Los Angeles enters the second round of the playoffs, driven by Kawhi Leonard, and will now face Utah. Good start to the series for Atlanta
Are the Clippers the last team Nba to access the Conference semifinals: in race-7 Los Angeles knocks out Dallas, thanks to Kawhi Leonard’s 28 points, and now he will face Utah. Crazy game of Atlanta in Philadelphia in game-1 of the second round of the playoffs: the Hawks also touch +26 before collapsing in the final and risking to suffer the sensational comeback. Trae Young’s 35 points are decisive; 9 adds Danilo Gallinari leaving the bench.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS-DALLAS MAVERICKS 126-111
The reverse home factor suffers an abrupt stop in game-7: after six consecutive games in which the away team always won, this time the Clippers do not disappoint in front of their fans and eliminate Dallas. The hosts’ choral play favors Kawhi Leonard, better than his team with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists; the result at the end of the first 12 minutes sees the Mavericks lead 38-35. In the second quarter the guests begin to lose too many balls and the Californians manage to find space to overtake and end the first half with the lead with the result of 70-62. Upon returning from the locker rooms, the Mavs immediately start with their foot on the accelerator and impact the match after three laps of the clock. But LA replies immediately with a 10-0 run, which restores the distance. In the meantime, Marcus Morris lights up and inflames the Staples Center punctually punishing from the arc: at the partial end the result says 100-85. Total management for LA in the last quarter. For the Clippers there are 23 points from an excellent Marcus Morris; 22 points and 10 assists from Paul George. On the other hand, nothing to do for Luka Doncic despite his 46 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists. In the next round the Clippers will face Utah.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS-ATLANTA HAWKS 124-128
Atlanta takes game-1 of the Conference semifinal against Philadelphia, although not without worries. A well-deserved victory for the Hawks, more continuous thanks also to a Trae Young who takes the team by the hand from the beginning. In the second quarter, a 17-0 run allows the guests to gain even 20 lengths of advantage up to 74-54 of the long interval. The Sixers gnaw the wide advantage until reaching 83-99 in the third period. In the last twelve minutes Philadelphia blatantly nullifies the gap almost completely, even reaching -3 (118-115) with 100 seconds left. Bogdanovic, however, does not want to concede miracles and responds with an important triple. Simmons and Embiid’s next 4 consecutive points do not complete a comeback he would have had of the historian. For Atlanta, Trae Young’s 35 points and 10 assists should be noted, followed by 21 each between Bogdanovic and Collins. Danilo Gallinari closes with 9 points and 2 rebounds in 19 minutes of the match. On the other hand, Joel Embiid’s 39 points and 9 rebounds are useless, as well as Seth Curry’s 21, Tobias Harris ’20 and Simmons’ 17.
