PHOENIX (AP) — Chris Paul pumped in 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to secure the Phoenix Suns’ NBA playoff win over the Pelicans, 110-99. Paul got hot after New Orleans cut a 23-point deficit to 79-71 by the end of the third quarter. Devin Booker had 25 points for Phoenix, which held New Orleans to 34 points and 22% shooting in the first half.
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum hit a layup at the buzzer to give the Boston Celtics a 115-114 win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of the NBA first-round series. Tatum scored 16 of his 31 points in the second half, the last coming on a feed from Marcus Smart. Boston had four players with at least 20 points. Jaylen Brown delivered 23 points and Al Horford added 20 with 15 rebounds.
MIAMI (AP) — Duncan Robinson came off the bench to set a team record for 3-pointers, going 8-for-9 from downtown and 9 of 10 overall in the Miami Heat’s playoff-opening win over Atlanta, 115-91. He led all scorers with 27 points, teammate Jimmy Butler finished with 21 and P.J. Tucker had 16. Meanwhile, Hawks guard Trae (tray) Young was ice cold as he missed 11 of his 12 attempts and finished with just eight points.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks coughed up a 16-point lead before going on an 8-0 run to beat the Chicago Bulls, 93-86 in the opener of the NBA first-round series. Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON’-poh) had 27 points and 16 rebounds to help Milwaukee improve to 5-0 versus Chicago this season. Jrue (jroo) Holiday sank a go-ahead 3-pointer with 5:03, part of the 8-0 that put the Bucks ahead, 85-78.