NBA Playoffs: 4 best performances from all of Sunday’s Game 1s

Best Sunday performances in the NBA Playoffs, No. 3: Dillon Brooks

Special consideration: Ja Morant and Jonas Valanciunas

Dillon Brooks performance in the play in game against the San Antonio Spurs, and the Golden State Warriors don’t hold a candle to his performance in Game 1 of this first-round series against Utah. I bring up the play in games because he was great in both. His defense, his aggressiveness on offense, and his overall energy energized the rest of the team. And tonight he was even better.

In the Grizzlies 112-109 win over the Jazz, Brooks put in 31 points and seven rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the field. Brooks’ playoff debut included 31 points, a bunch of timely and-ones (much to the chagrin of the passionate Utah crowd), a 14 point third-quarter explosion, and high energy on ball defense.

Like a few other players who played well today, Brooks was making his playoff debut, and he did not disappoint. Stealing a game on the road is one of the toughest things to do and Memphis did that tonight. A series lead, and the absence of Donovan Mitchell from the Jazz lineup bodes well for Brooks and the rest of the Grizzlies.