LOS ANGELES: The Golden State Warriors began their quest for a three-peat by clobbering the Los Angeles Clippers, while the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic delivered a pair of upset victories as the NBA play-offs began Saturday.
Stephen Curry drained eight three-pointers to give him the most in league play-off history as the two-time defending champions Warriors dominated the Clippers 121-104.
“We imposed our will for 48 minutes,” said Curry. “We have been working for the last month on our collective mindset, raising our intensity and focus.
“It might not be flashy but we all got to do our jobs.”
Curry finished with 38 points, shooting eight of 12 from beyond the arc to pass Ray Allen (385) for career post-season threes with 386.
One of his three-pointers was from a distance of about 30 feet. “Shout out to the contacts,” said Curry.
Curry also tallied a play-off career-high 15 rebounds and seven assists.
“Curry has destroyed us all year,” said Clippers coach Doc Rivers.
Game two is Monday at the Warriors’ Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.
The Clippers and Golden State are meeting for just the second time in the playoffs after the Clippers took a seven-game series in 2014.
Brooklyn bench shines
Draymond Green, who made all five of his shots in the opening quarter, finished with 17 points and seven assists and Kevin Durant scored 23 points for Golden State who have won seven consecutive play-off games.
Durant and Patrick Beverley were ejected with 4:41 to go, just 19 seconds after they received double-technicals when Durant stripped Beverley and the Clippers guard stumbled to the sidelines.
Elsewhere, D’Angelo Russell scored 26 points as sixth-seeded Brooklyn jolted third-seeded Philadelphia 111-102 at the Wells Fargo Center to give the Nets a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Nets were also reliant on a big performance from their bench, with three players delivering double-digit displays to boost their offense.
Caris LeVert had 23 points while Spencer Dinwiddie added 18 and Ed Davis 12 as the Nets silenced the Sixers’ home Wells Fargo Center crowd.— AFP
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