The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers held on for a gritty 87-79 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, taking a 1-0 lead in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Andrew Bynum fitted in seamlessly with 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks during his first game back from an ankle injury since March 19.
Pau Gasol added 19 and 13 rebounds but it was the defense that allowed the Lakers to survive a rusty performance.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Los Angeles harassed NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant into 7-for-24 shooting and he finished with 24 points in his post-season debut.
“We had to work hard as a team to limit his easy touches,” Kobe Bryant told reporters after scoring a team-high 21 despite making just 6 of 19 shots from the field.
“It’s tough because [the Thunder] do a good job getting him open. It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it,” he said.
The Lakers led the entire game and were up by 17 in the second quarter but they made just 41 percent of their shots and allowed the Thunder to cut into the lead.
Derek Fisher made a timely three-pointer with 1:30 remaining to give the Lakers a 10-point lead after Oklahoma City was threatening in the fourth quarter.
Russell Westbrook had 23 points and eight assists for the Thunder in its first playoff appearance since the franchise moved from Seattle for the start of the 2008-2009 campaign.
MAGIC 98, BOBCATS 89
At Orlando, Jameer Nelson scored 24 of his 32 points in the first half as Orlando nearly blew a 22-point lead before beating Charlotte in Game 1.
Rashard Lewis added 19 points and Dwight Howard had nine blocks but was limited offensively and in foul trouble for most of the second half.
Gerald Wallace had 25 points, and Stephen Jackson played through a hyperextended left knee to finish with 18 points in the Bobcats’ first playoff game in franchise history.
Charlotte swarmed and slapped Howard on every opportunity near the rim to frustrate the Magic’s All-Star center. Howard had five points and seven rebounds, and was 1 for 6 on free throws.
MAVERICKS 100, SPURS 94
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki made 12 of 14 shots and scored 36 points to lead Dallas over San Antonio in their playoffs opener.
The Spurs did a good job of slowing Nowitzki in the first round last year, usually by swarming him with two and sometimes three defenders. They went with only one most of this game and paid the price.
Caron Butler scored 22 points and Brendan Haywood added 10 in their playoff debut for Dallas. Both were part of a major trade in February that turned a good Mavericks team into a much better one.
The Mavs came into the playoffs having won eight of 10 and five straight.
Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker all looked in prime playoff form, but didn’t get much help. Duncan had 27 points and eight rebounds, Ginobili scored 26 and Parker had 18 points and four assists. George Hill started at point guard, but was scoreless with two turnovers in 18 minutes.
TRAIL BLAZERS 105, SUNS 100
At Phoenix, Andre Miller scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and equaled his career playoff high with 31 points as short-handed Portland beat Phoenix.
Methodical Portland was a tough matchup for the Suns all season and it was no different in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, despite the absence of the Blazers’ scoring leader, Brandon Roy.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points and Nicolas Batum 18 for Portland.
Jerryd Bayless also had 18 for the Blazers, scoring 10 in the fourth quarter, but missed two free throws with 12.2 seconds left to give Phoenix a shot to tie. Steve Nash’s 3-point try was well short, though, and Miller’s two free throws iced the victory.
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