The 2026 NBA playoffs have arrived as the first round tipped off Saturday with four Game 1s. The Cavaliers took care of the Raptors 126-113 in the day's opener, with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden combining for 54 points in the victory. The Nuggets followed suit at home, pulling away from the Timberwolves 116-105 behind 30 points from Jamal Murray and a triple-double from Nikola Jokić.
The Knicks used a dominant second half to cruise past the Hawks 113-102 with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combining for 53 points. In the nightcap, the Los Angeles Lakers knocked off the Rockets 107-98 despite the absences of Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. LeBron James set the tone with 19 points and 13 assists while Luke Kennard poured in a game-high 27. The Rockets were without Kevin Durant, who suffered a knee injury in practice on Wednesday.
With the first full day of NBA playoff action in the books, here are Saturday's winners and losers:
Winner: Luke Kennard shines for Lakers
Luke Kennard has led the NBA in 3-point percentage three times, but his game has always been a bit more complicated than that. He's not Kyle Korver. His 3-point attempt rate wasn't even the highest on the Lakers, as Dončić and Marcus Smart both took a greater proportion of their shots from deep. He's never been particularly aggressive as a 3-point shooter. Most of his looks, including 65 of the 96 3s he took for the Lakers since arriving after the trade deadline, were wide open. He wants to attack hard closeouts. He's a deceptively creative individual scorer.
That put him in an interesting position coming into a postseason in which the Lakers' two primary creators, Dončić and Austin Reaves, were sidelined. The version of the Lakers that had those players probably would've been happy with a wide-open marksman who did nothing else with the ball. But this one needed every ounce of shot creation and aggression Kennard could muster. The Lakers did a great job of using screens to either free Kennard up for triples or get him the ball with some runway to attack the basket. Those extra opportunities to dribble helped him develop a perfect rhythm. He made all five of his 3s and set a new season high for scoring with 27 points.
When the Lakers traded for Kennard at the deadline, there was some skepticism given their perceived needs. The Lakers were fine offensively. Defense was the issue. He wound up amplifying an already explosive offense when it was at full strength, but then scaling up drastically when it wasn't. Take a bow, Rob Pelinka. A second-round pick for a playoff win is a solid trade. - Sam Quinn
Winner: Josh Hart, doing what he always does
With about nine minutes left in the third quarter at Madison Square Garden, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels tried to drive against Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns, but Daniels didn't account for Josh Hart cheating off of his man and swiping at the ball. Daniels turned it over, and Hart sprinted in the other direction for an uncontested dunk.
A couple of minutes later, Hawks wing Jalen Johnson tried to drive baseline against Hart, but Hart beat him to the spot and picked his pocket, then took off the other way. This time, New York didn't immediately get an easy 2, but the possession ended with Mikal Bridges knocking down a jumper.
On the Knicks' next offensive possession, Jalen Brunson missed a shot at the rim. It was exactly the kind of play that often leads to an easy layup on the other end, but Hart prevented that from happening. He hustled to catch up to Nickeil Alexander-Walker and poked the ball away from behind. It went out of bounds, and somehow Alexander-Walker touched it last. The next time down the court, Towns missed a driving layup, but Hart crashed the boards and got his hands on the ball. It went out of bounds again, and again it touched a Hawk last.
This stretch was when Hart's activity level stood out the most to me, but it was off the charts the entire time he was on the court in New York's 113-102 win. The 6-foot-5 wing finished with 14 defensive rebounds (plus five assists and three steals), and it wasn't even surprising. This is what he does. - James Herbert
Loser: The entire Rockets organization
I'm not especially sympathetic to Durant's absence as an excuse here. The Rockets have known they had half-court offensive issues since Fred VanVleet tore his ACL before the season even began. The Lakers addressed shooting at the deadline with a single second-round pick. Houston has more tradable draft picks than they know what to do with. More broadly, they spent three years accumulating high lottery picks at the bottom of the standings. Being this dependent on Durant to create everything for you offensively at this stage of your roster-build is inexcusable.
The players weren't good enough. Alperen Sengun is a two-time All-Star. Yes, he faced a packed paint – they're near constants with Houston's shooting woes – but 6 of 19 shooting with six assists just isn't going to cut it. Amen Thompson struggled to finish as well. Reed Sheppard took almost half of the team's triples and struggled to do much of anything inside the arc. These are your foundational pieces.
