Postseason basketball is officially underway from Orlando following an unorthodox end to the regular season. The Eastern and Western conferences’ No. 3 and No. 6 seeds, and No. 2 and No. 7 seeds faced-off Monday, and there was no shortage of entertaining clips. Viewers got all they could ask for and more with a highly contested OT battle, career-best playoff performances, pulverizing posters, and other eye-catching anecdotes.
Enjoy the best highlights from Monday’s NBA Playoff action all in one place:
The first game of the day reaped great results as Utah’s Donovan Mitchell had a career-high scoring output with a historic 57 points on a smooth stroke and crafty finishes at the rim. For context, that’s the third-most points ever scored in a playoff game seated only behind NBA legends Michael Jordan and Elgin Baylor.
57 Pts
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 17, 2020
19-33 FG
6-15 3-Pt FG
13-13 FT
9 Reb
7 Ast
Donovan Mitchell put on a SHOW despite the loss. pic.twitter.com/gBHM0mwhOR
Jamal Murray, after not playing at the beginning of action in the bubble, has quickly heated up and on Monday he came to a boiling hot state as he scored 20 of his 36 in the fourth quarter and overtime, coming one point shy of the ENTIRE Utah Jazz team over the final 8:13 of the game. He reached deep into his tool kit and brought out some sharpshooting to go with silky smooth mechanics.
Jamal Murray dropped a playoff career-high 36 points to lift Denver in OT! 🏹 pic.twitter.com/h0vO9Tkj1V
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 17, 2020
Despite fumbling away 10 possessions, his turnovers didn’t impede his scoring as Luka Doncic continued to play at the MVP level he’s been playing at thus far in Orlando. He became the first player to conjure up 40+ points in a playoff debut, stepping up for when his partner in crime Kristaps Porzingis got ejected for the night.
Luka (42 PTS) became the first player in NBA history to drop 40 or more points in his playoff debut! ✨ pic.twitter.com/QungZsbYrj
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 18, 2020
This young pair of shamrocks came together in a Game 1 win versus a Simmons-less Philly to pour in 61 combined points of the Celtics’ 109 points while Tatum had himself playoff career-highs in scoring and boards.
☘️ @jaytatum0 (postseason career-high 32 PTS, 13 REB) & @FCHWPO (29 PTS, 15 in 4th) guide the @celtics to a 1-0 series advantage! #NBAPlayoffs #WholeNewGame
— NBA (@NBA) August 18, 2020
Game 2: Wed. (8/19), 6:30pm/et - TNT pic.twitter.com/3scnq91Q80
29 PTS, 6 RBS, 4 AST, 3 STL@fchwpo came up huge in the second half ☘️ #BleedGreen https://t.co/nm1D44l9mm
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 18, 2020
In their first playoff game together, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George exposed the Mavericks’ porous defense with their killer isolation play, which rendered Dallas’ defense helpless as L.A. proved to be too much to overcome.
Kawhi Leonard (29 PTS) & @Yg_Trece (27 PTS) combine for 56 as the @LAClippers go up 1-0! #NBAPlayoffs #WholeNewGame
— NBA (@NBA) August 18, 2020
Game 2: Wed. (8/19), 9:00pm/et - TNT pic.twitter.com/XgqHSy4pqV
Fred VanVleet transferred his talents from Toronto’s seeding games to keep it rolling versus the Nets with delightful dimes and a playoff career-high in points.
👌 @FredVanVleet tallies 30 PTS (postseason career-high), 8 3PM and 11 AST, helping the @Raptors go up 1-0 on Brooklyn! #NBAPlayoffs
— NBA (@NBA) August 17, 2020
Game 2: Wed. (8/19), 1:30pm/et - NBA TV pic.twitter.com/7SJFWAIKH8
OG Anunoby just outmuscled the whole Nets 5 out there. pic.twitter.com/gI68XopQQy
— Aram Cannuscio (@AC_Unit_) August 17, 2020
Caris LeVert has been superb in the bubble and on Monday he led the charge to mount a comeback from a 33-point deficit. He was able to trim Toronto’s lead down to nine points on career-high assist numbers, yet his valiant effort wasn’t enough to push Brooklyn past the North.
15 PTS
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 18, 2020
15 AST@CarisLeVert joined Jason Kidd as the only Nets with 15+ assists in a playoff game pic.twitter.com/jXYdql48ZS
In the opening moments of the revitalized Boston-Philly rivalry, Embiid climbed the ladder for an earth-shattering slam followed by a saucy step-back three.
Embiid not wasting any time against Boston 💪 pic.twitter.com/GuJQ70Elnw
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 17, 2020
With the game pretty much out of hand, Brooklyn’s center Jarrett Allen pursued to make the highlight reel with this disrespectful flush over shot-blocking machine Serge Ibaka.
JARRETT ALLEN MY WORD pic.twitter.com/udYuBlmUG5
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 17, 2020
Mirroring a quarterback in football, Nikola Jokic slung a pass over the top of the defense as he spotted a streaking Jerami Grant who came down with the completion and converted the two points in transition. As the Joker continues to do this, he’ll soon be crowned the king of full-court assists.
Joker throws it where only his receiver can get it! 🎯#NBAPlayoffs on ESPN pic.twitter.com/CWBCzc0RpU
— NBA (@NBA) August 17, 2020
Jordan Clarkson definitely played NBA Street while growing up. The Jazz 6th man looked like he was at Rucker Park with this play as Plumlee couldn’t believe Clarkson got this to go in.
just like coach drew it up#6PackPlay | @budweiserusa pic.twitter.com/NOZmAVmQeG
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) August 17, 2020
Before getting ejected for two technical fouls in Game 1, Kristaps Porzingis hit this nifty move while being guarded by the 2x DPOY, stopping on a dime and forcing the all-world defender to fall to his feet as he was forced to watch the ball roll inside the rim.
Kristaps stops on a dime 🤭 pic.twitter.com/lHOx5gjodJ
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 18, 2020
Full game highlights of today’s close games will be posted here once they conclude.
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