NBA Playoffs: T-Wolves burn Suns, LeBron James' Lakers fall to Nikola Jokic's Nuggets in Game One

With the Play-in games out of the way, the NBA Playoffs proper got underway on Saturday evening with four exciting clashes.

While none of the higher seeds were beaten, most were pushed in Game Ones that suggest there may be fewer walkover series than we are used to in the First Round.

In Minnesota, the Western Conference Playoffs began with the No. 3 seed Minnesota Timberwolves starting their third consecutive playoff campaign at home to the Phoenix Suns.

The Timberwolves' bigs were dominant from the outset, with Rudy Gobert slamming a big dunk to set the tone.

But veteran star Kevin Durant wasn't going to die wondering and he dragged his Suns into a five-point lead midway through the first quarter.

Karl-Anthony Towns was proving the difference, battling through traffic to restore Minnesota's lead in the second. The Timberwolves stretched that lead to 10 at half time and, despite Durant's 31 points, it was never much of a contest in the second half.

Anthony Edwards exploded in the third quarter as the margin stretched to 19 points.

His steal from Durant and breakaway dunk summed up the gulf in class between the two teams.

Minnesota won 120-95 to sweep to a one-game lead in the best-of-seven series. The Timberwolves host game two before travelling to Arizona next weekend.

In Denver, the No. 2 seed Nuggets handled their business against the Los Angeles Lakers, winning 114-103 to take game one of their series.

A strong start saw LA lead for most of the first half, an Anthony Davis fadeaway and a LeBron breakaway layup stretched the gap to 12 points but a 16-4 Denver run reeled the Lakers back in.

A huge LeBron three as time expired put LA up again, 60-57 at the break.

Midway through the third quarter, the Nuggets turned it on and suddenly had a 12-point lead.

Jokic racked up 32 points and 12 rebounds, with Davis contributing 32 and 14, and LeBron had 27 and six.

Denver will look to lock down a 2-0 advantage on Tuesday at home before the series moves to Los Angeles.

Joel Embiid returned from injury for the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden against the No. 2 seed New York Knicks, but it wasn't enough as Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride and Josh Hart rained in the three-pointers to set up a 111-104 win.

Philadelphia were up 10 early, but smooth Knicks shooting dragged them back into the contest before Embiid went down injured again.

Embiid returned in the third quarter and the big man drained a three pointer, before a deadeye assist put Philly back up.

With two minutes to go, Philadelphia were within three points but Hart's big-time three iced the game.

The final game of the day saw the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers take on the No. 5 seed Orlando Magic in Cleveland.

The Cavs led at each change, with Donovan Mitchell leading the way with 30 points. Jarrett Allen added 16 points and 18 assists.

Paolo Banchero's 24 points kept it close but Orlando never really threatened to overtake their hosts who ran out 97-83 winners.

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