragged on until the critical moment, when the 76ers successfully scored three consecutive points to seize the lead, and the veteran Batum continued to make contributions on the defensive end. In the end, the 76ers narrowly defeated the Heat 105-104!
The 76ers defeated the Heat by 14 points and marched into the playoffs with their heads held high, but the process was far more difficult than the outside world expected! The 76ers are strong and strong, with two All-Star stars, the Great and Maxey, and they originally had the advantage of talent and strength in the face of the Heat, but the mental attributes of the 76ers are worrying. Especially the Emperor, there is a world of difference between the performance of the regular season and the performance of the knockout round, in this game, the Emperor only made 6 of 17 shots, got 23 points + 15 rebounds + 5 assists, and 3 turnovers, with a plus/minus of -2. Maxey was also too young and inexperienced to be strong, scoring just 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting. The Western Emperor combination is very sluggish, and the final salvation of the 76ers is the French Pippen Batum, who stepped up and slashed 20 points + 5 rebounds + 6 three-pointers, and changed his life with perfect offense and defense! The 76ers will challenge the Knicks, who are known for their toughness in the first round, which will be a series full of physical confrontations, and the Emperor will have to be tough if he wants to complete the Black Seven Miracle!
The 10th Hawks in the East went to the Bulls to challenge the 9th Bulls in the East, and the Hawks dug an 18-point hole in the first quarter, even if Murray, Bogda, Capela and Trae Young all scored 20+, the Hawks were still behind by as many as 23 points at one point, and their counterattacks were repelled again and again, DeRozan, Vucevic and Koby White Trident combined to score 88 points and refused to score 23 points to make a big reversal! Especially Kobe White, who ushered in his career night in this knockout game, scored 42 points + 9 rebounds + 6 assists +2 steals, and 0 turnovers! According to statistics, 42 points scored a new high for Kobe White's personal single-game score. At the same time, he is the second player in the history of the Bulls to score at least 40 points + 5 rebounds + 5 assists + 0 turnovers in a single game, and the first is Jordan, the god of basketball!
The Bulls eliminated the Hawks, and they will next face the Heat for the No. 8 seed in the East, the second year in a row that the two teams will meet in the second round of the play-in tournament, and the winner will have a chance to challenge the league's dominant Celtics. Both teams were damaged in the first round of the play-offs, and on the Bulls' side, Caruso, an outside gate, was stepped on by his teammate Zhuang Shen in the game, and suffered a severe sprained left ankle and retired early. According to Woshen, Caruso was not lightly injured, and his fate was uncertain. On the Heat's side, star Butler also suffered an injury. He insisted on playing the game with his injuries and limped out of the stadium with a protective gear after the game, where he will undergo an MRI. According to NBA Hall of Famer Shams, sources have revealed that Butler may suffer a medial collateral ligament injury in his knee and could miss the game indefinitely!
In addition to Caruso and Butler, Zion of the Pelicans was also injured in the play-offs, and the tragedy of the life-and-death format of the play-offs can be seen! The Pelicans will compete with the Kings for the No. 8 seed in the West, and before the big game, the Pelicans have bad news! According to the official news from the Pelicans, Zion suffered a left hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in about two weeks, which means that Zion will miss the play-off life-and-death game, and it also means that Zion's season may be reimbursed early, and it also means that the Pelicans may be out of the game early! It's a long season, health is king, and hopefully all teams can stay away from injuries. Fans and friends, Kings vs Pelicans, which team do you like to advance to the playoffs?