Following Saturday’s break, Sunday was back to business in the NBA as the Utah Jazz took their first-round series after beating the Clippers in Los Angeles and the Boston Celtics came back from being down by as much as 16 points to win Game 1 of their second-round series against the Washington Wizards.
Utah advance to second round
The Utah Jazz took Game 7 in their series with the LA Clippers 104-91 and have advanced to the second round of the playoffs. Gordon Hayward had 26 points and eight rebounds, Derrick Favors had a 17-point-11-rebound double-double, George Hill had 17 points, four rebounds and five assists, Joe Ingles has 12 points, five rebounds and four steals, while Senegalese-French forward Boris Diaw finished with 10 points.
DeAndre Jordan had a 24-point, 17-rebound double-double for the Clippers, Jamal Crawford had 20 points and four rebounds, and Chris Paul had 13 points, four rebounds and nine assists.
Celtics cool Hot Wizards
After trailing by double digits, the Boston Celtics came back to with the first of their second-round games against the Washington Wizards 123-111. Isaiah Thomas, who lost a tooth in the process, had 33 points and nine assists, Jae Crowder had 24 points and nine assists, Al Horford had a 21-point 10-assist double-double, and Avery Bradley ended the game with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
The Wizards were led by Bradley Beal with 27 points and four assists, John Wall had a 20-point, 16-assist double-double, Marcin Gortat had a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double, and Otto Porter Jr also finished with a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
By Kaunda Chama
