The Bucks and Warriors struck the first blow against the Celtics and Grizzlies, respectively, at the start of the NBA conference semifinals.
After their triumphant ride against the Brooklyn Nets (4-0), the Boston Celtics they came face to face with the iron defense of the Milwaukee Buckswho won the first game of the Eastern semifinals in the NBA this Sunday (89-101).
As expected, the Celtics and Bucks met in a very physical and demanding fight, with an immense fight for each ball and with the defenses suffocating the attacks from the first minute.
There the Bucks came out victorious, very athletic and totally focused, to reduce some Celtics that were far from that rocky and tireless team that has amazed the NBA this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (triple-double of 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists) was together with Jrue Holiday (25 points and 9 rebounds) the leader of some very hard-working Bucks and in which guerrilla fighters like Brook López and Wes Matthews also stood out in defense.
The formidable intimidation of the Bucks in the paint forced the Celtics to resort to the perimeter with poor results (18 of 50 in triples, 10 of 34 in shots of two).
Jrue Holiday led Milwaukee in scoring while picking pockets on defense in the @Bucks Game 1 victory to start the series up 1-0! #FearTheDeer@Jrue_Holiday11: 25 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL
Game 2: BUCKS/CELTICS Tue. 7pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/Y3xKaFND9M
— NBA (@NBA) May 1, 2022
Especially disappointing were the performances of Jayson Tatum (21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Jaylen Brown (12 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists).
Game 2 of this series will be played on Tuesday, also in Boston, before traveling to Milwaukee for Games 3 and 4.
Warriors took advantage over Grizzlies
After suffering in the second quarter the controversial expulsion of Draymond Green, the Golden State Warriors recovered in the second half to score the victory away from home in a very exciting first game of the NBA West semifinal against the Memphis Grizzlies by 116-117.
With 1:18 to go until the break, Draymond Green hit Brandon Clarke in the face trying to block his shot and then grabbed the Grizzlies player by the jersey, who ended up on the ground.
Everything indicated that the play would end in a flagrant type 1, but the referees, whose performance was much discussed throughout the afternoon, whistled a flagrant type 2 after reviewing the images and sent Green off.
Without their reference in the interior and defense, the Warriors gave a great image in the last two quarters and were more successful than Memphis in a very tight outcome.
Ja Morant had a drive at the buzzer to give the Grizzlies the win, but his shot missed.
Jordan Poole (31 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists) and Stephen Curry (24 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists) were the top scorers for the Warriors, although the key player in the end was Klay Thompson with a providential triple with 36 seconds remaining.
Jordan Poole was BALLING in Game 1 ????
He set a playoff career-high in points (31) in the @warriors Game 1 victory to open the series 1-0! #DubNation
Game 2: WARRIORS/GRIZZLIES Tue. 9:30pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/RkADi99Hk8
— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2022
Ja Morant (34 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists) was as close to the triple-double as being the hero of a Grizzlies in which Jaren Jackson Jr. also shone (33 points, with 6 triples, and 10 rebounds).
This Western semifinal comes with the attraction of seeing veteran Warriors on the court, hardened in a thousand battles (in addition to three rings in the last decade) against some rebellious and impetuous Grizzlies, who threaten to turn the NBA upside down.
The second game of the series will be played this Tuesday also in Memphis.