The other half of the NBA Playoff field gets their postseason going. Let’s take a look at the keys to how these games unfolded.
Philadelphia 76ers 125, Washington Wizards 118
76ers lead series 1-0
This competitive matchup was ultimately decided by Philadelphia’s ability to get to the line. The 76ers went 23-of-33 from the charity stripe, dwarfing the Wizards’ 12-of-15 output. Philly’s +11 free throw margin and +2 made 3-pointer margin helped to neutral sizable deficits in the paint and in general shooting efficiency. Washington outclassed Philadelphia in the key 76-58, and held a .557/.400/.800 shooting split to the Sixers’ .495/.312/.697.
The 76ers also helped themselves defensively, forcing five more turnovers than Washington and converting six more points off of them.
Phoenix Suns 99, Los Angeles Lakers 90
Suns lead series 1-0
The Lakers’ ability to attempt 16 more free throws than Phoenix wasn’t enough to salvage their anemic offensive performance. LA only converted 60.7 percent of those opportunities. Meanwhile, the Suns earned the victory thanks to their advantages on second chance points (21-10) and in the fastbreak (16-9).
Phoenix’s top two scorers, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton, combined for 55 points on 62.2 percent shooting on the afternoon. LA’s top two, superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, could only muster 31 points on 37.9 percent shooting.
Atlanta Hawks 107, New York Knicks 105
Knicks lead series 1-0
What better way to welcome playoff hoops back to Madison Square Garden than to have a game between two evenly matched teams go down to the final seconds? Both teams made the same number of field goals (42), free throws (11), points in the paint (50), and fastbreak points (9). It seemed that the only thing that could break this stalemate like this was a Trae Young floater with 0.9 seconds left in the game.
The only box score advantage Atlanta came away with was in the turnover battle. The Hawks forced five more turnovers and converted three more points off of them. This game’s margins were razor thin! Hopefully we see more of as the series continues.
Memphis Grizzlies 112, Utah Jazz 109
Grizzlies lead series 1-0
Donovan Mitchell’s absence and Rudy Gobert fouling out late in the game allowed the Grizzlies to be in striking distance in this opening game. Ultimately, in a manner that runs counter to modern basketball wisdom, Memphis edged out the win thanks in large part to the 2-point shot!
Surely, Utah hit five more 3-pointers and 14 more free throws than their opponent in this game. This gave them a 29-point advantage in those categories. However, the Grizzlies found away to respond by making 16 more 2-pointers than the Jazz, outscoring them 76-44 inside the arc. A 32-point advantage. All told, that’s +3 for the Grizz.
In today’s NBA, that seems like it will be hard to replicate this performance, but it was cool to see this anomaly in action. It was also just enough to help the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies get the 1-0 series advantage over the top-seeded Utah Jazz.
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