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Your coach didn't put them in a position to succeed. Houston's offense has been sloppy and uncreative all year, and Ime Udoka did little to relieve it of its Durant dependency – a 37-year-old Durant playing the second-most minutes in the NBA during the regular season is inexcusable. General manager Rafael Stone probably should have addressed the offense in some fashion, if only by adding another shooter on a minimum contract for the back of the bench.
But this roster was seemingly constructed to force Udoka to play Sheppard. The end of their bench is full of defensive wings like Josh Okogie and Jae'Sean Tate rather than anyone with offensive upside. Udoka still barely trusted Sheppard, refusing to start him until the end of the season (they would wind up going 17-4 with him in the starting lineup). Durant would've helped. Fred VanVleet would've helped. Steven Adams would've helped. But the Rockets aren't some plucky young upstart anymore. This is a team playing with real expectations. Your offense can't be so bland that it boils down to "save us Kevin" or "get all of the offensive rebounds."
This game should be a wake-up call throughout the organization that something here isn't working. - Quinn
Winner: Nuggets' non-Jokić minutes
We always hear about how much the Nuggets struggle when Nikola Jokić goes to the bench, or on nights when he struggles to score. Well, Denver remedied both of those long-standing issues in Saturday afternoon's win over the Timberwolves. Though Jokić sat for only eight minutes in Game 1, the Nuggets managed to finish plus-two in those minutes.
That success without Jokić was primarily due to an efficient performance from Jamal Murray, who dominated the Timberwolves from start to finish. Minnesota's game plan was clearly to force everyone but Jokić to beat them, and while the Wolves excelled at turning Jokić into a facilitator in the first half, it amounted to only a tie game after two quarters.
That's because of Murray, as well as some well-timed scoring from Christian Braun, Bruce Brown and Cam Johnson. The Nuggets can't always rely on Murray to score literally over half of his points at the free-throw line, but it served as a nice cushion in the first half when Jokić only put up six points. - Jasmyn Wimbish
Loser: Anthony Edwards getting no second-half help
Edwards entered this game with a lingering knee injury, which meant Minnesota would need his teammates to shoulder the offensive load with him. That happened in the first half. Jaden McDaniels was leading the Wolves in scoring after two quarters (12 points) while they shot 53% from the field and 43.8% from deep. Rudy Gobert wasn't just neutralizing Jokić as a scorer; he was showing off his offensive skillset as Minnesota controlled the first half.
But then the third quarter started and Minnesota went 6 of 23 from the floor. Jokić was starting to break free, Murray kept applying pressure offensively, and the wheels began to fall off for the Wolves. Through three quarters, Julius Randle had just eight points on 3 of 11 from the field. That can't happen as the team's second-leading scorer. Naz Reid finished the afternoon with just five points and didn't impact the game in other ways.
Neither Randle nor Reid could credibly keep Jokić in check, and if they're also not going to put up points, then they're just taking up space on the floor and allowing the defense to focus even more attention on Edwards. There were several occasions where Denver's defense just flat-out ignored Randle as a jump shooter, and he couldn't make them pay.
Randle and Reid need to keep the defense honest. If they can't, it limits the space Edwards can work with offensively, resulting in the Wolves settling for tough shots. - Wimbish
Winner: Max Strus nearly flawless for Cavs
Strus had foot surgery last August and had an initial return timeline of three to four months. He ended up missing nearly seven months and sat out of the Cavaliers' first 67 games. Though he had a few huge games down the stretch, he was largely inconsistent. That wasn't unexpected after such a long layoff, but it did raise questions about his playoff viability. His performance Saturday against the Raptors should help alleviate any concerns.
Donovan Mitchell was the only player on either team who scored more points than Strus in Game 1. In a largely flawless performance, Strus poured in 24 points off the bench on 8 of 10 from the field, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. His personal 8-0 run in the middle of the third quarter turned the Cavs' 14-point lead into a 22-point lead and effectively ended the contest.
Strus isn't going to play like this every night, but he has plenty of postseason experience. This was an encouraging sign for the Cavaliers, who missed his bench scoring and 3-point shooting this season. - Jack Maloney
Loser: The Hawks' previously soaring offense
Everyone knew Atlanta was leaning into defense, versatility and athleticism when it put an end to the Trae Young era. The Hawks surged late in the season, though, because they found their flow on offense, too. Their starting lineup of CJ McCollum, Alexander-Walker, Daniels, Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu scored 123.1 points per 100 possessions (and an equally impressive 108.1 per 100 in the halfcourt, per Cleaning The Glass) in 30 regular-season games.
