Point Spread: Clean Sweep For Home Teams in Game 1 of NBA Playoff Series

The higher seeds won all eight Game 1s at home in the opening weekend of the 2024 NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2013, and 7 of 8 also covered the point spread, which hasn't happened before. Now it's on to Game 2. Here's the schedule, and latest on the point spreads.

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) looks for a call in their Game 1 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Ah, home sweet home. It really does mean something, especially in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

We had eight Game 1s over the weekend, and the home team won all eight games. Sure, the higher seeds with the better records get home-court advantage, but it still doesn't happen very often that they all win the Game 1 matchups. This is the first time it's happened since 2013, a long 11 years ago.

Sunday was full of blowouts, with the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers winning big. Only the No. 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder won but didn't cover, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 94-92 as. 9.5-point favorite.

The 7-1 mark against the spread hasn't happened before on the first weekend, according to Bet Labs. What makes all of this a surprise, too, is that there's not a lot of blind faith in the higher seeds. The Clippers and Bucks won at home anyway despite being underdogs, and the Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns had a lot of regular season success against first-round foes Milwaukee and Minnesota.

We got chalk anyway. Here's what happened against the spread this weekend:.

Saturday's results

• East No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers defeated No. 5 Orlando Magic 97-83 at home as a 5.5-point favorite. (covered)

• West No. 3 seed Minnesota Timberwolves defeated No. 6 seed Phoenix Suns 120-95 at home as a 2.5-point favorite. (covered)

• East No. 2 seed New York Knicks defeated No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers 111-104 at home as a 4.5-point favorite. (covered)

• West No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets defeated No. 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers 114-103 at home as a 6.5-point favorite. (covered)

Sunday's results

• East No. 1 seed Boston Celtics defeated No. 8 seed Miami Heat 114-94 at home as a 14.5-point favorite. (covered)

• West No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers defeated Dallas Mavericks 109-97 at home as a 3.5-point underdog (covered)

• East No. 3 seed Milwaukee Bucks defeated Indiana Pacers 109-94 at home as a 1.5-point underdog. (covered)

• West No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder defeated New Orleans Pelicans 94-92 at home as a 9.5-point favorite. (did not cover)

The playoffs resume on Monday night with three Game 2s. Can this trend continue? It's unlikely. During those last three seasons when home teams dominated — 2013, 2010 and 2005 — the second games went an even 12-12 versus the spread. So good luck finding any trend there.

Here is the schedule for all the Game 2s, with the latest on the point spread plus game times and TV information.

Monday's Game 2 schedule

• Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m. ET. TV: NBA-TV. Point spread: Cavaliers are 5.5-point favorites, according to Fanduel.com.

• Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: TNT. Point spread: Knicks are 4.5-point favorites, according to Fanduel.com.

• Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets, 10 p.m. ET. TV: TNT. Point spread: Nuggets are 7.5-point favorites, according to Fanduel.com.

Tuesday's Game 2 schedule

• Phoenix Suns at Minnesota Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: TNT. Point spread: Timberwolves are 3.5-point favorites, according to Fanduel.com.

• Indiana Pacers at Milwaukee Bucks, 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: NBA-TV. Point spread: Bucks are 1.5-point favorites, according to Fanduel.com.

• Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers, 10 p.m. ET. TV: TNT. Point spread: Mavericks are 2.5-point favorites, according to Fanduel.com.

Wednesday's Game 2 schedule

• Miami Heat at Boston Celtics, 7 p.m. ET. TV: TNT. Point spread: Celtics are 14.5-point favorites, according to Fanduel.com.

• New Orleans Pelicans at Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:30 p.m. ET. TV: TNT. Point spread: Thunder are 8.5-point favorites, according to Fanduel.com.