Raptors hit 22 3-pointers, rout Nets in playoff series opener

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Fred VanVleet scored 30 points and defending NBA champion Toronto hit 22 3-pointers to beat Brooklyn 134-110 in the opening game of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series Monday.

VanVleet went 8-for-10 from 3-point range and the Raptors shot 22-for-44 from beyond the arc as a team. The Raptors’ 22 3-pointers matched a season high and set a franchise playoff record.

VanVleet had 11 assists with only one turnover, becoming the first Raptor in franchise history to combine 30-plus points and 10-plus assists in a playoff game.

“I thought this is the most locked in we’ve been all year,” VanVleet said. “Having won one (title), it kind of puts you at a peace throughout the year, and now it’s time to kick it into gear. I thought we were pretty engaged.”

The Raptors, who never trailed, had lost their opening playoff game five of the previous six years even though they were the higher-seeded team in each of those matchups.

Clippers 118, Mavericks 110: Kawhi Leonard had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Los Angeles got a big boost from the ejection of Kristaps Porzingis to beat Dallas in Game 1 of a Western Conference series.

The Mavericks’ Luka Doncic finished with 42 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and he had the No. 7 seed hanging with the Clippers for much of the night.

But Los Angeles pulled into the lead after Porzingis was ejected for picking up his second technical foul in the third quarter.

Nuggets 135, Jazz 125: Jamal Murray scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime to help push Denver past Utah despite Donovan Mitchell’s Jazz playoff-record 57 points in Game 1 of a West series.

Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds for Denver. He had a chance to win it in regulation at the buzzer, but his right-handed hook shot over Utah’s Rudy Gobert was off the mark.

Mitchell’s scoring spree surpassed the Jazz mark of 50 by Karl Malone on April 22, 2000, against Seattle.

Celtics 109, 76ers 101: Jayson Tatum had 32 points and 13 rebounds as Boston beat Philadelphia in Game 1 of the teams’ East series.

Jaylen Brown scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and Kemba Walker added 19 points for the Celtics.

Joel Embiid had 26 points and 16 rebounds and Josh Richardson and Alec Burks each added 18 points for the 76ers.