Oklahoma beat New Orleans in a cautious game, Boston led by Jayson Tatum confirmed as the favorite

A very cautious and defensive game was played on the floor of Oklahoma City, which barely confirmed its role as a favorite and defeated New Orleans by a close score of 94:92. It was Boston who beat Miami on their home court and Jayson Tatum had a triple-double.

A very close game in Oklahoma City

The Oklahoma vs New Orleans game was evenly matched from start to finish. There were no scoring frenzies, instead the game was very much tied by defensive tactics. Neither team wanted to pile on the mistakes and focused primarily on defense.

That’s why in this cautious game no one crossed the 30 points scored mark. The top scorer of the night was the home team’s Shai Gilgeous – Alexander with 28 points, he also added 6 rebounds and recorded 4 successful assists.

In the first quarter of the game, both teams managed to score only 17 points, as the second quarter ended in a tie as well, going into the locker room with a score of 43:43. Oklahoma then turned the game over to their side after the 3rd quarter, which they managed to win by 6 points. New Orleans, however, made a strong run in the last part of the game and was more successful in the end. In the end, it wasn’t enough and they lost by only two points.

The Pelicans once again had to do without their biggest star Zion Williamson, and as Brandon Ingram didn’t score enough points, CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III took over the scoring duties and contributed 41 points for their team.

It was McCollum who could have tied the game in the final seconds of the game, but he missed a 3-pointer. Thus, Oklahoma is enjoying its first home playoff victory since 2019. Tonight’s game was very indicative of the development of this series. Oklahoma will not have it so easy.

Boston confirmed as the favorite

In the game Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat (114:94), the best team of the regular season clearly confirmed the role of the favorite. The Celtics had the game firmly in hand from the very beginning and were already leading by double digits at halftime. In the third quarter, they outscored the Heat by a full 17 points.

The game was decided long before the end. The Celtics were able to spare the mainstays of the team and it didn’t change the fact that the Heat dominated the last quarter by a large margin. Boston’s victory was mainly due to the great interplay of the starting lineup.

Jayson Tatum even recorded his first career triple-double in the playoffs. He put 23 points in the Heat’s basket and also scored 10 assists and rebounds each. Miami was led by Bam Adebayo with 24 points, but he did virtually nothing on Boston’s home floor and will be happy to play at least one winning game in this series.

L.A. won the remaining games. The Clippers beat Dallas 109:97 and Millwaukee beat Indiana 109:94.

Source: NBA