Stephen Curry scores against the Rockets in Game 1 of the opening round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports.)
TORONTO — Paul George scored 33 points and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Toronto Raptors 100-90 on Saturday to take the opening game of their first-round NBA playoff series.
Monta Ellis scored 15 points for the Pacers. Myles Turner and George Hill added 10 each for Indiana.
Cory Joseph scored 18 points off the bench, DeMar DeRozan added 14 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 19 rebounds for Toronto.
Warriors 104, Rockets 78
OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State built a big lead and overcame an injury to Stephen Curry to thump Houston in the opener of the Western Conference first-round series.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven between the defending NBA champions and the eighth seed in the West is Monday night in Oakland.
Curry, the league’s leading scorer, had 24 points, including 16 in the first quarter, before twisting his right ankle in the second quarter of the Warriors’ 40th win in 42 home dates this season. He went to the locker room before halftime and returned to play the first 2:47 of the third quarter before coach Steve Kerr called a timeout and took his star out of the game. By that point, Golden State had built a 65-39 lead.
Draymond Green had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who beat the Rockets for the 13th time in their last 14 meetings. Klay Thompson added 16 points and backup Marreese Speights had 12 for the Warriors, who set an NBA record with 73 regular-season wins to secure top seeding in the Western playoffs.
James Harden, who missed 12 of his 19 shots from the floor, led Houston with 17 points. Center Dwight Howard totaled 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Hawks 102, Celtics 101
ATLANTA — Atlanta was melting down, its 19-point lead over Boston long gone. Al Horford wasn’t going down like that, though. He scored 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made multiple hustle plays down the stretch, allowing the Hawks to escape in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference playoff series.
After the Celtics trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half, Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart sparked a second-half rally. It was the second straight improbable comeback for the Celtics, who stormed back from 26 down in a win over the Miami Heat in the final game of the regular season.
Isaiah Thomas scored 19 points and Bradley had 18 points before suffering a lower leg injury midway through the fourth quarter. He had to be helped off the floor and taken back to the locker room. Bradley did not return.
