The Los Angeles Lakers have in the NBA playoffs Won the first game against the Golden State Warriors. In the east, the New York Knicks equalized against Miami. Joel Embiid was voted MVP for the first time.
The Lakers with playmaker Dennis Schröder won game one of the semi-final series in the Western Conference on Tuesday (May 2, 2023, local time) with 117:112 at defending champions Golden State Warriors. Schröder scored a strong 19 points. The outstanding Lakers player was Anthony Davis with 30 points and 23 rebounds, superstar LeBron James had 22 points and eleven rebounds. Captain Stephen Curry’s 27 points were of no use to the Warriors.
Davis after victory against Warriors: “Nothing done yet”
“No lead is safe against them, they can overheat at any moment. It’s a confidence boost for us, but we know what this team is capable of,” Davis said of the defending champion. “We haven’t done anything yet.”
The Lakers initially pulled away in the third quarter and temporarily extended their lead to 14 points in the last quarter before the Warriors equalized with a 14-0 run to 112:112. In the last 98 seconds of the game, however, only the Lakers scored, two converted free throws by Schröder to 117:112 sealed the Lakers’ important victory.
The second game of the best-of-seven series takes place on Friday night, also in San Francisco.
Knicks equalize against Miami
The New York Knicks, with German Big Man Isaiah Hartenstein in their ranks, equalized 1-1 in their semi-final series. managed to equalize with the 111:105 against Miami Heat. The Knicks beat the Miami Heat 111-105 at Madison Square Garden.
Randle comeback, heat without Butler
New York’s Jalen Brunson was the top scorer of the game with 30 points. Julius Randle, still injured in the first game, narrowly missed a triple-double in his comeback with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists, Hartenstein had three points and nine rebounds. Miami had to do without Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin was the best scorer for the guests with 22 points.
Embiid voted MVP
Joel Embiid has been named the NBA’s most valuable player for the first time. The star center of the Philadelphia 76ers received 915 points in the prestigious “MVP” election, beating out Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets/674) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks/606). Embiid had finished second behind Jokic for the past two years. He’s in the quarterfinals of the playoffs with Philadelphia. In the main round, the 29-year-old from Cameroon averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 66 games.
“I don’t even know where to start, it’s been a long time coming. I’ve worked hard and been through a lot. And I’m not just talking about basketball, I’m talking about life, my story, how I got here and what I had to do to be here,” Embiid said: “It feels good. Unbelievable.”