In Game 1 in New York, the starters got going early -- they made six of their first seven shots -- but couldn't sustain it. Atlanta scored just 105.2 points per 100 possessions (and 91.2 per 100 in the halfcourt) per CTG. The Hawks didn't do much damage in transition, they shot poorly in the paint (21 for 43) and they even struggled at the free-throw line (12 for 19).
"The formula for us and our identity has been to run and move the ball," Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said. "It's not like we didn't do that, but we need to do more of it."
The Hawks scored just 19 points in the third quarter and trailed by 19 with less than four minutes to go. Part of the problem was that they struggled to defend the Knicks without fouling -- it's hard to get out on the break when the opponent is getting to the free-throw line all the time. In the halfcourt, though, Atlanta needs to play to its identity. Generally speaking, the Hawks' offense looked better when they put New York's weak defenders in actions, rather than attacking those weak defenders one-on-one. - Herbert
Loser: The Raptors' defensive reputation
The Raptors earned the No. 5 seed this season on the back of their defense. They were tough, physical and unafraid, finishing fifth in defensive rating (112.1), tied for seventh in opponent effective field goal percentage (54%) and fourth in opponent turnover rate (16.1%). Their path to an upset in this series was (and remains) showing why they were one of the league's best defensive teams during the regular season and shutting Cleveland's offense down.
They completely failed in that regard in Game 1. The Cavaliers' first four baskets of the game were dunks, and they got whatever they wanted all day long. The Cavaliers shot 54.3% from the field overall, went 16 of 32 from 3-point range, 20 of 31 at the rim -- not a great percentage, but a ton of attempts -- and 22 of 28 from the free throw line. You have no chance if you get crushed in all three of those areas.
The Cavs' offense is awesome, especially with James Harden in the fold, and slowing them down is easier said than done. But this was a poor showing from the Raptors' defense and a big blow to their reputation on that side of the ball. - Maloney
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FINAL: Lakers 107, Rockets 98
One down, three to go for the undermanned Los Angeles Lakers. Despite entering Game 1 of their first-round series missing offensive centerpieces Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, the Lakers managed to eke out a physical 107-98 victory over the similarly hobbled Houston Rockets, who were without Kevin Durant.
The stars of the show? Predictably, LeBron James, who came two rebounds shy of a triple-double while racking up 19 points and 13 assists. But more surprisingly, the night's leading scorer was Luke Kennard. The Lakers cut their deadline addition loose on Saturday in a 27-point explosion that saw the three-time NBA leader in 3-point percentage make all five of his triples. That was the offensive boost they needed to steal a critical home win.
The Rockets, meanwhile, were a mess offensively. They shot only 38% from the floor, and more distressingly, just 40% on 2-pointers, against a Lakers defense ranked 20th in the regular season. Durant's absence obviously played a role, but Houston still had the rest of its starters and couldn't scheme good shots for anyone. Half-court offense has been a major concern all year, and this game was the reddest of red flags yet for their long-term championship prospects.
This series will pick up with Game 2 on Tuesday. Durant may return, but Dončić and Reaves are still sidelined for the foreseeable future. Still, with this Game 1 win, the Lakers bought their stars another few days of possible recovery time.
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Third quarter: Lakers 75, Rockets 66
Welp, so much for the first-quarter shootout! After 62 points combined in a first quarter in which the Lakers shot 79% from the floor and the Rockets scored 29 points, we've officially devolved into a rock fight. We got only 36 total points in the second quarter, and the third wasn't much better with 43.
The story of the third quarter? Fouls. Lots and lots of fouls. The Lakers scored 25 third-quarter points, but 11 of them came on the line as the Rockets committed several inexcusable fouls to dig this hole. That's the difference right now.
Neither team can get anything going in half-court offense, but the Rockets are sending the Lakers to the line while the Lakers' defense has been significantly more disciplined.
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Halftime: Lakers 50, Rockets 48
The defenses have settled in here in Los Angeles. After a first quarter in which the Lakers shot 79% from the floor and the Rockets weren't far behind, the second saw only 36 total points as the undermanned teams tried to make up for the absences of superstars Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and Kevin Durant.
