The NBA playoffs continue on Sunday with the other four first-round series tipping off. The No. 1 and No. 8 seeds will face each other, in addition to the No. 2 versus No. 7 seeds in each conference.
Check out Yahoo Sports’ predictions for each first-round series, in addition to Kevin O’Connor’s ranking of the top 40 players in the NBA postseason.
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Here are the results and key takeaways from Sunday’s games:
There are blowouts and then there’s what the No. 1 seeded Thunder did to the No. 8 Grizzlies in their playoff opener on Sunday. What was presumably a first-round NBA playoff game looked like a college basketball preseason matchup in which a national championship contender played a mid-major directional program. Maybe even a junior college.
Reporters will have to check afterward if there are nine chalk outlines for the Memphis players on the Paycom Center court to mark the crime scene. What was perpetrated will need to be cleaned up before these two teams play Game 2 on Tuesday.
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The onslaught was relentless from the start
Memphis never had a chance in this game. The Thunder looked every bit the championship contender and well-rested with a week off after the regular season ended last Sunday. After the Grizzlies took a brief 9-8 lead five minutes into the first quarter, Oklahoma City unleashed hell, finishing the opening 12 minutes with a 32-20 lead
– Ian Casselberry