Detroit took care of business in Game 1 to record a 111-101 victory over Cleveland. It looked like things were falling apart for the hosts as Cleveland went on a 0-11 fourth quarter run to tie the game at 93-93. However, Detroit responded in style, scoring six consecutive points to rebuild a buffer, and their defence did the job from there, limiting Cleveland down the stretch to make it a winning start to the series. The Cade Cunningham-Jalen Duren combination was crucial down the stretch, with the point guard setting up Duren for a trio of dunks to re-establish Detroit’s lead and cap off an impressive performance. While Cunningham’s shooting was off, going just 6/19 from the field, he shot 9/11 from the free throw line to get to 23 points, seven assists and two steals, while Duren had a double-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Daniss Jenkins was also huge in the clutch, picking up crucial steals and transition points on his way to 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals. The other role players did their jobs too, with Duncan Robinson draining five three-pointers on his way to 19 points, Tobias Harris had 20 points and eight boards, and Ausar Thompson had 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists to see Detroit really flex their defensive muscles in the series opener.
Cleveland will be disappointed that they let a good chance slip on Wednesday after coming back to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter. Trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half and going into quarter time down 21-37, Cleveland took a while to get back into the game. An 11-0 run in the fourth quarter, led by nine points from James Harden, got them back into the contest, tying the scores at 93-93 with five and a half minutes to play. However, Cleveland’s scoring went cold from there, with Harden and Mitchell especially struggling to make much more of an impact, while their ball security and their transition defence really let them down in the clutch. Harden finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two blocks, while Mitchell had 23 points, but turnovers from both star guards killed Cleveland. Harden contributed seven TOs and Mitchell three to set up 31 Detroit points off turnovers to make it very hard for Cleveland to win this clash, but the fact that they came close to doing so will give them hope if they can tidy up their ball security. Evan Mobley had his moments with 14 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks and Max Strus shot well for 19 points but a particularly quiet night from Jarrett Allen, who was often in foul trouble and played just 18 minutes, did not help Cleveland’s chances.
Given how the opening three quarters played out and that Cleveland still found themselves well in the hunt late in the fourth quarter, the visitors are well positioned for a bounce-back result in Game 2. Mitchell will be better and I am expecting some type of regression from Robinson, Jenkins or Harris, meaning the door will be wide open for a Cleveland win on Friday.
Oklahoma City continued their unbeaten run in the playoffs, thumping Los Angeles 108-90 in Game 1 of their series on Wednesday. It was another amazing defensive display from the defending champions, recording a 95.6 defensive rating and holding Los Angeles to just a 46.4% eFG% to cruise to victory at home. OKC’s lead was only eight points at halftime, but they really started to turn up the defensive heat in the second half to limit the visitors to just 37 points in the second half and run away with the victory. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received plenty of defensive pressure and double teams, resulting in one of his worst games of the season, with seven turnovers to go with 18 points, six assists and two blocks. His support players did more than enough when he kicked it out of double teams though, led by Chet Holmgren’s 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, while his big man partner Isaiah Hartenstein had eight points, nine rebounds, four assists and one block in a very strong defensive showing. Ajay Mitchell’s ability to get to the rim was evident across the contest, as he had 18 points and four assists, and Jared McCain drilled four threes for 12 points and two assists.
Austin Reaves wasn’t able to provide the Lakers anything in what was a terrible performance from one of Los Angeles’ stars. JJ Redick would have been hoping to lean on Reaves and LeBron James to run LA’s offence, but the guard was unable to ever get going, recording eight points, five rebounds and six assists on just 3/16 shooting from the floor. It was just his third game back from injury, but the Lakers will need a lot more from Reaves if they are to have any success in this series. James was impressive, posting 27 points on 77.4% TS%, to go with six assists and one steal, and Smart was responsible for a lot of the defensive pressure thrown at SGA, as Smart lodged 12 points, four rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Rui Hachimura hit his shots for 18 points and Deandre Ayton had 10 points and 11 boards, but LA’s offence was never consistent or reliable, making for a rough series opener.
I will be shocked if Reaves is anywhere near as bad on Friday and his return to some kind of form will make the Lakers much more competitive. OKC will be better prepared for the double teams going SGA’s way but they got a lot out of the wider squad and shot 43% from deep, which I am not picking them to do again, making this a tighter contest.