The first round of the NBA playoffs is coming to an end, and four teams in the West have been eliminated, the Thunder swept the Pelicans 4-0, the Nuggets sent the Lakers home 4-1 to fish, and the Timberwolves swept the Suns 4-0. Curry, James, and Durant, three superstars stopped in the first round. The Clippers and the Mavericks fought to a 2:2 draw, and the two sides will play the battle of Tianwang Mountain. There was no sweep in the East, and today the 76ers changed their lives under the leadership of Maxey, defeated the Knicks and escaped from death, bringing the score to 2:3. The Magic lost 103:104 away, and fell behind 2:3. After the Bucks lost Brother Alphabet and Lillard, the whole team beat the Pacers at home, and the veteran Beverley scored 12 points in a single quarter in the second quarter is the epitome of the Bucks' hard work, the Bucks 2:3, Brother Alphabet and Lillard avoided going fishing too early.
First, the Clippers' battle for Tianwang Mountain ushered in two major benefits, and they are expected to win the game to take the lead and maintain the last dignity of the veteran.
The first is that Paul George is about to explode, because in the last four years, George has played very well in the fifth game of the battle of Tianwang Mountain, you don't necessarily believe in G5's Harden, but you must believe in G5's George. George's performance in the last 4 G5 games: George was 12-of-26 in the first round of the Western Conference in 2018, scoring 34 points and 8 rebounds. In the first round of the 2019 Western Conference, G5 George shot 14-of-20 and scored 36 points and 9 rebounds. In the first round of the 2020 Western Conference, George scored 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting. In the 2021 Western Conference second round G5, George shot 12 of 22 and scored 37 points, and George averaged 35.5 points per game in 4 G5 games, which was quite tough.
Coupled with Harden, who has performed well recently, he averaged 26 points and 7.5 assists per game in the first four games, shooting 50.43% from the field and 52.1% from 3-point range, and the offensive efficiency is quite high. The Clippers' two cores are expected to win this game.
The second positive is that the small card continues to be sidelined due to injury, which is the best news for the Clippers at this stage, because the small card has been plagued by injuries this season. The Clippers lost both of the two games he played, and in the two games he was off, the Clippers emerged victorious. In the two playoff games he played, he averaged only 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, shooting 45.8% from the field, 0-of-5 from three-point range, and his scoring efficiency was much lower than the regular season average of 23.7 points. During the period of the small card's absence, Harden and George were not troubled, and both played well, and at present, the small card has no timetable for returning. Counting the regular season, the Clippers are 9-7 in the 16 games they have missed so far this season. Xiaoka did not perform well in this playoff game and was unable to play to help.
In addition, Doncic, the core of the Mavericks, is also suffering from knee pain, which is definitely affected, which is good news for the Clippers. Hopefully, the Clippers can continue to work hard to maintain the last dignity of the veteran superstar.
Second, the 76ers defeated the Knicks in overtime 112:106, changing the score to 2:3.
The 76ers' best player in this game was Maxey, who had 24 seconds left in regular time. Scored a three-plus-one, then hit a three-pointer to force the game into overtime and become the hero of the victory. In the whole game, Maxey's performance was quite explosive, playing 52 minutes, shooting 17 of 30, 7 of 12 three-pointers, 5 of 8 free throws, and a game-high 46 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists, plus or minus +3.
In addition, Embiid was affected by migraines and played a little out of place today. Embiid shot 7-of-19 from the field, 1-of-4 from three-point range, and scored 19 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 blocks in an inefficient manner, with 9 turnovers. Embiid is the third player in NBA playoff history to score 15 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 blocks in a single game, behind the Spurs' two biggest names, Duncan and David Robinson. However, he performed well in overtime, scoring 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block to lead the team to victory.
Harris also performed well, playing 49 minutes, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, 3-of-6 from three-point range, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line to finish with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block, with a plus/minus of +11. Today's shooting percentage was relatively high, and in the case of Embiid's poor shooting, it provided a huge help on the inside.
The Knicks lost the game, and star Brunson had mixed results. He was still very good for most of the time and put in good statistics, but in the final moments of regulation time and overtime, his layup was blocked by Batum, and he also made a passing error.
In the whole game, he played 51 minutes, shot 15 of 32, 4 of 11 three-pointers, 6 of 9 free throws, and got 40 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 4 turnovers. In regular time and in the final moments of overtime, Brunson's key layup was blocked by Batum, and the superstar was still a little lacking. Other than that.
Knicks Hart once again showed his iron man true colors today, playing the whole game, shooting 7-of-17, 1-of-6 three-pointers, 3-of-5 free throws, and getting 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block, almost helping the team win. In short, after this game, the Knicks will fall into passivity, and they may not be able to win the 76ers' home court.
Third, the Cavaliers defeated the Magic 104 : 103 at home, rewriting the big score to 3 : 2, and the Cavaliers are only one step away from entering the second round.
The Cavaliers were able to win this game because of the strong play of core guards Garland and Mitchell, Garland scored 17 points in the first quarter, and in the whole game, Garland played 39 minutes, shooting 9 of 16, 3 of 5 three-pointers, 2 of 3 free throws, and got 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and the whole game was quite good.
In addition, Mitchell, the core of the backcourt, also played well, playing 40 minutes in this game, shooting 9 of 23, 1 of 7 three-pointers, 9 of 10 free throws, and got 28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Mitchell shot 2-of-5 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range, and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. The two of them are a guarantee of a win in this one.
Banchero of the Magic team did his best to live up to his mission, even though he was defeated. The game was quite brave in the final quarter, 5-of-9 in the final quarter, 2-of-3 from three-point range, 4-of-4 from the free throw line, and one person scored 16 points. At the end of the game, Banchero played 38 minutes, shooting 13-of-23, 3-of-6 three-pointers, 7-of-8 free throws, 36 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, and his 36-point score also set a new personal playoff high.
Fourth, the remnant Bucks defeated the Pacers 115-92 at home, rewriting the big score to 2:3.
In this game, Lillard and Antetokounmpo missed the game due to injuries. But Beverley and Polis performed bravely, Beverley played 35 minutes, shooting 4-of-7, 1-of-1 three-pointers, 4-of-5 free throws, 13 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block, 12 assists is also his personal playoff high, plus/minus +36 crown the game.
Portis scored a new personal playoff high to support the team's offense. He played 39 minutes and shot 14-of-24 from the field, including 1-of-3 from three-point range, and scored 29 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. The plus/minus is as high as +30, and it is worth mentioning that 29 points is also a new playoff career high for Portis, and the two played a furious offensive and defensive performance to lead the Bucks to victory and become the absolute heroes of the win.
In addition, Middle's performance is also quite brave, dragging his old body and still being able to play a good offensive and defensive role. Middleton played 39 minutes in this game, shooting 9-of-20 from the field, 4-of-7 from three-point range, and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line, scoring 29 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists.
Harry Burton, the core of the Pacers, did not perform well and had a bad shooting touch, playing 33 minutes, shooting 6-of-14 from the field and 4-of-10 from three-point range, with only 16 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, with a plus/minus of -14. Siakam didn't have many offensive opportunities inside, he was quite sluggish, and he was not in good shape on the offensive end in this game, playing 33 minutes, shooting only 5 of 12, 1 of 4 three-pointers, and 1 of 5 free throws to get 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, with a plus/minus of -18.
After this game, the Bucks played with momentum, and although Antetokounmpo and Lillard could not return to the game, at least they could continue to play the game to Game 6. The remnants of this game were played very vigorously, and it is difficult to say who will die in the next game.