Golden State’s clutch win and OKC’s big statement put the West on notice

The 2024-25 NBA playoffs are underway, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game in the march to the Finals.

All four West playoff series have now played one game, and there are already some lessons to take from the weekend’s results. Sunday’s matchups in the Western Conference saw the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder clobber the 8-seed Memphis Grizzlies by 51 points for the fifth-largest margin of victory in NBA postseason history. The No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors leaned on their postseason experience to muster a low-scoring game against No. 2 seed Houston Warriors.

Saturday’s action included the No. 4 seed Denver Nuggets rallying to an overtime Game 1 win over the 5-seed LA Clippers, thanks to some late-game heroics by Russell Westbrook. Later that night, the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves pounced on the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers as Anthony Edwards got the best of LeBron James and Luka Doncic.

Here’s what stood out from each Game 1 and what to expect when all teams return to action.

Jump to a series:
Thunder-Grizzlies | Rockets-Warriors
Lakers-Timberwolves | Nuggets-Clippers

More coverage:
East first-round takeaways
Schedules and results | Offseason guides

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder lead (8) Memphis Grizzlies 1-0

Game 1: Thunder 131, Grizzlies 80

What we learned:

This wasn’t a fair fight. The Grizzlies have their hands full against the Thunder — a team fresh off setting the record for best point differential in a regular season — regardless of circumstances. But on a 36-hour turnaround from the play-in finale with travel in between? Good luck, Grizzlies. Oklahoma City’s smothering defense overwhelmed Memphis, fueling a 17-0 advantage in fast-break points in the first half.

This game was over midway through the second quarter despite MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander getting off to a slow start (2-of-10 shooting in first half) and finishing with his fewest points (15) in a game this season. Granted, he was subbed out for the rest of the game with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.

Game 2: Grizzlies at Thunder (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

What to watch:
If the Grizzlies can’t generate some transition offense, they’ll be making a fast break for Cancun soon. Oklahoma City’s top-ranked defense is simply too tough to have to grind out every possession in the half court. The Thunder rotated two premier perimeter stoppers (Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace) on Ja Morant and have two others (Jalen Williams and Alex Caruso) to utilize against Desmond Bane or Jaren Jackson Jr. Oh, and Oklahoma City has a tandem of terrific rim protectors (Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein) as co-anchors. If the Grizzlies can’t run, their chances of winning are slim and none.

— Tim MacMahon

(7) Golden State Warriors lead (2) Houston Rockets, 1-0

Game 1: Warriors 95, Rockets 85

What we learned:

The Warriors can play defense too. The Rockets didn’t even score 50 points until the 4:36 mark of the third quarter, and their 85 points were the fewest this season. The Rockets had a furious start, highlighted by Alperen Sengun’s monster dunk on Draymond Green, but the Warriors kept hanging around. Stephen Curry began scoring inside on drives against aggressive defenders while still finding time to hit ridiculous 3-point shots. Jimmy Butler III also began to pick his spots and finished with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

On defense, the Warriors appeared content with letting Sengun score, although the All-Star forward had only four of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. The Rockets found scoring difficult, shooting 6-for-29 from 3 and missing several attempts at the rim. They trailed by 23 in the third quarter but got back into the game by dominating the glass with 22 second-chance points and 22 offensive boards (nearly eight more than their regular-season average).

Houston got to within three midway through the fourth as Amen Thompson made some big baskets, but Butler hit two big shots in the end and the Warriors showed exactly why no one wanted to face them and their championship experience in the first round. — Ohm Youngmisuk

Game 2: Warriors at Rockets (Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

What to watch: Golden State seemed to swipe Houston’s identity in the first half, outscoring the Rockets in transition 14-2. Losing in that area gives the younger, more athletic Rockets virtually no shot this series, especially considering their season-long struggles generating half-court offense. An aggressive, physical start helped Houston seize a 13-point first half lead that vaporized when the veteran Warriors settled in.

Look for Houston to continue asserting physicality to wear down Golden State, while relying even more on Sengun in the half court. Sengun blistered Green as Houston’s most reliable scorer, but he can’t do all the work alone on offense. — Michael C. Wright

(6) Minnesota Timberwolves lead (3) Los Angeles Lakers 1-0

Game 1: Timberwolves 117, Lakers 95

What we learned:
The Lakers organization geared up for Game 1 by distributing a hype video with their postseason motto “Unleash Joy.” The video, in the Lakers’ words, was meant to tip off their “2025 Playoff Run.” The anticipation for a deep playoff push was understandable, considering how well L.A. played after trading for Luka Doncic and securing the No. 3 seed in the West.

And the way Saturday started, with Doncic personally outscoring Minnesota with 14 points as L.A. went up 20-12 early in the first, that story was seemingly going to plan. But nobody in L.A.’s marketing department considered that the Wolves, who lost to Doncic in the conference finals a year ago, would become the main characters.

“We know not many people are picking us,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said pregame. “I think our guys have leaned into that a little bit.”

After Doncic’s initial flourish, the Wolves took control in the second and third quarters, leading by as many as 27 points as they owned the boards (44-38) and spread out the Lakers’ defense by making the extra pass to open shooters (hitting a franchise postseason record 21-of-42 from 3). The run-up to this series focused on Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves on one side and Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle on the other. However, Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid combined for 48 points on 19-for-25 shooting to completely outperform L.A.’s role players and put the Wolves in the driver’s seat.

Game 2: Timberwolves at Lakers (Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET, TNT)

What to watch:
Lakers starting center Jaxson Hayes played only eight minutes, with coach JJ Redick opting for Jarred Vanderbilt at the 5 and using his activity (and some of his extracurricular efforts to get under the Wolves players’ skin) to try to make a dent in the monstrous deficit, getting as close as 12. Redick will have a decision to make regarding whether he will want to give Hayes a second look — that starting group was 10-3 in the regular season — or make his first chess move of the series going small from the start, ceding the size disadvantage.

— Dave McMenamin

(4) Denver Nuggets lead (5) LA Clippers 1-0

Game 1: Nuggets 112, Clippers 110 (OT)

What we learned:
Denver can take a punch — literally. Nikola Jokic got hit in the face by an errant Derrick Jones Jr. forearm, picked up a technical foul for arguing the non-call and somehow rallied the Nuggets back from a 15-point deficit to win this game in overtime. Russell Westbrook was incredible on the glass with clutch offensive rebounds, putbacks and even a key 3-pointer down the stretch. It was his first career go-ahead 3 inside the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime in his playoff career. Jamal Murray shook off a poor first half to finish with two huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and Aaron Gordon had six of the Nuggets’ 14 points in overtime to seal the win.

The Clippers will wonder what would have happened if James Harden wasn’t in foul trouble for most of the game. He was brilliant for the team, but the Nuggets survived with grit and might just have rediscovered their championship swagger after a tumultuous final week of the regular season.

Game 2: Clippers at Nuggets (Monday, 10 p.m. ET, TNT)

What to watch:
Both teams looked gassed by the end of this slugfest and have just one day to recover before Game 2 on Monday. The Clippers probably would have won this easily if they’d been tighter with the ball. They gave up 29 points off 20 turnovers Saturday. The only Clippers who should get credit for holding on to the ball are probably associate head coach Jeff Van Gundy and trainer Jasen Powell, who teamed up to win a wrestling match with Jokic late in the fourth quarter. On the Denver side, the Nuggets will need more from Michael Porter Jr. to have a chance in this series. He scored Denver’s first points of the game and wasn’t a factor the rest of the way, finishing with just three points in 26 minutes.

— Ramona Shelburne