Blake Griffin accelerated through the paint and threw down a vicious dunk right on Aron Baynes’ head in the third quarter. A few minutes later, Griffin did it again to the same poor San Antonio center.
The Nets (38-44) and the Celtics (40-42) became the 11th and 12th under-.500 teams to make the N.B.A. playoffs in this century. The first 10 lost their first-round series.
Beno Udrih is doing his best to make sure the Memphis Grizzlies can ease Mike Conley and Tony Allen back into the lineup from their injuries.
The reserve guard Beno Udrih scored 20 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies never trailed in routing the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Hawks led by as much as 16 points in the game, and though the Nets stayed stubbornly close until the end, they were unable to overcome Atlanta.
It was a slow start in a highly anticipated playoff opener for the Cavaliers, but Kyrie Irving scored 30 points to help Cleveland pull off a victory over Boston.
Banged up and bruised, the Atlanta Hawks survived their first test as the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks are entering the N.B.A. playoffs without Thabo Sefolosha, who was injured during an incident at a Manhattan club in which he and Pero Antic, a teammate, were arrested.
More than hour after his first playoff game with LeBron James and Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving made a statement more profound than anything he did on the floor.