SI:AM | No Superstar, No Problem

The Bucks and Clippers did just fine without the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. That was such a great sports weekend. Check out the Top 10 below if you don’t believe me.

In today’s SI:AM:

⌚ Dame goes off
🏈 NFL draft needs
⛳ Scottie wins again

Dame and James turn back the clock

Well, I was wrong about the impact the injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard would have on their respective playoff series—at least after one game. 

Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks held off a second-half comeback by the Indiana Pacers to win Game 1 of that series, while Leonard’s Los Angeles Clippers breezed past the Dallas Mavericks with relative ease.

In both instances, the secondary stars stepped up in a major way. For Milwaukee, that was Damian Lillard, who poured it on in a historically great first half. He dropped a staggering 35 points before halftime, the second-highest first-half scoring total in an NBA playoff game in the last 25 years, according to ESPN. Only Kevin Durant (38 points for the Golden State Warriors against the Clippers in Game 6 of the first round in 2019) had a bigger first half during that span.

Lillard was on another planet during that half. He hit 11 of his 19 shots, including six of 10 from three. Several of those three-pointers were from way, way downtown, like this 29-foot step-back to beat the first quarter buzzer and this 29-footer with a defender in his face. Meanwhile, the Pacers’ offense sputtered. By the time Indiana scored 29 points, Lillard had 29 by himself. The score at halftime was 69–42 in favor of Milwaukee.

The Pacers shut Lillard down in the second half, but it was too little too late. He was held scoreless, missing all five shots he took, and the Pacers cut into the deficit, but it wasn’t enough. The Bucks held on to win, 109–94.

The Bucks have to be encouraged by how their other players stepped up in Antetokounmpo’s absence. Khris Middleton had 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Bobby Portis had 15 points and 11 boards. But can they keep doing it for however long Giannis remains out? Milwaukee can’t count on Lillard to go nuclear every night, and it can’t bank on Indiana continuing to struggle offensively.

The Pacers ranked first in the NBA this season in points per game and second in offensive efficiency. They were only held below 100 points once this season, in a loss to the Chicago Bulls on March 27. Sure, defensive intensity ratchets up in the playoffs, but Sunday’s game was still an uncharacteristically poor offensive performance for the Pacers. The frustrating thing for them isn’t just that they dropped Game 1, but that they squandered a chance to pick up a road win against a weakened opponent.

Another older star in his first year with a new team helped lead the Clippers to victory over the Mavs. James Harden had 28 points (on 8-of-17 shooting) and eight assists in the 109–97 win.

“I can score with the best of ’em,” Harden said after the game. “Still can score with the best of ’em. My role for this team is just generating really good shots and making guys’ jobs easier. And then when my number to score is called, then you score the basketball. Obviously, Kawhi is out, so my playmaking and my volume is going to go up a little bit more, and [I] took advantage of it.”

Harden is right. He can still score with the best of ’em. But can he do it consistently? He had a couple of monster games for the Philadelphia 76ers in last year’s seven-game defeat against the Boston Celtics. In Game 1 of that series, with Joel Embiid out, he had 45 points. In Game 4, he had 42 points on 23 shots. But he also laid a few eggs, most notably in Game 2 (12 points on 2-of-14 shooting), Game 6 (13 points on 4-of-16 shooting) and Game 7 (nine points on 3-of-11 shooting).

The Clippers were able to win Game 1 because Harden was at the top of his game—and because Paul George and Ivica Zubac added 22 and 20 points, respectively. But for as long as Leonard remains sidelined, it’ll be difficult for the Clippers to weather an off night from Harden.

Scheffler picked up another victory just one week after winning the Masters.

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The best of Sports Illustrated

• Albert Breer previews this week’s NFL draft, leading with why Marvin Harrison Jr. made the right decision with his unorthodox draft prep.

• Breer also identified the biggest draft needs for each team in the league.

• Scottie Scheffler could have taken it easy at the RBC Heritage after winning the Masters last week, Bob Harig writes, but then he went out and cruised to victory again.

• Nelly Korda became the first LPGA Tour golfer in almost 20 years to win five consecutive tournaments. John Schwarb has more on her big win at the major Chevron Championship.

• Fifteen-year-old Miles Russell shot a final-round 66 to finish in a tie for 20th at this weekend’s Korn Ferry Tour event, good enough to qualify for next weekend’s tournament on the second-tier PGA Tour circuit.

• Shohei Ohtani is now MLB’s all-time home run leader among Japanese-born players.

• Peres Jepchirchir set a new world record at the London marathon.

• Saturday’s PWHL game in Montreal drew the largest crowd for a women’s hockey game in history.

The top 10…

… things I saw yesterday (because five isn’t enough): 

10. Rangers rookie Matt Rempe’s interview about scoring a goal in the first game at Madison Square Garden that his mom was able to attend.
9. A pair of fantastic catches by Fernando Tatis Jr. in right.
8. Victor González’s impressive defensive play for the final out of the Yankees’ win over the Rays.
7. The wacky goal the Jets scored en route to a 7–6 victory over the Avalanche.
6. Jasmine Koo’s extremely lucky shot at the Chevron Championship that bounced off an advertising board floating in the water.
5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s tough bucket to put the Thunder ahead late.
4. Scottie Scheffler’s chip-in for eagle on the second hole.
3. The Rockies fan who got called for fan interference on what would have been a walk-off homer for Jacob Stallings. Colorado went on to win in 10 innings anyway.
2. Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko’s unreal stretch for an amazing save.
1. Josip Stanišić’s 97th-minute equalizer to keep Bayer Leverkusen's undefeated season alive.