This season's title favorite Boston Celtics started the playoffs with a convincing 114-94 victory over the Miami Heat at home in the first game of the series between the two teams. Jayson Tatum and company scored the first 14 points of the game and until the end did not allow the opponent to think about a turnaround, the lead of the hosts reached 34 points at the beginning of the fourth part before the starters got a break.
The Celtics made 22 triples for the win, and Tatum had his first triple-double in a playoff game - 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Derrick White added 20 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 18, Jaylen Brown finished with 17, and two other players reached the 10-point mark, with all eight players making at least one three-pointer. For Miami, which is without injured star Jimmy Butler, center Bam Adebayo scored 24 points.
In the Western derby, the LA Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks 109-97 at home, despite Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving scoring a combined 64 points for the Mavericks. The regular-season leader Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 94-92 in front of their home crowd, while the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Indiana Pacers 109-94 at home. /BGNES
