The NBA playoffs continue Monday night following an exciting weekend of action. The Sacramento Kings continue to surprise this season, pulling off an unexpected victory Saturday against the Golden State Warriors. In one of tonight’s games, they’ll look to extend their lead. In the other, the Philadelphia 76ers hope to continue to keep the Brooklyn Nets away from the basket.

Sixers Off To A Great Start

The playoff activity in the NBA starts Monday with another duel between the 76ers and the Nets, a contest in which the Sixers want to continue to extend their advantage in the series on their own court. Philadelphia won Game 1 overwhelmingly 121-101, an expected result considering the difference in quality that exists between the two teams. In that game, Joel Embiid contributed 26 points, while James Harden had a double-double of 23 points and 13 assists.

The Nets did what they were expected to do, failing to neutralize Philadelphia and failing to penetrate one of the best defenses in the league. Nothing strange, since they were left without their best players in the middle of the campaign. They have not been able to find enough collective force to transcend disappointment in a big way.

Philadelphia has won four of its five most recent games and the Nets have lost their two most recent matches, both against the 76ers. Philadelphia continues to strike fast and hard tonight, advancing in the playoffs 2-0.

Kings Look Tough

The Kings hosted Golden State on Saturday and walked away with a tough 126-123 victory. Now the objective of the squad is to add another victory that allows them to maintain the field factor in their favor. At the moment, this will depend greatly on the Domantas Sabonis- De’Aaron Fox duo, which continues to be lethal in the face of their rivals.

The Warriors will try to steal a game on the road to capture the home-court advantage and qualify for the Western Conference semifinals. Of course, to achieve this task it is necessary for Stephen Curry to appear at his highest level. He’s been on his game but needs some help.

As the sixth seed in the Western Conference with a 44-38 record, the Warriors took a strong lead through most of Game 1 on Saturday. However, the Kings made a comeback in the fourth quarter, outscoring Golden State 71-62 to seize the victory.

Steph Curry tallied 30 points in the game and made six out of 14 three-point attempts. However, his final layup attempt as the buzzer sounded went awry, and the Kings managed to cling to a narrow 126-123 victory.

Sacramento has already achieved a huge feat – it’s made it to the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. The Kings should be commended for their accomplishment, but they’re going to run into trouble tonight. Expect the Warriors to come out swinging and take no prisoners.

The Rest Of The Camp

Tomorrow will see the NBA take another step forward to finding a winner, building on the rest of this past weekend’s success. The Boston Celtics are now 1-0 against the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks are 1-0 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The LA Lakers took down the Memphis Grizzlies in their postseason opener, while the Miami Heat surged to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in a surprise upset. The LA Clippers deftly handled the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, while the Denver Nuggets handed the Minnesota Timberwolves an embarrassing 109-80 loss.

Tuesday night will see the Hawks take on the Celtics and the Cavs challenge the Knicks.