Kawhi Leonard has registered 29 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals to help the Los Angeles Clippers produce a 118-110 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the opening game of their Western Conference first-round playoff series on Tuesday (NZ time) in Orlando.
The Mavericks had led by five points early in the third quarter, before big man Kristaps Porzingis was ejected following his second technical foul of the game.
Paul George scored 27 points and Marcus Morris Sr. had 19 points and four steals for the second-seeded Clippers, who shot 47.4 percent from the field and made 13 of 38 (34.2 percent) from 3-point range. Lou Williams added 14 points, and Ivica Zubac had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Luka Doncic recorded 42 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals, setting an NBA record for the highest point total in a player's postseason debut. He also committed 11 turnovers, one shy of the postseason record set by the Houston Rockets' James Harden in 2015.
Earlier, Jayson Tatum scored a playoff-career-high 32 points and Jaylen Brown added 29, as the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-101 in their Eastern Conference series opener.
Brown had 15 points in the fourth, as the Celtics outscored the 76ers 34-22 in the final quarter to take Game 1 of the best-of-seven series. Tatum finished with 13 rebounds, and Kemba Walker chipped in 19 points.
Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 26 points and 16 rebounds, and Josh Richardson and Alec Burks each scored 18. The 76ers played without All-Star guard Ben Simmons (knee surgery).
In the day's opening game, Jamal Murray scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime, Nikola Jokic had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets overcame 57 points from Donovan Mitchell to beat the Utah Jazz 135-125 in Game one of their first-round playoff series.
Mitchell set a franchise postseason scoring record but had just six in the overtime when Denver outscored Utah 20-10, when Murray helped secure the contest.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors were far too strong for the Brooklyn Nets, with Fred VanVleet's 30 points and 11 assists leading the defending champions to a 134-110 game one win.
