For the first time since 2003 (Pistons, Spurs), both No. 1 seeds in the NBA playoffs lost their opening games, as the Lakers fell to the Trail Blazers 100-93 after the Bucks were knocked off 122-110 by the Magic.
Damian Lillard, by far the best player in the NBA’s bubble thus far, had 34 points for Portland and outshined a monster game from LeBron James that saw the 35-year-old star notch his 24th postseason triple-double (23 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists), his first for Los Angeles in the playoffs.
In the earlier upset, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists for Milwaukee but was held without a field goal over the final 11 minutes of the game as Orlando held onto its lead. For the Magic, Nikola Vucevic scored a playoff career-high 35 points and had 14 rebounds while Terrence Ross had 18 points and D.J. Augustin chipped in 11 points and 11 assists for Orlando.
Giannis spins & slams to headline Tuesday's TOP 10 PLAYS! #WholeNewGame #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Ocf3CRzsjL
— NBA (@NBA) August 19, 2020
“Every game since we’ve been here has been a playoff game. So that prepared us for a game like this,” Lillard said. “It’s only one win. I’m happy to be here competing in the playoffs again, but we’ve got to move on to the next one.”
The Blazers and Magic now lead their best-of-seven series 1-0.
“You have to really be ready for what they do,” Vucevic said. “Especially us against a team like Milwaukee where we have to make sure we know their stuff and we are prepared for everything. Tonight, we definitely were on top of that. We did a good job executing the game plan.”
In 2003, the Spurs still made the NBA Finals despite losing their playoff opener and actually won the championship. Their opponents were the Nets, not the Pistons.
The @orlandomagic, @miamiheat, @houstonrockets & @trailblazers each take 1-0 series leads in Tuesday’s #NBAPlayoffs action! #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/jELtH02tJ7
— NBA (@NBA) August 19, 2020
In the other two games on Tuesday, the Rockets beat the Thunder 123-108 behind 37 points from James Harden, and the Heat beat the Pacers with Jimmy Butler (28 points), Goran Dragić (24) and Bam Adebayo (17) leading the way.
The playoffs resume again this afternoon with another four-game slate.
Back at it in 12 hours!
The #NBAPlayoffs continue Wednesday with hoops all day on NBA TV & TNT! #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/MtWLQFoa6u
— NBA (@NBA) August 19, 2020
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