NBA playoffs: Injuries, road teams rule Game 1 

Injuries are happening, and in four of the eight opening-round series, home-court advantage already is gone. 

Miami lost Herro to a broken hand in its Game 1 win at Milwaukee, a game in which Antetokounmpo left early with a bruised back.

And Memphis dropped Game 1 at home to the Los Angeles Lakers, a bad day that got worse when Morant had to leave early with a hand injury.

The Los Angeles Clippers, playing without the injured Paul George, got a Game 1 road win as well — going into Phoenix and grabbing the series lead while giving the Suns their first loss in nine games with Kevin Durant in uniform.

Another road win came Saturday, when New York went into Cleveland and stole the opener.

The home winners in Game 1: Philadelphia,Boston,Sacramento ,and Denver.

Brooklyn goes to Philadelphia and Golden State visits Sacramento for Game 2s on Monday. 

On Tuesday, it’s Atlanta at Boston, New York at Cleveland, and the Clippers back at Phoenix.

And Game 2s in the Los Angeles Lakers-Memphis, Miami-Milwauke, and Minnesota-Denver series aren’t until Wednesday.

23 AND HE

LeBron James — the NBA’s all-time scoring leader — has another record. He’s the first player in NBA history to face 23 different franchises in the postseason.

Memphis is the newest entry on that list. That leaves only Cleveland, the Lakers, the Clippers, Minnesota, New Orleans, Sacramento, and Utah as the franchises that James hasn’t played yet in the playoffs.

His teams have never lost a playoff game to Atlanta, going 12-0. The opponent that he has faced (and defeated) most is Boston, with James’ teams going 25-16 in those games.

Only five franchises have a winning record when facing James’ teams in the playoffs: Dallas, Orlando, and Phoenix are all 4-2, Golden State is 15-7 and San Antonio is 11-5.

AP NBA