Golden State start with a minor bump
TweetIT was a good day for Aussies in the NBA playoffs with Andrew Bogut a key performer as Golden State beat New Orleans and Chicago, with Cam Bairstow on the Bulls bench, taking a 1-0 lead over Milwaukee.
Bogut admitted his Warriors tightened up as they fought a rear-guard battle to stave off the fast-finishing Pelicans 106-99 in the first game of the Western Conference playoffs.
The top-seeded Warriors led by as many as 25 points late in the third before New Orleans put together a 14-0 run across the third and fourth quarters.
The Pelicans, who didn’t lock up the last playoff berth in the West until the final night of the regular season, wouldn’t go away, Anthony Davis with 20 of his 35 points in the final period.
“Give them credit," Bogut said.
"They battled and we tightened up a little bit and we couldn’t score or get stops at the right time.
"They kept chipping away at that lead ... we are thankful we got that win.
“Our defence was great for three quarters, especially in the first half. We’ve just go to build on that.”
Stephen Curry led GSW with 34 points, Bogut with another complete game producing 12 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks in just over 30 minutes.
New Orleans trimmed the deficit to four in the final minute, but couldn’t get any closer.
Davis' 35 points and seven rebounds in his inaugural playoff game put him in rarified air, ranking him alongside Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Julius Erving, who previousy were the only players with 35 points and more than five rebounds in their playoff debuts.
Houston opened its series against Dallas with a 118-108 home win, James Harden had 24 points and 11 assists for the second-seeded Rockets.
In the Eastern Conference, Chicago took out Milwaukee 103-91 and welcomed the return of superstar Derrick Rose back to his former form with 23 points.
Rose hadn’t appeared in a post-season game since tearing a knee ligament in 2012 against Philadelphia but his explosive talent was on full display as he connected on 9-of-16 from the floor and handed out seven assists.
Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 25 points and Spain's Pau Gasol scored 10 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.
Paul Pierce led the Washington Wizards over the Toronto Raptors 93-86 in overtime to open their playoff series.
Pierce scored five of his 20 points in overtime and Brazilian Nene had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Patty Mills and Aron Baynes tomorrow will be in action as reigning champion San Antonio begins its title defence against the LA Clippers while Matty Dellavedova also will make his playoff debut as Cleveland hosts Boston.
Portland starts at Memphis and Atlanta is at home to Brooklyn in tomorrow's other series openers.