Thunder and Celtics secure dominant victories in NBA playoff openers
Defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics have both secured dominant home victories to open their respective NBA playoff campaigns.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points as the top-seeded Thunder routed the Phoenix Suns 119-84 in the Western Conference.
The reigning league MVP did the bulk of his damage from the foul line, hitting 15 of his 17 free throws before resting for the entire fourth quarter.
Jalen Williams contributed 22 points and Chet Holmgren added 16 to help the hosts take early control of the series.
Holmgren sparks early surge
Phoenix initially took a 5-0 lead as the home side started slowly following a week off.
However, the momentum shifted when Dillon Brooks was called for a flagrant foul after catching Holmgren in the face during the first quarter.
That incident ignited a 12-2 run for Oklahoma City, capped by a spectacular buzzer-beating three-pointer from the young center to end the opening period.
Devin Booker top-scored for the visitors with 23 points, but the Suns struggled immensely on offense and shot just 34.9% from the field.
Tatum returns to inspire Boston
In the Eastern Conference, Jayson Tatum starred in his first playoff appearance since rupturing his Achilles tendon last season.
The returning forward registered 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to lead the second-seeded Boston Celtics to a 123-91 demolition of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Tatum had played just 17 games during the regular season following surgery last May, but he looked completely back to his best with a 21-point first-half display.
Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 26 points as Boston built a massive 35-point advantage without ever trailing in the contest.
“That was Celtics basketball. We’ve been the harder-playing team all year. That can’t change now that the playoffs have started.” – Jaylen Brown
Philadelphia struggled significantly without their injured talisman Joel Embiid, leaving Tyrese Maxey to carry the scoring burden with a team-high 21 points.