The story of the game thus far? The playmaking from LeBron James. He set a new playoff high with eight assists in the first quarter alone. He's up to 10 at halftime. He's scored just six points as the Rockets have thrown everything they have at him defensively, but his teammates are picking up the slack from both his playmaking and Marcus Smart's (six assists of his own, mostly to Deandre Ayton). Ayton and Luke Kennard are both in double figures.
It was a slow start for Alperen Sengun, but he's up to 11 points at the half on 3-of-10 shooting. With Durant sidelined, the Rockets need him to function as the offensive hub that James has been for the Lakers. All five Rocket starters have at least seven points, but even against this undermanned Laker team, Houston's offense has been messy through a half.
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First quarter: Lakers 33, Rockets 29
The stars may not be out here in Los Angeles with Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and Kevin Durant sidelined, but we've still had plenty of fireworks. The Lakers hold a slim four-point lead after shooting an astounding 79% from the floor. More than half the Laker baskets were set up by LeBron James, who set a new playoff high with eight assists in a single quarter. The main beneficiary of that passing? Luke Kennard, who leads all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Houston hasn't exactly slouched offensively, either. Jabari Smith Jr. is leading the way with eight points, but it's been a balanced attack as the Rockets shot 52% without Durant. Both teams may be shorthanded, but the players on the court are giving us a barnburner thus far.
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Knicks use strong second half, pull away behind Brunson, Towns
FINAL: Knicks 113, Hawks 102
The Knicks made a statement in their Game 1 win over the Hawks. Jalen Brunson got New York going early in the game, and Karl-Anthony Towns carried them home with 19 of his 25 points coming in the second half. The 3s were falling for New York, while Atlanta had trouble finding the bottom of the net after a strong first half.
It wasn't all offense, though, from the Knicks. Josh Hart and OG Anunoby led the defensive effort with Hart finishing the game with three steals to go along with 10 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. CJ McCollum did his best to keep the Hawks in this game with his 26 points, and Jalen Johnson had an efficient 23-point performance even with Hart trying his best to contain him. But it just wasn't enough against a Knicks offense that shot 47.5% from the floor.
The Hawks made a late surge in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, as Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker knocked down some well-timed 3s. But it was too little, too late to complete a comeback.
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Third quarter: Knicks 83, Hawks 74
That third quarter from the Knicks was exactly what you want out of a team that has championship aspirations. They locked in defensively, limiting the Hawks to just 19 points, and did enough offensively to keep a good distance between them and Atlanta.
Even with the Hawks dominating the Knicks on the offensive glass, it hasn't been a factor so far. For Atlanta, they're going to need to figure out who they can go to offensively to cut into this lead. CJ McCollum has done well so far with 22 points, but the Hawks are going to need more firepower to steal this game on the road.
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Halftime: Knicks 57, Hawks 55
We've got a good game on our hands here, folks. The Knicks came out swinging, thanks to a 19-point first quarter from Jalen Brunson. That's a performance that could make some teams roll over, especially a young team like the Hawks. But Atlanta did the opposite. Instead, the Hawks responded with a second quarter where they outscored the Knicks 31-27, with veteran CJ McCollum scoring 12 of his 17 first-half points in the second frame.
Meanwhile, outside of Brunson and OG Anunoby, the latter of whom has 11 points, the Knicks sputtered there in the second quarter. They shot just 39% from the field, and Karl-Anthony Towns is having the kind of game that many Knicks fans frequently bemoan. He has just six points and four turnovers.
Atlanta withstood the early barrage from Brunson, but can they steal Game 1 at Madison Square Garden?
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Kevin Durant to miss Game 1 vs. Lakers with knee contusion
The Rockets vs. Lakers series just got an interesting development after Rockets coach Ime Udoka announced that Kevin Durant will miss Game 1 due to a right knee injury.
Durant was initially listed as questionable heading into the playoffs, and was seen going through his pregame warm-up, but has since been downgraded and will miss Houston's playoff opener. Udoka said before the game that Durant bumped knees with a teammate at Wednesday's practice, and he's officially listed as out with a knee contusion.
The Rockets coach also said that Durant had imaging done on the knee and it was "nothing major," which should be a sigh of relief for Houston going forward in this series. Still, this is a significant blow for a Rockets team that was considered the heavy favorite against a Lakers team that is without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves for most -- if not all -- of this series.
