The Magic and Blazers went into Game 1 ready as they beat the number one seeds. The Bucks and Lakers supporting cast would need to step up.
It has been a surprising day at the NBA bubble as fans have seen shocking defeats from the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers.
Vucevic’s 35 points propel the Magic to victory
The game started with a showdown between the Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks. Nikola Vucevic recorded a career-high 35 points in a 110-122 victory against the number one seed in the eastern conference.
🏀 FINAL SCORE THREAD 🏀
The @OrlandoMagic defeat MIL and go up 1-0 behind Nikola Vucevic's #NBAPlayoffs career-high 35 PTS, 14 REB!
Terrence Ross: 18 PTS
Markelle Fultz: 15 PTS, 6 AST
Gary Clark: 15 PTS, 4 3PM
D.J. Augustin: 11 PTS, 11 AST
Giannis: 31 PTS, 17 REB, 7 AST pic.twitter.com/ZVeaIVPxvV— NBA (@NBA) August 18, 2020
Five of the Magic players were also able to pull off double-digit points as well to secure a victory including a double-double performance from D.J. Augustin with 11 points and 11 assists.
Even if the Magic didn’t have physical fans during the game, they felt like they had home-court advantage since they are playing at the Florida bubble.
As for the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points, 7 assists, and 17 rebounds. However, their second all-star Khris Middleton had a bad night scoring only 14 points and only 33% from the field.
LeBron James’ historic triple-double shadowed by Dame Time
Capping off the last game of today’s Game 1 schedule was an entertaining duel between the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers.
The Blazers squad stepped up in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter hitting big 3-point shots to secure a 100-93 victory against the number one seed of the western conference. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum led the Blazers backcourt with a combined 55 points.
Damian Lillard tonight:
34 Points
5 Rebounds
5 Assists46% 3PT FG% (6-13)
100% FT% (10-10)•16th career playoff game with 30+ PTs.
•6th career playoff game with a 30/5/5 statline.
•11th career playoff game with 5+ 3PM.Blazers steal Game 1 from the Lakers. pic.twitter.com/vPN9KFW3Hx
— NBA Stats (@DailyNBAStats) August 19, 2020
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of the Lakers shot 0 out of 9 shots in 29 minutes of playtime. LeBron James finished the night with 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 16 assists.
The supporting cast needs to step up if the Lakers want to keep their championship hopes alive. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel would create more opportunities from their role players especially J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters.
Featured image courtesy of NBA/YouTube Screenshot