First Round Basketball Recap; Who left a lasting impact behind in R1?
The first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs left a lasting impact, and a big one too. From the Memphis Grizzles ousting top-seeded San Antonio to Dwight Howard and Orlando taking an early exit, the first round was full of action and surprises. Let's recap all the excitement!
Upsets
Memphis rested their players at the end of the season, so they could finish as the eighth seed and face the San Antonio Spurs instead of finishing seventh and facing the LA Lakers. The gamble paid off, as the Grizzles dumped the Spurs in six games and became the second eighth seed in just five years to take down the top seed in the West. Golden State did it in six against Dallas in 2007.
Zach Randolph made a huge contribution, grabbing key rebounds and draining key shots to help the Grizzles coast to a series win. The Grizzles grabbed a lot more rebounds than San Antonio and made the old Spurs look even older. San Antonio almost lost the series in 5, but Gary Neal saved the club.
Atlanta beat Orlando in 6, getting big contributions from Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford to stun the Magic. In Game 1, Dwight Howard scored 46 points, but the Magic lost. Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford made key shots when they needed to, and Jamal Crawford picked up a five point play in the clinching victory.
Atlanta won the series by grabbing rebounds and winning close games. All three of the games in Atlanta were decided by three or four points, with Joe Johnson or Jamal Crawford making huge plays. In Game Three, Jamal Crawford made a huge 3 to ice the game and seal a 2-1 series lead. In Game 4, Atlanta got a huge offensive rebound by Joe Johnson. In Game 6, Atlanta used a couple missed triples from Orlando to survive.
Close Games
Chicago needed huge efforts from Derrick Rose, Kyle Korver, and Luol Deng to survive the Pacers. The first 3 games were decided by 5, 6, and 4 points, but the first one was a huge comeback and a huge 3 that sparked the win, the second a huge effort from Derrick Rose, and the third a big bucket by Rose and good defense. The Bulls finally executed their plan of holding Indiana to tough shots and not allowing easy layups in the last 3 games.
In Game 1, the Bulls trailed by 12 points in the third quarter, and with 3:28 left, the Bulls trailed 98-88. Then Derrick Rose took over, making crazy layups and getting an assist to Kyle Korver. Korver drained a 3 late to save the game and give Chicago a 104-99 win. Rose scored 36 in G2 and made a great left-handed layup off the glass to give the Bulls an 88-84 win in G3.
In Game 1 of the Oklahoma City-Denver series, the Thunder trailed by 1, but got a controversial tip-in to give OKC the lead, and Russell Westbrook made a great runner to give the Thunder a 107-103 win. Kevin Durant scored 41 points twice in the series, and Russell Westbrook made a couple huge shots.
Boston picked up a couple huge wins too, with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen making game-winning shots to propel the Celtics to a sweep. Overall, Boston went 8-0 against the Knicks. In Game 1, with the Celtics trailing by 3, Kevin Garnett scored on an alley-oop inbounds play, and after Carmelo Anthony was called for a foul, Ray Allen drained the game-winning three. In Game 2, Kevin Garnett's turnaround and the Knicks turnover sealed the 2-0 series lead for the C's.
Big Performances
Players like Jason Kidd, Jamal Crawford, Serge Ibaka and others made huge plays for their teams. Kidd scored 24 in a huge Game 1 win for Dallas, and made big plays throughout the series, Jamal Crawford averaged 20.5 PPG, scored a 5 point play, and drained a huge 3 to seal Game 3, and Ibaka scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as OKC took Game 3 from Denver.
Ibaka averaged a double-double for the Thunder, and in Game 3, he scored 22 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and made all 10 of his foul shots. He made a huge shot to help the Thunder seal the game, and he made enough contributions for the Thunder to win the series. Kidd scored 24 and 18 in the Mavericks first two victories, with Kidd making six triples in G1, and making key shots in G2. Crawford banked in a three to seal an 88-84 Atlanta win over Orlando in Game 3, and his five point play in G6 helped the Hawks finish off the series.
