The New Orleans Pelicans upset the Phoenix Suns 125-114 in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference first-round playoffs at Footprint Center in Phoenix on Tuesday, tying the series 1-1.

Brandon Ingram made his first career playoff highlights by dropping 37 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Pelicans. In the team's 69-53 rally in the second half, he contributed 26 points – 14 in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth. Moreover, Ingram also delivered five assists in the third quarter, shouldering the playmaking duties when C.J. McCollum was struggling on the court.

Usually McCollum could match Ingram in shooting mid-range jumpers, but he shot 1-of-8 within the 3-point line in Tuesday's game. Fortunately for the Pelicans, he made six triples at a 60 percent clip, offering great perimeter firepower with his teammates.

The Pelicans were at the league's bottom in 3-point shooting attempts (24th), production (28th) and rate (27th) during the regular season. The Suns understandably chose to close in on defense, but the opponents punished their decision on Tuesday night by shooting 17-for-30 from downtown.

Six Pelicans drained at least one triple and five of them shot above 60 percent. Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado combined for seven 3-pointers, making key offensive contributions when they were on the floor.

The team's big men, Jonas Valanciunas, Larry Nance Jr. and Jaxon Hayes outperformed their Suns counterparts as well, enabling the Pelicans to lead in offensive rebounds (11-8) and second-chance points (15-9). More importantly, they held Deandre Ayton and JaVale McGee to only 20 points, forcing the Suns to pivot to perimeter players for more offensive contributions.

A healthy Suns roster shouldn't have any problem doing so, but when Devin Booker exited the game because of a right hamstring injury, the team suffered a serious lack of perimeter firepower. Booker shot 12-of-19 from the field, including 7-of-10 in 3-pointers, to score 31 points in the first half. He only took one shot and missed it in the third quarter before being substituted during a timeout at 4:35.

When Booker injured his left hamstring in December 2021, he missed seven games. Suns head coach Monty Williams said they will "get more information" and "have a better update tomorrow."

Without Booker, the Suns turned to Chris Paul, who scored 17 points in the final quarter of Game 1 to help the team win. However, Paul couldn't find his touch for most of the night. He shot 4-for-11 from the field in the second half as the Suns lost their home advantage in this series.

Game 3 will take place at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Friday.

Grizzlies find their advantage again

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96 in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference first-round playoffs at FedExForum in Memphis on Tuesday to tie the series 1-1.

The Grizzlies managed to regain their aggressiveness in Tuesday's game by grabbing more offensive rebounds (14-4), scoring more second-chance points (19-8) and forcing more turnovers (19-9) than the Timberwolves. Making 11 triples was not epic, but good enough to clear the way for Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke and Xavier Tilman to charge the rim. The three combined for 36 of the Grizzlies' 60 points in the paint.

Morant was one rebound shy of a triple-double. He continued to give Karl-Anthony Towns a hard time. Not only was Towns too slow to follow or trap Morant with his teammate, he also left too many open spaces for Morant to pass through for open shots under the hoop.

What also troubled Towns was his foul trouble. The two teams were called for 20 fouls in the first quarter alone. Towns was called for his third less than five minutes into the second quarter. He played less than 28 minutes on the court, finishing with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. When Towns couldn't attack comfortably, the Timberwolves' offense stagnated. Anthony Edwards also lost his energy, dropping just 20 points compared with 36 in Game 1.

The Grizzlies were not happy with the 11 fouls they committed in the first quarter, which forced coach Taylor Jenkins to sit Steven Adams on the bench for the rest of the game. The 2.11-meter-tall big man has a key role to play in the team's offensive rebounding, but he's a defensive liability in front of Edwards and Towns.

After Adams was called for his second personal foul at 9:10 in the first quarter, he was replaced by Clarke. After that, Clarke and Tillman shared Adams' minutes. They combined for 10 rebounds and did a good job of slowing down Timberwolves of different sizes, ranging from Towns to D'Angelo Russell.

Game 3 will happen at Target Center in Minneapolis on Thursday.

Jimmy Butler leads Heat to win on career night

The Miami Heat defeated the Atlanta Hawks 115-105 in Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoffs at FTX Arena in Miami on Tuesday, extending their lead to 2-0 in the series.

Jimmy Butler shot 15-of-25 from the field to score a career-high 45 points in the Heat win. He became the second player in NBA history to score at least 45 points without committing a foul or turnover. The first player to do so was Dominique Wilkins in 1988. This was also the third time Butler has scored 40+ points in the postseason for the Heat, the second most in team history, matching LeBron James and behind Dwyane Wade, who did it seven times.

Considering that Butler also had five rebounds and five assists, he, James and Wade now share the Heat's franchise record of scoring at least 40+5+5 in two playoff games.

The Heat led by only two points (56-58) after the first half. Their All-Star center Bam Adebayo was called for his fourth personal foul less than two minutes into the third quarter and had to sit on the bench. Butler and P.J. Tucker made an undersized big man pair for the following eight minutes, extending the Heat's lead to eight points (80-72). Butler scored 13 points and two assists during that stretch.

Trae Young again was submerged by the rough defensive jungle of the Heat, which forced him to commit 10 turnovers. He complained about not earning enough fouls after the game, but when Young shot 2-for-10 at the 3-point line, defenders didn't have to press him too hard unless he drove into the key. In that way, they could contain him without fouling.

Bogdan Bogdanovic was running the Hawks' offense more than Young in the team's rally in the final quarter. He could do so partly because Young remained the major defensive target of the Heat. If Bogdanovic can pose a similar offensive threat in future games, Young should be able to benefit from him in the same way.

Game 3 will happen at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Friday.