Anthony Davis called himself out for a lack of intensity after the Los Angeles Lakers dropped their series opener in Phoenix against the Suns. Credit the Suns for coming out with the right game plan, but we could also ask why LeBron James decided not to attack the rim during the game. His high ankle sprain may still be playing more of a role in his game than observers thought. Portland and Dallas picked up road wins to open their series, with Dallas taking a 1-0 lead in a playoff series for the first time in ten years.
Let’s take a look at the Game 2’s in each Western Conference series, along with our online NBA betting predictions for each game.
NBA News: Western Conference Playoff Update (First Round)
Monday, May 24
Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets (10:00 pm ET, TNT)
Trail Blazers lead, 1-0
Portland snowed the Nuggets in with three-point avalanche, winning 123-109. Damian Lillard had 34 points and 13 assists. The most unusual number for the game, though, was not the shooting percentage, as the Trail Blazers can fill up the basket. The team limited Nikola Jokic to just one assist, his season low. He had averaged a career high 8.3 assists per game all season. He did have 34 to match Lillard, but he could not fulfill the playmaking role that he normally occupies in the Denver offense.
Portland went 19 of 40 from behind the arc, with Lillard making five and Carmelo Anthony and Anfernee Simmons nailing four apiece. Anthony ended up putting up 18 points, and C.J. McCollum added 21. Michael Porter Jr scored 25 for the Nuggets but just made 1 of 10 shots from downtown. Aaron Gordon contributed 16 points. Can the Nuggets reconfigure their offense for Game 2?
Final Score Prediction:
Nuggets 117, Trail Blazers 111
Tuesday, May 25
L.A. Lakers at Phoenix Suns (10:00 pm ET, TNT)
Suns lead, 1-0
Phoenix ground out an old-school 99-90 win over the Lakers on Sunday, with two normally high-octane offenses settling into a slugfest. Devin Booker led Phoenix with 34 points, and Deandre Ayton put up 21 points and 16 rebounds. Chris Paul injured his right shoulder in the second quarter, but Mikal Bridges was among a group of Suns who stepped up. The Suns had a 16-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but then the Lakers went on a 7-0 run, and then a quick fracas ensued.
After the teams were separated, the Suns kept generating offense, with Booker making shots and Ayton pulling down boards on both ends of the floor. Ayton ended up with 10 of 11 shooting from the floor. LeBron James had 18 points, 10 assists and seven boards but was strangely passive inside. Anthony Davis went just 5 of 16 from the floor, scoring 13 points. The Lakers made just 7 of 26 three-point shots. However, the Lakers went down a game to start each of their first two playoff series a year ago and still won the NBA championship.
Final Score Prediction:
Suns 107, Lakers 101
Dallas Mavericks at L.A. Clippers (10:30 pm ET, NBA TV)
Mavericks lead, 1-0
Luka Doncic now has three triple-doubles in seven career playoff games. No other Dallas Maverick in franchise history has any triple-doubles in postseason play, not even the legendary Dirk Nowitzki, and not such 1980s icons as Rolando Blackman or Mark Aguirre, who keyed runs as far as the Western Conference Finals, as the team always seemed to run into the Showtime edition of the Lakers. He put up 31 points, 11 boards and 10 assists on Saturday. He only had one point in the fourth quarter, but Tim Hardaway Jr (21 points) and Dorian Finney-Smith (18) were other Mavericks on hand to take up the scoring as the Clippers started double-teaming Doncic. Kristaps Porzingis had 14 points and showed no signs of trouble with his ailing knee.
For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard put up 26 points and 10 boards, and Paul George scored 23. The duo went just 3 of 14 from behind the arc, though, and the Clippers went 11 of 40 as a team despite leading the NBA with 41 percent three-point shooting on the season. The Clippers made a run early in the fourth quarter to take a lead, but then Dallas turned up the pressure down the stretch, finishing the game on an 18-5 run.
Final Score Prediction:
Clippers 114, Mavericks 107
NBA Betting Odds
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