Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant hit 32 points and 12 rebounds to help notch his side a 104-93 victory over visitors Boston Celtics in the opening game of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs Saturday.
Kyrie Irving scored 29 points and James Harden added 21 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals for the second-seeded Nets. The contest was just the ninth in which Durant, Harden and Irving played together.
Jayson Tatum scored 22 points for seventh-seeded Boston but he was just six of 20 from the field.
Marcus Smart scored 17 points and Kemba Walker added 15 for the Celtics. Robert Williams III contributed 11 points, nine rebounds and nine blocked shots, with the rejections falling just one shy of the NBA postseason record.
Khris Middleton's pull-up jumper with 0.5 seconds left in overtime lifted host Milwaukee Bucks over Miami Heat to a 109-107 win in their first playoffs game.
Middleton led the Bucks with 27 points, six rebounds and six assists while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The Heat had one final chance after Jimmy Butler took the inbound pass from Goran Dragic, but could not get his shot off thanks to tight defense from Jrue Holiday as time expired.
In Los Angeles, Dorian Finney-Smith hit two late 3-pointers, one triggering a 7-0 burst that broke a tie and propelled visiting Dallas Mavericks to a 113-103 win over fourth-seeded Clippers in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven is scheduled for Tuesday, also in Los Angeles.
Hitting four of his five 3-point attempts, Finney-Smith finished with 18 points, while Luka Doncic had a game-high 31 as part of a triple-double and Tim Hardaway Jr. 21 for the Mavericks, who won the season series 2-1 over the Clippers.
Damian Lillard finished with 34 points and 13 assists, CJ McCollum scored 21 points, as visiting Portland Trail Blazer beat Denver Nuggets 123-109 in their NBA Playoffs Game 1.
Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony scored 18 points, Anfernee Simons had 14 and Norman Powell scored 10 for the sixth-seeded Trail Blazers.
Nikola Jokic had 34 points and 16 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, Aaron Gordon tallied 16 points and eight boards, and Monte Morris finished added 10 points off the bench for third-seeded Denver.
