The Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA’s defending champions and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, opened their latest postseason run Sunday afternoon with a dominant 119-84 performance at the Paycom Center over the Phoenix Suns.
Jalen Brunson crossed the 20-point mark for the 38th time in a Knicks uniform, finishing with 28 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, and New York posted a 113-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Luke Kennard scored a career playoff-high 27 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers capitalized on Kevin Durant’s injury absence for a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 1.
Jamal Murray had a tremendous night at the free throw line, making all 16 of his attempts to carry the Nuggets past the Wolves in Game 1, during which Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon had a quiet first half.