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The Rundown w/T-Money

Rundown 8.18.20 – No Surprises, Top Seeds Take Care of Business

There weren’t any eye opening surprises on the opening night of the NBA Playoffs, unless you count Donovan Mitchell’s 57 point explosion, or Luka Doncic’s 42 in his playoff debut. But both efforts ended in losses for the Jazz and Mavericks.

There weren’t any eye opening surprises on the opening night of the NBA Playoffs, unless you count Donovan Mitchell’s 57 point explosion, or Luka Doncic’s 42 in his playoff debut. But both efforts ended in losses for the Jazz and Mavericks.

All the higher seeded teams took care of business and won their opening games in last night’s action. Tonight, we’ll see how the Portland Trailblazers – and Las Vegas bookmakers – do against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Toronto looks ready. That other L.A. team looks ready. We’ll see if the vaunted purple and gold can live up to their hype.

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Utah Jazz  125
Denver Nuggets  135 (OT)

Eighty-two feet above sea level seems to be suiting the Denver Nuggets just fine. Sure the air is heavier and more humid, a tad more polluted than the winds coming off the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, but the environment in the bubble has the Mile High guys flying high after their 10 point overtime win over the Utah Jazz.

Donovan Mitchell may have erupted for a team playoff milestone, scoring 57 points on 57.6 percent shooting, but the Nuggets have Jamal Murray back in their rotation, and are certainly glad for him, and he’s making the most of it.

Murray, who missed the first four games of the seeding schedule, is back with a vengeance, scoring 10 of his team high 36 points in the 20-point overtime period to give the Nuggets the win over the out of sync Jazz. He also had nine assists.

In the battle of the bigs, Nikola Jokic outdid perennial defensive specialist Rudy Gobert, dropping 29 and 10, nearly doubling Gobert’s output without breaking much of a sweat himself. Jerami Grant had 19, Monte Morris had 14, Michael Porter Jr. finished with 13, and Torrey Craig popped for 11 on the night. 

The Nuggets have yet to play a game with Gary Harris and Will Barton on the floor.

The Jazz are most assuredly missing Bojan Bogdanovic’s 20.2 points per game, and were without Mike Conley’s 14.4 ppg average as well; Conley left the bubble for the birth of his son back in Ohio.

Aside from Spida’s spectacular night, Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson combined for 37 points, while Gobert finished with a humble 17 points, seven rebounds.

Only Michael Jordan and Elgin Baylor have scored more points in a playoff game than Mitchell; Jordan had the well documented 63 against the Boston Celtics and Baylor dropped 61 points for the Los Angeles Lakers, also against the Boston Celtics.

UTAH JAZZ (0-1)DENVER NUGGETS (1-0)
Donovan Mitchell
57 points – nine rebounds – seven assists – one steal
Jamal Murray
36 points – five rebounds – nine assists – one steal
Joe Ingles
19 points – five rebounds – six assists – one steal
Nikola Jokic
29 points – 10 rebounds – three assists – two steals – one block
Jordan Clarkson
18 points – four rebounds – three assists
Jerami Grant
19 points – three assists – one steal – one block

NEXT GAMES (All Times Eastern)
August 17: Nuggets 135 – Jazz 125 (OT)
August 19: Jazz vs. Nuggets – 4 p.m. – TNT
August 21: Nuggets vs. Jazz – 4 p.m. – TNT
August 23: Nuggets vs. Jazz – 9 p.m. – TNT
August 25: Jazz vs. Nuggets – TBD – TBD
August 27: Nuggets vs. Jazz – TBD – ESPN
August 29: Jazz vs. Nuggets – TBD – TNT

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Toronto Raptors  134
Brooklyn Nets  110

If you thought the Brooklyn Nets were going to pose any danger to the NBA Champion Toronto Raptors, you’re a bold optimist.

Toronto shot out to a 37-20 first quarter and truly never looked back, unless you count their third quarter respite, as they cruised to the 24 point win last night, their first playoff win in defense of their NBA championship.

