Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons win NBA semi-final openers
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons secured home victories to take 1-0 leads in their respective NBA Conference semi-final series on Tuesday.
Thunder overpower Lakers in West
The defending champions, entering as the Western Conference’s top seed, produced a dominant 108-90 win to open the best-of-seven match-up.
A suffocating defensive effort by the hosts restricted Los Angeles to their lowest points tally in a post-season game since 2021.
Chet Holmgren spearheaded the home side’s balanced attack, recording a formidable double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and team-mate Ajay Mitchell provided crucial support by contributing 18 points apiece.
James shines but Lakers falter
Despite the heavy defeat, veteran forward LeBron James delivered a valiant individual performance to finish with a game-high 27 points.
The visitors were heavily punished for their sloppy play against the reigning title holders.
“You’re playing the world champs, your margin for error in terms of mistakes is not that high,” said Lakers head coach JJ Redick.
“[There were] just too many tonight. We’ve got to clean that up.”
Los Angeles were also missing injured guard Luka Doncic, who remains sidelined with a hamstring issue and is doubtful for game two on Thursday.
Pistons hold off Cavaliers rally
In the Eastern Conference, top-seeded Detroit drew first blood by securing a hard-fought 111-101 victory over Cleveland.
The home side established an early advantage and successfully navigated a late surge from the visitors to close out the contest.
Playmaker Cade Cunningham guided the Michigan franchise with 23 points, while veteran forward Tobias Harris chipped in with 20 of his own.
Donovan Mitchell matched Cunningham’s tally to lead the scoring for the Cavaliers.
Backcourt partner James Harden added 22 points for Cleveland, but a costly seven turnovers blighted his overall impact on the game.