All home teams take Game 1 to begin NBA playoffs

Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points that help lead the New York Knicks to an 85-78 victory against the Boston Celtics in their playoff opener. The NBA's scoring leader had 10 quick points and endured a tough shooting night from there before scoring eight points in the fourth quarter, helping New York take a 1-0 lead in a series for the first time since the 2001 first round matchup against Toronto.




Andre Miller drove in a layup with just over a second left that gave the Denver Nuggets a 97-95 win over the Golden State Warriors in their playoff opener. With the youthful Nuggets in danger of losing at home for the first time in more than three months, Miller stepped up and scored 18 of his playoff career-high 28 points in the frenetic fourth quarter that made up for a plodding start to this much-anticipated series between two of the NBA's highest-octane teams.




After breaking through the Chicago Bulls' defense in the second quarter, the Brooklyn Nets punctuated their return to the postseason with a 106-89 victory. Deron Williams scored 22 points and Brook Lopez had 21 as the Nets made 16-of-20 shots in the 2nd quarter on their way to 60% in the first half.




Chris Paul led seven players in double figures with 23 points and Eric Bledsoe had 15 as the Los Angeles Clippers dominated the boards in a 112-91 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in their Western Conference playoff opener. Former Detroit Piston Chauncey Billups scored 14 points and Caron Butler & Jamal Crawford each had 13 points on a night when Blake Griffin was held to just 10 points and five rebounds before fouling out with 3:32 left.




Paul George opened the playoffs by producing the first postseason triple double of his career - 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists - that help lead the Indiana Pacers past the Atlanta Hawks, 107-90, in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. With the win, Indiana takes a 1-0 series lead for the first time since beating the New Jersey Nets, 90-88, back in 2006.




Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker scored 18 points each as the San Antonio Spurs led from early in the first quarter to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, 91-79, in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series. Tim Duncan added 17 points & 10 rebounds, Matt Bonner had 10 points, and Kawhi Leonard had eight points & 11 rebounds for San Antonio.




Ray Allen scored 20 points off the bench as the defending champion Miami Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 110-87, in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. Dwyane Wade scored 16, Chris Bosh added 15, and Chris Andersen finished with 10 on 4-for-4 shooting for the Heat, who opened their title defense by holding Milwaukee to 42% shooting and outrebounding the Bucks, 46-31.




Kevin Durant finished with 24 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder tore apart James Harden and the Houston Rockets, 120-91, in Game 1 of their playoff series. Harden, playing against the team that traded him away just before the season started, had 20 points, but the Rockets were held 15 points below their regular-season scoring average while shooting 36%.