Fred VanVleet was back in the flow of things after the last couple of games, leading the Raptors to victory with 30 points on a blistering 73.3 shooting streak, also dishing out 11 dimes on the night. The Raptors shot 50 percent from downtown in the win, with VanVleet hitting a scorching 80 percent outside the arc. Toronto led, 68-35, at one point in the game’s first half.

Surely it was nice to get the monkey off their backs by winning the game in such convincing fashion, as well. The Raptors had lost their opening NBA playoff game five of the last six times out. Though they have handily won their four previous first round series, nothing was going to get in the way of them winning their opening playoff game last night.

Toronto’s big men combined for 40 points and 18 rebounds on the night, while Kyle Lowry finished with 16, seven rebounds and six assists, Marc Gasol had 13 points, O.G. Anunoby with a dozen, and 11 from Terence Davis off the bench.

Short-handed but valiant Brooklyn was led by Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot’s 26 point night, while Joe Harris finished up with 19 points and six rebounds. Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert had a case of the 15’s – Allen had 15 points, as did LeVert, while LeVert also had 15 assists on the night. Allen had 12 boards. 

Garrett Temple finished with 12 points, while the recently signed Jamal Crawford did not play (strained left hamstring). The Nets could have used some veteran leadership. 

BROOKLYN NETS (0-1)TORONTO RAPTORS (1-0)
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
26 points – seven rebounds – two assists
Fred VanVleet
30 points – two rebounds – 11 assists – two steals – one block
Joe Harris
19 points – six rebounds – two assists
Serge Ibaka
22 points – seven rebounds – three assists – one block
Jarrett Allen
15 points – 12 rebounds – one assist – one steal – one block
Pascal Siakam
18 points – 11 rebounds – one assist
Caris LeVert
15 points – seven rebounds – 15 assists – one steal

NEXT GAMES (All Times Eastern)
August 17: Raptors 134, Nets 110
August 19: Nets vs. Raptors – 4 p.m. – NBATV
August 21: Raptors vs. Nets – 1:30 p.m. – NBATV
August 23: Raptors vs. Nets – 1:30 p.m. – TNT
August 25: Nets vs. Raptors – TBD – TBD
August 27: Raptors vs. Nets – TBD – ESPN
August 29: Nets vs, Raptors – TBD – TNT

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Philadelphia 76ers  101
Boston Celtics  109

In a seesaw affair that saw momentum swings and runs through the second, third, and fourth quarters, the Boston Celtics did what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, and pulled out an eight point win over the Philadelphia 76ers last night behind a 12 point margin in the fourth quarter that pulled the win out from under the Sixers.

Philadelphia’s big dogs expended some of their best stats in the first half, then ran out of gas as the Celtics rode career high numbers from Jayson Tatum, who finished with personal bests of 32 points and 13 rebounds to carry the Celtics. Jaylen Brown, who often trades with Tatum for game leader, but more often plays second fiddle, was honorable in both last night, adding 29 points and six rebounds.

Kemba Walker chipped in 19 points, and Gordon Hayward finished with a dozen, before suffering an ankle sprain in the fourth quarter in friendly fire. No other Boston player scored in double digits, the highest was Daniel Thies with nine points on 44.4 percent shooting, and was the one who had his foot under Hayward’s in the ankle incident.

Philadelphia, without the services of Ben Simmons, were led by previously ailing center Joel Embiid, who made things tough for Thies and the Celtics with 26 points and 16 rebounds on the night. My University of Tennessee guys combined for 33 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists between #VFL Josh Richardson and #VFL Tobias Harris. 

Shake Milton added 13. Richardson and Alec Burks mirrored one another, both with 18 points, six rebounds, and two assists on the night. Richardson shot 41.2 percent while Burks shot 40.0 percent. 

