Second round of the NBA playoffs has officially started, as the Cleveland Cavaliers faced off against the Toronto Raptors. This is the second straight year that these two teams meet in the postseason, as they played in the conference finals last year. The Cavaliers won last year's series in six games, and they are on a good way to knock the Raptors out this year as well.
Second game of the night was a Texas battle between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets. Both of these teams had incredible regular seasons as they finished with the second and the third best record in the NBA respectively.
However, the Spurs were favored to win the first game of the series, mostly because of their home court advantage. Despite this advantage, the Spurs were blown out by the Rockets, who shifted the odds in their favor.
Toronto Raptors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers continued their playoff win streak with the last night's victory over the Raptors, making it five in a row. The defending champions opened the game with 30 points in the first quarter and they retained the lead throughout remainder of the game. The Cavaliers had a complete control over the game and they outplayed their opponent in nearly every aspect of it. It will be interesting to see how the Raptors respond, as the second game of the series will be played on May 3.
LeBron James led the Cavaliers with another 30-point 10-rebound double-double, while Kyrie Irving finished the game with 24 points and 10 assists. On the losing side, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry combined for 39 points and P.J. Tucker had 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs
Houston Rockets managed to pull a big upset in the first game of the series, blowing the Spurs out by 27 points.
Even though the Spurs weren't a much better team in the regular season, they played at home and no one expected them to lose in a blowout game. The Rockets had an 11-point lead at the end of the opening period and they outscored San Antonio by 19 points in the second quarter, which resulted in a 30-point lead at the half. The Spurs tried to climb back in the second half, but their efforts were meaningless and they ended the game with one of the worst playoff losses in the franchise history.
James Harden had 20 points and 14 assists for Houston, who also got 20-point games from Clint Capela and Trevor Ariza. Kawhi Leonard had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists for the Spurs, but no one else scored more than 11 points.
