Jazz, Hawks, and 76ers Advance in NBA Playoffs

The Utah Jazz are the #1 overall seed in the NBA playoffs, but they got a wakeup call in Game 1 of their playoff series with Memphis. The Grizzlies beat the Jazz 112-109 in the opener, but Utah went on to win the next four, closing it out with a dominating 126-110 win in the clincher on June 2nd. The Jazz led 75-41 at halftime and had their biggest lead at 91-56 in the third quarter.

Utah will play the winner of the L.A. Clippers—Dallas series in Round 2.

The New York Knicks made the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season, but their stay was short. The Atlanta Hawks, another team on the rise, beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden 103-89 to take their first round series 4-1. The Hawks were making their first appearance in the post season in four years. Trae Young scored 36 points, and Cliff Capela scored 14 with 15 rebounds.

The Hawks will play the Philadelphia 76ers in Round 2. The Sixers advanced after beating the Washington Wizards 129-112 to take their series 4-1. Philadelphia was without Joel Embiid for Game 5; the All-Star center has a small meniscus tear in his knee. While Embiid is listed as day to day, this will affect him the rest of the way in the playoffs and is not a good development going forward for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.