Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder win: NBA Playoffs 2011 Roundup (Part 2)
Boston Celtics 87 – New York Knicks 85
Ray Allen ended up with 24 points and nine rebounds, including the game-winning three-pointer, to lead the Boston Celtics to a narrow 87-85 win over the New York Knicks at the TD Garden on Sunday night. The win gave the Celtics a 1-0 lead in the Eastern
Conference best-of-seven series.
Paul Pierce scored 18 points while Kevin Garnett finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics.
Centre-forward Jermaine O'Neal added 12 points while Rajon Rondo came off the bench with 10 points, nine rebounds and as many assists for Boston, who won their NBA-high 17th championship in 2008.
Amare Stoudemire scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the defeat for the sixth-seeded New York. Carmelo Anthony racked up 15 points while Chauncey Billups finished with 10 points for the Knicks, who are in the playoffs for the first time
in seven years.
Pierce scored eight of his points in the first quarter as the Celtics carried a 24-23 lead into the second. New York outscored Boston 28-15 in the second quarter, taking a 51-39 advantage into the locker room.
The Celtics limited the Knicks to just 13 points in the third quarter but New York managed to take a 64-59 lead into the fourth. Boston fought hard in the fourth quarter to take charge of the contest and managed to make it a three-point game at 85-82. In
addition to that, they scored five unanswered points in the last 37 seconds to walk away with the victory.
Oklahoma City Thunder 107 - Denver Nuggets 103
All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 72 points, as the Oklahoma City Thunder held on for a hard-fought 107-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets in their playoff opener, at the Oklahoma City Arena on Sunday night.
Durant had a game-high 41 points and nine rebounds while Westbrook finished with 31 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the victory.
Nene scored a team-high 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds while forward Danilo Gallinari added 18 points in the losing effort. Guard Raymond Felton ended with 12 points and eight assists while Kenyon Martin and Ty Lawson chipped in with 10 points each
for the Nuggets.
Denver got off to a quick start and led 33-24 after 12 minutes. Oklahoma City got their shooting touch back in the second quarter and trailed by only one point, 60-59, at half time. The Thunder continued to fight hard throughout the third quarter and took
an 86-82 lead into the final stanza.
Trailing by four points after three quarters, the Nuggets managed to make it a one-point game at 101-100, with three minutes to in the quarter. Oklahoma City then went on a 7-3 run to seal the victory.
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