By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The underdog tale came in full play as 8th seeded Memphis Grizzlies beat top-seeded Utah Jazz 112-109 in their series opener on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference first-round playoffs.
Dillon Brooks led the way for Memphis with 31 points in his playoffs debut, Ja Morant had 26, while Jonas Valanciunas posted a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Utah’s late run into the game wasn’t enough to help them recover from the deficit. Bojan Bogdanovic led all scorers of the team with 29 points, Mike Conley added 22 points and Rudy Gobert posted 11 points and 15 rebounds.
“We got a few moments when we were distracted, disconnected,” said big man Gobert. “Every time they score, they are talking, and we know that’s the way they like to play, so we can’t let that affect us.”
Moving East, Trae Young lifted the Atlanta Hawks to a 107-105 win over the New York Knicks with a game-winner in the final 0.9 seconds of the game that silenced the crowd of New York. Young added a total of 32 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Hawks took a 1-0 lead in their first-round series.
Bogdan Bogdanovic followed his lead with 18 points, 4 rebounds and Danilo Gallinari added 7 points coming from the bench.
On the other end of the court, Alec Burks had 27 points for New York and Derrick Rose added 17.
The Phoenix Suns also took a 1-0 lead against reigning champions Los Angeles Lakers after prevailing over with a 99-90 victory in the series opener.
A tough win for Phoenix as All-Star guard Chris Paul was grimacing in pain early in the fourth quarter, playing with one shoulder, while Cameron Payne had just been ejected. Despite the difficulties, Devin Booker was there to lead the team with 34 points, 8 assists and 7 boards, followed by Deandre Ayton’s 21 points.
LeBron James paced the Lakers with a double-double of 18 points, 10 assists, while Dennis Schroder added 14 points.
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