NBA playoffs schedule and results: Wizards, Warriors, Bulls and Rockets go up 1-0

Paul Pierce had a big game yesterday and his teammates were impressed.

A fair statement, given Pierce’s performance yesterday. Their coach, Randy Wittman, did not feel the same when asked about it.

There’s a audible gasp from media members, Chicagoans, rival fans, teammates and opponents every time Derrick Rose falls to the floor. It happened when he fell early in Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. It happened before his last knee surgery. Happened before the surgery preceding that. In 2012, when he first went down late in a Game 1, it took the form of a heart-wrenching loud silence. The stadium was so quiet that his screams and tears resonated clear as day.

Rose elicits such a collective compassion from all circles of the NBA that it’s hard to compare his situation with anyone else. He’s universally pitied and empathized with, not in the demeaning sense, but as if the world is perpetually clutching rosaries while praying for the best for the Bulls guard. Some feel sorry for him, but most want him to succeed like he’s an extended family member. Chicago’s love for him is understandable: he’s the flower that bloomed in the concrete. But the love from the rest of the basketball world is impressive to see.

And because it worked out for Demps and Williams, there is now no pressure on the Pelicans. The goal for this season has been met. Everything else is frosting on the cupcake. Facing an impossibly good team, playing in the most hostile arena the NBA can offer, they’re slotted in as a sacrificial lamb, a footnote in a more urgent legend being written. That’s what the Pelicans are supposed to be right now because their work is done. They have done their job.

Anthony Davis is just so good that just showing up is never going to be enough.

That’s why it has to be nerve-wracking for Dallas and Mavericks fans that they still lost, 118-108. A lot of things went right -- stuff that will be hard to repeat as the series draws on -- and they still fell to Houston by double digits.

“We knew coming in what kind of curve balls they were going to throw at us throughout the series and it felt like we had all the curve balls thrown at us in the first game,” Rockets forward Josh Smith said. “We were able to withstand it and be able to stay poised in the moment.”

New rule: any media member asking a question in the post-game must raise their hand and/or snap at the interviewee.

Dwight Howard once donned a Superman cape for the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Like on that iconic night, he becomes a brand new player when the playoffs start.

Even the Rockets know it (while taking a not-so-subtle jab at Rajon Rondo).

Pau Gasol was trying to drive on a small player, so naturally, he fell down. But because he’s Pau, he still managed to tap a pass to Taj Gibson for a dunk.

All skill? Hardly. Even Pau knew it.

The NBA is better with this Rose. Let’s hope he’s around for good.

New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans headed to the locker room in the second quarter against the Warriors on Saturday afternoon with a left knee bruise and he did not return. After the game, Evans said he “felt a little pop” in the knee, according to Marc Stein of ESPN and Evans will undergo a MRI on Saturday.

Evans is a critical cog for the Pelicans. He ended the season as the team’s second leading scorer (16.6 points per game), rebounder (5.3 per game) and assist man (6.6 per game). The 25-year-old also handles much of New Orleans’ ball handling duties when point guard Jrue Holiday isn’t the game.

The New Orleans Pelicans were thrilled to make the NBA Playoffs. On Saturday, they got their wake-up call. The league-leading Warriors flexed their full muscle, racing to a 15-point first-quarter lead and winning Game 1, 106-99. The Pelicans made a late run that proved fruitless, so the game was more lopsided than the final score indicated.

Golden State jumped on New Orleans from the start. The Warriors’ switches and defensive rotations stymied the Pelicans’ offense, and they feasted on primary and secondary fast breaks. New Orleans was lost on both ends, allowing the lead to push to 26-11 on an easy Stephen Curry finger roll.

A basketball court has two ends and, unless it’s been painted funny, looks the same from either direction.

So why did Randy Wittman have to turn his clipboard over multiple times before figuring out which way was up? We honestly have no idea. Lucky for him, he’s got John Wall and his Wizards still won.

On Saturday, that was the Wizards, who escaped with a narrow 93-86 overtime win despite nearly collapsing in the fourth quarter.

Williams didn’t have anything left in the extra period and the Raptors couldn’t get anything going on offense. The Wizards benefited from Nene’s presence inside and with his offensive rebounding managed to escape with an ugly win that nevertheless puts them in the driver seat going forward.

Bradley Beal managed to draw Kyle Lowry’s sixth foul in Saturday’s game between the Wizards and Raptors.

After hitting the shot, Beal politely waved goodbye to Lowry. What a nice guy!

Place: Air Canada Centre

Time: 12:30 p.m. ET

At the rate the 22 year old is growing, it won’t be long before he’s winning MVP’s and dominating the regular season with wins, not just crazy statistics. New Orleans’ first round opponent just happens to be the NBA’s best team, meaning it won’t be long until Davis is headed back home. But playoff experience, no matter how brief, is an important part of development.

Cuban calling the Rockets “not very good” surely didn’t help mend relations, as he did on Friday.

With Davis on the other side, this series may be one of the more entertaining first round series. However, it won’t be too competitive. The Pelicans are a ways off from truly challenging an NBA team in a seven-game series, particularly not the Warriors.

Golden State has the league’s best offense, best defense, fastest pace, best shooter, most versatile defender and maybe even the loudest home court. From start to finish, the Warriors have played incredible basketball and absolutely deserve to be considered the favorites for the title.

4 questions that’ll decide this series

1. What is your team’s biggest advantage in this series?

4 questions that’ll decide this series

1. What is your team’s biggest advantage in this series?