Memphis plays OKC, LA plays Dallas, Chicago plays Atlanta, and Miami plays Boston in the second round.
Upsets
Memphis rested their players at the end of the season, so they could finish as the eighth seed and face the San Antonio Spurs instead of finishing seventh and facing the LA Lakers. The gamble paid off, as the Grizzles dumped the Spurs in six games and became the second eighth seed in just five years to take down the top seed in the West. Golden State did it in six against Dallas in 2007.
Zach Randolph made a huge contribution, grabbing key rebounds and draining key shots to help the Grizzles coast to a series win. The Grizzles grabbed a lot more rebounds than San Antonio and made the old Spurs look even older. San Antonio almost lost the series in 5, but Gary Neal saved the club.
Atlanta beat Orlando in 6, getting big contributions from Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford to stun the Magic. In Game 1, Dwight Howard scored 46 points, but the Magic lost. Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford made key shots when they needed to, and Jamal Crawford picked up a five point play in the clinching victory.
Atlanta won the series by grabbing rebounds and winning close games. All three of the games in Atlanta were decided by three or four points, with Joe Johnson or Jamal Crawford making huge plays. In Game Three, Jamal Crawford made a huge 3 to ice the game and seal a 2-1 series lead. In Game 4, Atlanta got a huge offensive rebound by Joe Johnson. In Game 6, Atlanta used a couple missed triples from Orlando to survive.
Close Games
Chicago needed huge efforts from Derrick Rose, Kyle Korver, and Luol Deng to survive the Pacers. The first 3 games were decided by 5, 6, and 4 points, but the first one was a huge comeback and a huge 3 that sparked the win, the second a huge effort from Derrick Rose, and the third a big bucket by Rose and good defense. The Bulls finally executed their plan of holding Indiana to tough shots and not allowing easy layups in the last 3 games.
In Game 1, the Bulls trailed by 12 points in the third quarter, and with 3:28 left, the Bulls trailed 98-88. Then Derrick Rose took over, making crazy layups and getting an assist to Kyle Korver. Korver drained a 3 late to save the game and give Chicago a 104-99 win. Rose scored 36 in G2 and made a great left-handed layup off the glass to give the Bulls an 88-84 win in G3.
In Game 1 of the Oklahoma City-Denver series, the Thunder trailed by 1, but got a controversial tip-in to give OKC the lead, and Russell Westbrook made a great runner to give the Thunder a 107-103 win. Kevin Durant scored 41 points twice in the series, and Russell Westbrook made a couple huge shots.
Boston picked up a couple huge wins too, with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen making game-winning shots to propel the Celtics to a sweep. Overall, Boston went 8-0 against the Knicks. In Game 1, with the Celtics trailing by 3, Kevin Garnett scored on an alley-oop inbounds play, and after Carmelo Anthony was called for a foul, Ray Allen drained the game-winning three. In Game 2, Kevin Garnett's turnaround and the Knicks turnover sealed the 2-0 series lead for the C's.
Big Performances
Players like Jason Kidd, Jamal Crawford, Serge Ibaka and others made huge plays for their teams. Kidd scored 24 in a huge Game 1 win for Dallas, and made big plays throughout the series, Jamal Crawford averaged 20.5 PPG, scored a 5 point play, and drained a huge 3 to seal Game 3, and Ibaka scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as OKC took Game 3 from Denver.
Ibaka averaged a double-double for the Thunder, and in Game 3, he scored 22 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and made all 10 of his foul shots. He made a huge shot to help the Thunder seal the game, and he made enough contributions for the Thunder to win the series. Kidd scored 24 and 18 in the Mavericks first two victories, with Kidd making six triples in G1, and making key shots in G2. Crawford banked in a three to seal an 88-84 Atlanta win over Orlando in Game 3, and his five point play in G6 helped the Hawks finish off the series.
Memphis plays OKC, LA plays Dallas, Chicago plays Atlanta, and Miami plays Boston in the second round.
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