Philadelphia led 85-81 heading into the fourth quarter, but shot only 26 percent in the final period to seal their fate.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (0-1)BOSTON CELTICS (1-0)
Joel Embiid
26 points – 16 rebounds – one assist – two steals – one block
Jayson Tatum
32 points – 13 rebounds – one assist – three blocks
#VFL Josh Richardson
18 points – six rebounds – two assists
Jaylen Brown
29 points – six rebounds – four assists – three steals
Alec Burks
18 points – six rebounds – two assists
Kemba Walker
19 points – one rebound – five assists – one steal

NEXT GAMES (All Times Eastern)
August 17: Celtics 109, Sixers 101
August 19: Sixers vs. Celtics – 6:30 p.m. – TNT
August 21: Celtics vs. Sixers – 6:30 p.m. – TNT
August 23: Celtics vs. Sixers – 1 p.m. – ABC
August 25: Sixers vs. Celtics – TBD – TBD
August 27: Celtics vs. Sixers – TBD – ESPN
August 29: Sixers vs. Celtics – TBD – TNT

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Dallas Mavericks  110
Los Angeles Clippers  118

For awhile there, it seemed that the Dallas Mavericks had saved their energies from the underwhelming performances in the eight seeding games for the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the favored Los Angeles Clippers.

They shot 60 percent in the first quarter en route to a 38-34 lead after one, then led 69-66 at the half. But then they ran out of gas, only showing up for 13 points in a fateful third quarter as the Clippers outscored them by 10 in the second half to take the game.

Luka Doncic flirted with a triple double, but even 42 points wasn’t enough as Kristaps Porzingis was practically a ghost of the Kristaps Porzingis that we saw over the past two weeks and the Mavericks, like the Lakers, really don’t have much beyond their Big Two, thanks to two techs and getting tossed after 20 minutes of play. 

Last night, they hardly had that as Porzingis only accounted for 14 and Tim Hardaway, Jr. had 18. Seth Curry also only had 14 points.

Meanwhile, the Clippers showed why they picked up Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Marcus Morris. The Trio combined for 75 of the team’s 118 points. Leonard led the team with a very solid line of 29 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and three steals, showing championship mettle in the win.

George shot 45.5 for his 27 points, while Morris hit 61.5 percent of his 13 attempts. Lou Williams was back in his sixth man role off the bench, hitting for 14 points, while Ivica Zubac started at center and went 10 and 10 on the night against the ghost.

Without Porzingis, all the Clippers had to do was let Doncic get his and shut the rest of the team down. Sadly, the young man making his playoff debut didn’t fare much better than Donovan Mitchell in carrying his team last night.

Realize, this is a Clippers team where Montrezl Harrell hasn’t even been a factor yet. Scary.

DALLAS MAVERICKS (0-1)LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (1-0)
Luka Doncic
42 points – seven rebounds – nine assists – three steals
Kawhi Leonard
29 points – 12 rebounds – six assists – three steals
Tim Hardaway, Jr.
18 points – six rebounds – one assist – one steal
Paul George
27 points – two rebounds – three assists – two steals
Kristaps Porzingis
14 points – six rebounds – one assist – one block
Marcus Morris
19 points – six rebounds – one assist – four steals

NEXT GAMES (All Times Eastern)
August 17: Clippers 118, Mavericks 110
August 19: Mavericks vs. Clippers – 9 p.m. – TNT
August 21: Clippers vs. Mavericks – 9 p.m. – TNT
August 23: Clippers vs. Mavericks – 3:30 p.m. – ABC
August 25: Mavericks vs. Clippers – TBD – TBD
August 27: Clippers vs. Mavericks – TBD – ESPN
August 29: Mavericks vs. Clippers – TBD – TNT

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TOMORROW’S LINEUP (All Times Eastern)

1:30 p.m.
Orlando Magic
Milwaukee Bucks
TNT
4 p.m.
Miami Heat
Indiana Pacers
TNT
6:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Houston Rockets
TNT
9 p.m.
Portland Trailblazers
Los Angeles Lakers
TNT

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Tracy Graven is a Senior NBA Analyst for BackSportsPage.com.
He has written the NBA, and done NBA radio, for the last two decades for HoopsWorld, Swish Magazine, and HoopsHype, the Coach Scott Fields Show and NBARadioShow.com, and is also tackling the NFL, NCAA, and will be pinch-hitting on some Major League Baseball coverage for BackSportsPage.
He’s spent 20 years in locker rooms in 

  • Orlando
  • Boise (G League) 
  • San Antonio
  • Phoenix
  • Denver
  • Oklahoma City
  • Atlanta 

A corporate trainer by day, he currently resides in SEC Country near Knoxville, Tennessee.
Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia

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