USA DAWN: NEWS AND UPDATES

FULL  FIRST-ROUND SCHEDULE | EXPERT BRACKETS The opening day of the 2016 NBA playoffs is in the books. Here's what we learned. The East looks fun and close!  The two Eastern Conference games were well-played by all four teams and featured games that were close inside the final five minutes. The Raptors'stars just wet the bed, yes, but their defense and role players both showed up. No matter. The Raptors now find themselves in a familiar playoff crisis, writes our James Herbert from Toronto.) The Pacers, meanwhile, played well enough to put themselves in a position to let Paul George wipe out the Raptors, and he did precisely that. George was the best player on the floor, scoring 27 of his game-high 33 points in the second half as Indiana stole home-court advantage. The Hawks and Celtics played down to the wire, and the game featured a 17-point Boston comeback. Even when down four with under ten...