Arguably the two most anticipated matchups in the second round of the NBA playoffs are rematches. Both the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors won in seven games last year against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Houston Rockets, respectively.
And at the start of this year’s matchups, both the Celtics and Warriors once again took the lead in their respective series.
The Celtics’ win was clearly the more surprising of the two. Despite their sweep of the Indiana Pacers, the Celtics’ NBA 2019 betting odds to beat the No. 1-seeded Bucks were not great. But thanks to some amazing defence, they completely corralled the Greek Freak.
Meanwhile, the Warriors just about outlasted the Rockets, but not without a little bit of controversy late in the end of the game.
Boston Celtics 112-90 Milwaukee Bucks (BOS lead 1-0)
The Bucks didn’t face much resistance in the first round as they easily swept past the overmatched Detroit Pistons. But the No. 1 seed finally found themselves in a proper playoff fight in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Celtics — and Boston delivered another Game 1 upset.
The Celtics’ defence was simply suffocating as they held the Bucks to a mere 35 per cent shooting from the field. They succeeded in holding the leading MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo to one of his worst shooting games of the season. The Greek Freak had just 22 points on 7-of-21 shooting and was blocked three times — twice by Al Horford.
The Bucks backcourt was a complete non-factor; starters Eric Bledsoe and Sterling Brown were limited to a combined 9 points on 2of-12 shooting. Khris Middleton (16 points, 5-12 FG) was also kept in check by the Celtics.
As for the Celtics offence, Kyrie Irving masterfully led the way with 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting with 11 assists. Horford and Jaylen Brown were also very effective as they had 20 and 19 points, respectively. Boston didn’t even need much of anything from Jayson Tatum, the team’s second-leading playoff scorer, who finished with only four points.
The Celtics were considered one of the big disappointments during the regular season after they failed to live up to their significant hype. But after showing signs of finally coming together against Indiana, they showed in Game 1 what they are truly capable of. And while it’s only just one game, they sent quite a message to the Bucks that they will be in for quite a tough series.
Houston Rockets 100-104 Golden State Warriors (GSW lead 1-0)
The Golden State Warriors drew first blood in Game 1 of their Western Conference Finals rematch against the Houston Rockets with a narrow four-point win.
James Harden had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds for the Rockets, but he didn’t get the foul call despite getting knocked over by Draymond Green on his 3-point attempt. The refereeing was a major storyline in Game 1 as both teams were not pleased with how the game was called.
Kevin Durant, who had a tremendous series against the Clippers, continued his fine play with a team-high 35 points to lead the Warriors. Harden answered with 35 of his own, but he went just 9-of-28 from the field and 4-of-16 from 3-point range.
The big NBA 2019 news heading into Game 1 was that despite their ankle injuries, both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson suited up and played for the Warriors. Neither Splash Brother was particularly effective — they combined to shoot just 10-of-23 — but they did just about enough while Durant did the heavy lifting.
The Warriors also changed up their starting line-up for the second-straight game. Andre Iguodala came in for Shaun Livingston as they began small, and it worked. Iguodala was effective as he had 13 points in 34 minutes, while the Warriors essentially made Rockets big man Clint Capela a complete non-factor.
As for the Rockets, Eric Gordon had Harden’s back with 27 points, while Chris Paul added 17. However, they didn’t get much from any other Rocket. The other six Rockets who played combined for just 21 points.
Based on Game 1, it appears as if the Rockets are still every bit the threat to the Warriors than they were last year and could provide another entertaining series that SBOBET NBA fans can enjoy. But getting close is not good enough, and they’ll need to beat the Warriors at Golden State in order to win this series.
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