BULLS, HEAT, CELTICS, HAWKS, GRIZZLIES, HORNETS, MAVS, THUNDER OPEN WITH WINS
It's that time of year again and we all know what it's about. For just under half the teams in the NBA the season is over and they're left to watch the most important part of it on TV. For the rest it's do or die in a seven game series against each other. The start of the 2011 NBA playoffs meant that 16 teams were 16 wins away from lifting the title and four defeats away from having to book their vacations. For Game 1 of the first round, well as always it would set the tone for each series. The home sides, in theory the favourites for each series...well if they couldn't hit the ground running they were going to be in trouble. Time to play ball.
In the East, the Bulls faced the Pacers in Chicago. Well the Bulls could certainly have made a better start to their first game as number 1 seed and it was the Pacers that had the edge at the end of the first. At best the Bulls were just able to keep things ticking over in the second quarter and the Pacers led 55-51 at half time. The home side were led into even more trouble in the third quarter though with the Pacer lead hitting double digits at one point but this game wasn't over yet. No where near over in fact. Luol grabbed himself 18 points but failed to really shut down his opposite number when it matter most. It was left to Derrick Rose to lead the big comeback and on that front it was mission accomplished. 39 points for the MVP favourite and the Bulls won 104-99.
The Heat faced the Sixers in Miami. Well the Heat are my pick to win the title but they were doing their best to make me look like a moron in the first quarter as the Sixers raced to a 33-19 lead! They stopped messing about in the 2nd quarter though and gave the Sixers a reality check, easilly taking the lead before half time. In the third quarter, well they just needed to keep going and did so, extending their lead to double digits going into the fourth? Game over right? Not quite. The Sixers tried their hand at a late comeback in the last few minutes but couldn't quite turn the game round before the Heat turned on the after burners. Chris Bosch finished the game with 25 points. Heat won 97-89.
The Celtics faced the Knicks in Boston. This new batch of Knicks gave their old rivals a rough ride from the start, opening the scoring though the Celtics managed to retake control before the end of the 1st. That didn't last though as the Knicks ran the second quarter and the Cs can't have known what hit them - Knicks led 51-39 at half time! The Celtics tried to get back into the game in the third quarter but though they took a large bite out of the Knicks lead it wasn't enough. 4th quarter to come though yet still the Knicks looked intent on stealing home court advantage...when all else fails though there is always the Ray Allen three pointer. He finished the game with 24 points. Celtics won 87-85.
The Magic faced the Hawks in Orlando. Well, forget about the Hawks end-of-regular season form because they looked to be smothering the Magic from the start, yet the Magic survived to lead 19-17 at the end of one. The Hawks kept going though and by half time were in control of the game. In the third quarter well the Magic as a team started to step it up more but it wasn't quite enough and the Hawks had a double digit lead going into the fourth. Things did not change much in the final quarter though. The moral of this story is that Superman cannot save the Magic on his own. Then again, you'd have thought they'd have learned that by now. Joe Johnson lead the Hawks with 25 points as they took the game 103-93 and homecourt advantage with it.
Out West, the Spurs faced the Grizzlies in San Antonio. Well the Spurs had been hit by injury which didn't help matters and the Grizzlies proved to be very capable of taking advantage. The Spurs made a brave effort to play catchup in the second quarter but came up short. In the third quarter though they tried again and this time around managed to hammer the Grizzlies from three point land and go into the final quarter with a 74-70 lead. Yet the Grizzlies would not bow down and the Spurs could only hold them off for so long. Zack Randolph finished with 25 points and the Spurs found themselves mugged to the tune of 101-98, the Grizzlies not only taking homecourt advantage but also their first ever playoff win as a franchise that originally started in Vancouver in '97!
The Lakers faced the Hornets in LA. Well the Lakers led 14-12 with 5:19 left in the 1st quarter but if the defending champions thought they were going to get an easy ride in the first stage of their title defence then they had another think coming. The second quarter brought more pain for the Lakers as the Hornets put on an unbelievable display to entend their lead. The Lakers looked to put things right in the 3rd quarter but weren't quite able to make it stick. The 4th quarter just turned out to be more of the same and Phil Jackson clearly has a lot of work to do. Chris Paul grabbed 33 points. The Hornets won 109-100 and take homecourt advantage.
The Mavs faced the Blazers in Dallas. Well the Blazers can never be completely written off as far as the playoffs are concerned and they proved that again here, leading 22-21 after the 1st quarter. The Mavs didn't have a problem with that though as they took over in the second quarter, outclassing the Blazers from all over the court. The Blazers looked to get a second wind in the 3rd quarter but it wasn't quite enough to turn the game around before the end of the period. Then in the 4th quarter it was "here come the Blazers" and they led going into the final stretch but the Mavs just have too many long range options, including Dirk Nowitski who grabbed 28 points. Mavs won 89-81.
The Thunder faced the Nuggets in Oklahoma City. The Nuggets gave their hosts a rough ride from the start and it took a while for the Thunder to work out what to do with them. They started to step things up in the second quarter but the Nuggets managed to hold out till half time, leading 60-59 by that point. The Thunder just kept pushing it though and kept finding their guys in space, by the end of the third they'd turned the game round. The Nuggets were in no mood to bow down and were leading the game as it approached it's final minute. One final burst from the Thunder though and it was the home fans celebrating. Kevin Durant grabbed 41 points as the Thunder won 107-103.
Click here to visit the Basketball archive
Comments go here
