With the first official day of the NBA playoffs upon us yesterday, we saw two fantastic games in Charlotte and Phoenix. The first game of the night was between the Heat and Hornet (9 vs. 10 Eastern Conference matchup), and it was a thriller to say the least. It was a back-and-forth game all night, and Hornets Coby White hit a clutch three with less than 20 seconds to tie the game at 114 apiece. The Heat ran the ball down the court but missed the game-tying layup to send it to overtime. In overtime, the game remained very close until the last second. Led by LaMelo Ball, the Hornets hit a game-clinching layup with 4 seconds left in regulation to get the win. The entire Hornets team mobbed him on the ground and it was a huge victory for the city of Charlotte.
Later that night, the Trail Blazers and Suns faced off in the 7-8 Western Conference matchup. The game was close the whole way through, with the Blazers leading by three at half. Led by 41 from rising star Deni Avdija, the Blazers pulled out a 114-110 win. The loser, the Suns, will have to defeat the winner of the Warriors-Clippers matchup tonight. Jalen Green’s 35 points weren’t enough to pull out the win for the Suns, much to the dismay of the Phoenix fans.
