The Golden State Warriors’ title defence in the NBA Playoffs is off to an inauspicious start. The defending champions dropped Game 1 of their first-round series against the Sacramento Kings, who got to light the beam to mark their first playoff win since 2006.
Meanwhile, last year’s losing finalists, the Boston Celtics, soared to great heights and held on to get a Game 1 win against the Atlanta Hawks. Similarly, the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks also claimed key Game 1 victories.
Read on below as SBOTOP delivers all the big news from the first batch of first-round Game 1s.
Kings outlast Warriors in Game 1 win
After ending their 16-year NBA playoff drought, the Sacramento Kings were able to light the beam in their first game back as they claimed a 126-123 win in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors.
Guards De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk combined for 70 points to lead the Kings as both Domantas Sabonis (12 points, 5-17 FG) and Kevin Huerter (6 points, 3-12 FG) struggled offensively.
Stephen Curry led the way with 30 points for the Warriors, 13 of which came fin the fourth quarter to keep Golden State close. But Curry missed a last-second 3-pointer which could have sent the game to overtime.
Andrew Wiggins, who was crucial to the Warriors’ championship run last season but has been out since Valentine’s Day due to a family issue, finished with 17 points in 28 minutes off the bench, but he went just 1 of 8 on 3-pointers.
Celtics hold on to beat Hawks
Last year’s losing finalists, the Boston Celtics, began their quest for their 18th NBA championship with a 112-99 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Celtics looked on course for a comfortable win as they built up a 30-point lead at half-time on the back of 21 points from All-Star Game MVP Jayson Tatum.
However, the Hawks – amid a horrific shooting night (just 5 of 29 on 3-pointers) – fought back in the second half. They had cut the lead down to as low as 12 points early in the fourth quarter and 13 with less than two minutes to play.
But Boston held on to the win, thanks in large part to Jaylen Brown’s big buckets. Brown led the Celtics with 29 points and 12 rebounds as he played his first game after missing the end of the regular season with a hand injury.
Brown admits he had issues gripping the ball with this injured hand, which he says reopened – he committed six turnovers in Game 1 – but was able to play through it.
Randle returns as Knicks claim Game 1 win over Cavs
Julius Randle made a triumphant return to help the New York Knicks score a 101-97 road win in Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Randle, who was playing his first game since spraining his ankle at the end of March, shot just 7 of 20 from the field, but he still came up big with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points, while Josh Hart added 17 points off the bench.
As for the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell – who was strongly linked with a move to the Knicks in the offseason – had a huge Game 1 with 38 points and 8 assists.
But the Cavs were unable to get much support for Mitchell. Darius Garland had 17 points, but second-year forward Evan Mobley had just 8 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
MVP finalist Embiid leads Sixers to victory
Joel Embiid marked the NBA 2023 news that he was once again a finalist for the coveted NBA MVP award in style as he scored a team-high 26 points in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 121-101 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
James Harden had a double-double with 23 points and 13 assists, while Tobias Harris added 21 points in support of Embiid. Mikal Bridges had 30 points for the Nets in a losing effort.
Embiid, who is the favourite according to the NBA 2023 odds to win MVP for the first time, joins two-time MVPs Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Embiid led the NBA in scoring for the second straight season as he averaged a career-high 33 points per game.
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