The LA Lakers and Miami Heat, who entered the playoffs through the play-in tournament, won the first round. Japanese NBA leaguer Rui Hachimura (LA Lakers) stood out.
The Los Angeles Lakers, the 7th seed in the West, defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, the 2nd seed, 128-112 in the first round of the 2022-2023 NBA Western Conference Quarterfinals held at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee, USA on the 17th (hereinafter Korean time). won
Hachimura made a big success with 29 points and 6 rebounds, including 5 3-pointers. LeBron James scored 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Anthony Davis scored 22 points, 12 rebounds and 7 blocks. The Lakers threw 39 3-pointers that day and made 16 of them. Austin Reeves also added 23 points and D’Angelo Russell added 19 points. Memphis did not stand out with Ja Morant scoring 18 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 31 points, but it wasn’t enough.
The eighth-seeded Miami Heat in the East beat the first-seeded Milwaukee Bucks 130-117 to take Game 1. Ace Jimmy Butler played a big role with 35 points and 11 assists. Bam Adebayo was also good with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Milwaukee’s Chris Middleton scored 33 points, but Giannis Antetokounmpo tied for 6 points in 10 minutes and 50 seconds. After breaking through in the first quarter and getting injured, he couldn’t play anymore.
The Los Angeles Clippers,메이저놀이터 the 5th seed in the West, beat the 4th seed Phoenix Suns 115-110 in Game 1. Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points, including three 3-pointers. Here, Russell Westbrook only scored 9 points, but added 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 blocks. Defense was better than attack. In Phoenix, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker scored 27 and 26 points.
The only game a top seed won was the Denver Nuggets, the No. 1 seed in the West. They won Game 1 against the 8th seed Minnesota Timberwolves 109-80. Jamal Murray scored 24 points and Michael Porter Jr. scored 18 points. Nikola Jokic recorded 13 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists. For Minnesota, Anthony Edwards scored 18 points.