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First quarter: Knicks 30, Hawks 24
It's been the Jalen Brunson show to start Game 1. The All-Star guard has 19 points on 8 of 11 from the floor, and is having no issue with an Atlanta defense that ranked 10th in the regular season. As a team, the Knicks are scoring with ease against a young Hawks team. They're shooting 60% from the floor, though the only three players to score are Brunson, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.
That's been fine to start, but you have to expect Atlanta to settle in here and force the ball out of Brunson's hands. When -- or if -- that happens, the Knicks will need to get other guys going to keep pressure on the Hawks.
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Nuggets use strong second half to pull away in Game 1 win
Final: Nuggets 116, Timberwolves 105
This was very much a tale of two halves. The Timberwolves and Nuggets were all tied up at halftime, but the Nuggets turned things up a notch in the third quarter and never looked back. Denver climbed out to a 15-point lead at one point, and while the Timberwolves cut that to two, they could never regain the lead after a convincing first half.
The Timberwolves put together a great defensive effort in the first half against Nikola Jokić, but he broke free in the second half and finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Jamal Murray led Denver with 30 points, 16 of which came at the free-throw line. Aaron Gordon overcame a rough first half that had him sit the entire second quarter in foul trouble with three fouls to finish the game with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Minnesota came out hot offensively, but cooled down in the second half. And when things weren't going their way, the offense just collapsed. Anthony Edwards did his best to keep Minnesota in the game, but you could tell he was limited with that lingering knee injury that kept him out in 11 of Minnesota's final 14 games of the regular season. He still finished 22 points, albeit inefficiently. Julius Randle and Naz Reid were practically no-shows for most of the game, with Randle only getting things going in the fourth quarter.
Minnesota will need to figure out how to not have such a lopsided performance over the course of two halves if it wants to steal Game 2 on the road.
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Third quarter: Nuggets 91, Timberwolves 79
It was all Denver in that third quarter, and after a quiet scoring first half, Nikola Jokić put up 12 points in the third to help open up a massive lead for the Nuggets. It also helps that Jamal Murray is practically living at the free-throw line, with a perfect 15-15 from the charity stripe.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are losing composure and struggling to keep this one close. Julius Randle has been practically nonexistent, and the Wolves haven't been able to put together effective offensive possessions. We'll have to see if things change in this fourth quarter, or if the Nuggets cruise to a Game 1 win.
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Wolves have gone ice cold, and the Nuggets are taking advantage
The Timberwolves had about as good of a first half as anyone could have against the Nuggets, but the team that has showed up in the second half has been a mess. Minnesota is 2-16 in the third quarter, meanwhile the Nuggets are on a 14-0 run. The Timberwolves are just settling for a lot of bad shots, and defensively they've struggled to contain Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.
Denver's now in a groove, and the Wolves just look frustrated out there. This could get out of hands quickly if the Wolves don't settle in offensively.
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Halftime: Timberwolves 62, Nuggets: 62
We're all tied up at halftime in what's been a thrilling game between Denver and Minnesota. The Nuggets responded well after a subpar first quarter, thanks to a 14-point second quarter from Jamal Murray. Nikola Jokić has been quiet in regards to scoring so far, just six points, but that hasn't stopped him from setting other teammates up. He has seven assists, as well as an uncharacteristic four turnovers, but the Nuggets have managed to keep things incredibly close with their star player.
Jokić has only shot the ball four times, and in most cases the Nuggets typically struggle when the three-time MVP isn't scoring. But Denver's bench is outscoring Minnesota's and that's been a massive factor in this game so far.
For Minnesota, as well as they've played, it might be a bit concerning that all they have to show for it is a tie game after two quarters. Rudy Gobert has done well defensively to contain Jokić, but the Timberwolves weren't able to expand what was a 10-point lead after the first quarter. They also didn't take advantage of the fact that Aaron Gordon didn't play in the second quarter due to foul trouble, which may come back to haunt them in the second half.
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First quarter: Timberwolves 33, Nuggets 23
In what will probably be the best first-round series of these playoffs, the Nuggets and Timberwolves are living up to the hype so far. Minnesota came out firing and built up an early 12-point lead behind hot shooting from Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo, both of whom lead the TWolves in scoring at 10 points and six points, respectively.
