Spurs, Lakers, Hawks, & Clippers take early leads

Putting together his best playoff game since 2009, Tony Parker scored 28 points as the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs erased four years of putting themselves in 0-1 holes to start the playoffs, beating the Utah Jazz, 106-91 in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.




Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, Andrew Bynum posted the Lakers' first playoff triple-double in 21 years, and Los Angeles thoroughly controlled the tempo in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinal series with a 103-88 victory over the Denver Nuggets.




With Josh Smith scoring 22 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, the Atlanta Hawks built a big lead early and held on for an 83-74 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Boston could've lost more than just a game when Rajon Rondo objected to a foul call on one of his teammates and was quickly sent to the locker room after chest-bumping the referee who made the call.




Chris Paul hit a pair of free throws with 23.7 seconds left as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a deficit that had been as much as 27 to stun the Memphis Grizzlies, 99-98 in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.