#ProHogs Dazzle In Playoff Openers

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – All three former Razorbacks in the NBA put on a show over the weekend in the opening round of the playoffs, as Joe Johnson, Bobby Portis and Patrick Beverley combined to score 61 points and lead their teams to series-opening victories.

Not only did the trio score 61 points in the opening weekend, but they went 25-of-37 (.675) from the field and a scorching 10-of-14 (.714) from behind the arc.

JOE JOHNSON – JAZZ LEAD CLIPPERS, 1-0
In the final game of the day on Saturday, Johnson came off the bench and proved to be a workhorse for the Utah Jazz, scoring a team-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor, including a 3-of-4 performance from long range. The Jazz found themselves deadlocked late with the Clippers after Chris Paul tied the game with 13 seconds left, but #SmoothJoe came right back down the floor and hit a running floater with no time left to lift Utah to a 97-95 victory and its first playoff win in seven years. For the always cool Johnson, it was his eighth game-winning buzzer-beater in the last 10 seasons, twice as many as the next best in LeBron James and Andre Iguodala.

JOE. JOHNSON. FTW! 💯#TAKENOTE pic.twitter.com/B98qQYYXE8

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 16, 2017

The man of the hour! @TheJoeJohnson7 recalls THAT shot: pic.twitter.com/NFiPukumr9

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 16, 2017

BOBBY PORTIS – BULLS LEAD CELTICS, 1-0
As the opening weekend rolled on into Easter Sunday, Portis and the 8th-seeded Bulls tipped off with the top-seeded Boston Celtics and never backed down in The Garden. The Celtics led by five after the first quarter, but the Bulls battled back and took a two-point lead into halftime. Portis came off the bench firing, going 8-of-10 from the field and knocking down 3-of-4 attempts from behind the arc to score 19 points to go along with nine rebounds. With Chicago pulling away late in the fourth quarter, Portis gave the Bulls their largest lead of the game, draining an 18-foot jumper with 1:17 left to seal the upset of top-seeded Boston.

Have a night, Bobby Portis! (17p/7r) #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/M7Ip26EtDu

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 17, 2017

PATRICK BEVERLEY – ROCKETS LEAD THUNDER, 1-0
Beverley and the Houston Rockets capped the opening weekend Sunday evening and did not disappoint against MVP favorite Russell Westbrook and Oklahoma City. The Rockets took control in the second quarter and went on to outscore the Thunder by 26 points in the second half to cruise to the game one victory. Beverley opened the contest with eight of Houston’s first 12 points and finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in the 31-point rout.

ICYMI: @PatBev21 had a career playoff high 21 points in the #Rockets big Game 1 win last night! #RunAsOne 🚀 pic.twitter.com/DEd5m0A7UV

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 17, 2017

The NBA playoffs continue this week as Chicago will play game two in Boston Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. on TNT, while Utah will follow at the Clippers at 9:30 p.m. on TNT. The Rockets will look to go two games up on Oklahoma City Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. on TNT.