The Nuggets managed to cut into the lead, but foul trouble to Aaron Gordon, as well as going 3 of 11 from 3-point range, put Denver in an early hole. Gordon has three fouls already, which isn't ideal for Denver's defense that heavily relies on his versatility on that end to keep teams in check.
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Is this a fair flagrant foul call on Jaden McDaniels?
Game 1 between the Nuggets and Timberwolves has barely started and the referees are already setting the tone for how this game is going to be called. Jaden McDaniels was called for a Flagrant 1 after not allowing Nuggets guard Jamal Murray landing space as he attempted a 3-pointer. Murray fell to the floor and was grabbing at his ankle, though he remained in the game after shooting three free throws.
Landing space fouls are always tricky, because while you want to protect the shooter, on this play, you could argue that Murray jumped forward into McDaniels foot, causing the contact. However, the officials didn't view it that way upon review, and the Nuggets guard was awarded three free throws all of which he converted.
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Cavaliers cruise to Game 1 win
FINAL: Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113
After an entertaining first half, the Cavaliers used a big run early in the third quarter to break the game open and never looked back. Cleveland led by as many as 24 en route to their Game 1 win and now have a 1-0 series lead.
The Raptors had a top-five defense this season, and their path to making this series competitive -- and possibly pulling off an upset -- was, and remains, slowing down the Cavaliers' high-powered offense. They had no success doing that in Game 1. The Cavaliers shot 55% from the field overall, went 16 of 32 from 3-point range and 22 of 28 from the free throw line.
If Cleveland is going to score this easily, it will be a short series. Toronto does not have the offense to keep up.
Donovan Mitchell went off for 32 points to lead the way in the scoring department, while James Harden put up 22 points and 10 assists and Max Strus came off the bench to add 24 points. That trio shot 12 of 20 from 3-point range.
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Third quarter: Cavaliers 97 -- Raptors 76
The Cavaliers dominated the third quarter, 36-22, and will take a 21-point lead into the fourth. The Raptors' offense has fallen off a cliff -- 5 of 14 with four turnovers in the third -- while the Cavs are getting whatever they want. Cleveland is shooting 51.6% overall, and has made 13 3-pointers and 20 free throws. Can't see a way back into this game for the Raptors when the Cavs' offense is clicking like this.
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Cavaliers break the game open
The Cavaliers have started the third quarter on a 21-6 run to build a 22-point lead. The Raptors have more turnovers (three) than made field goals (two) in the first six minutes of the third, while the Cavaliers are 8 of 13 from the field in the frame thus far. It has just been too easy for the Cavaliers to score today.
Max Strus has been on fire to start the third and is up to 19 points on 7 of 8 shooting off the bench
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Halftime: Cavaliers 61 -- Raptors 54
RJ Barrett's 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer prevented the Cavaliers from taking a double-digit lead into the break, but the home team took control of the game late in the second frame. The Raptors continue to make shots, but they have not been able to stop the Cavaliers on the other end, or keep them off the free throw line.
The Cavaliers has made more free throws (13) than the Raptors have attempted (9), and Cleveland's nine-point advantage at the line is nearly identical to margin.
As expected, James Harden and Donovan Mitchell are running the show. They have combined for 28 points and 10 assists.
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Raptors keep making shots
The Raptors were so-so on offense this season, in part becuase they weren't a good 3-point shooting team. They were 26th in attempts per game and 21st in percentage. They're 5 of 10 so far in Game 1, however. That, combined with some strong mid-range shooting (5 of 9), has allowed the Raptors to stay right in this game
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First quarter: Cavaliers 35 -- Raptors 31
It has to be discouraging for the Raptors that they got three 3-pointers from Scottie Barnes, shot 63.2% from the field and put up 31 points in the first quarter and are still down by four. It's going to be very difficult for the Raptors to sustain that kind of offense, and their path to pulling off an upset in this series is on the defensive end. If the Cavaliers are going to score this easily, that's a major issue for the Raptors.
Donovan Mitchell has eight points to lead the way for the Cavs, who have six players with at least four points already and have gotten to the line for 10 free throws.
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Allen dunking all over the Raptors
Jarrett Allen was tied for 12th in the league in dunks (123) this season, and has been feasting since the Cavaliers acquired James Harden. That hasn't changed early in Game 1 against the Raptors. We're just five minutes in and Allen has already throw down three dunks to help the Cavs jump in front.
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