Damian Lillard scored all 35 of his points in the first half as the Milwaukee Bucks struck early in a 109-94 victory over Indiana in their NBA playoffs opener despite the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Lillard's explosive first half included a 19-point first quarter, and his 35 points were a record for any Bucks player in any half of a playoff game.

He made 11 of 22 shots, including six three-pointers to stake the Bucks to a 69-42 halftime lead.

He didn't make a basket in the second half, but his teammates picked up the slack and the prolific Pacers offense was held under 100 points for just the second time this season.

Tyrese Haliburton, chosen ahead of Lillard for the US Paris Olympic squad, finished with just nine points for the Pacers, who were led by Pascal Siakam's 36 points and 13 rebounds.

The Bucks followed the blueprint laid out earlier Sunday by the Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics, who both got off to strong starts in convincing game-one victories.

Eastern Conference top seeds Boston raced to a 14-0 lead to set the tone for a 114-94 victory over the Miami Heat in the first game of their best-of-seven series.

Jayson Tatum's first playoff triple-double of 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists propelled the Celtics.

While Bam Adebayo led Miami with 24 points and six rebounds, with Jimmy Butler absent nursing a knee ligament injury.

The Clippers, with Kawhi Leonard sidelined with knee inflammation, led wire-to-wire in a 109-97 victory over Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, who put up just eight points in a shocking second quarter performance.

James Harden scored 28 points and handed out eight assists for the Clippers, drilling six of their 18 three-pointers.

Paul George added 22 points and Ivica Zubac scored 20 points with 15 rebounds for Los Angeles, who seized control early as Dallas and NBA regular-season scoring leader Doncic struggled.

Doncic would finish with 33 points and 13 rebounds and Kyrie Irving scored 31, but the Mavs were in too deep of a hole to escape. (AFP)
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Last updated: 2024-04-22 HKT 11:24