Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic win - NBA Playoff Round up 19 April, 2011 – (Part 1)
Boston Celtics 96 – New York Knicks 93
Despite Carmelo Anthony’s 42 point blitz, Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks 96-93 and pushed the Celtics to 2-0 in the seven game series. The Celtics failed to make a good start again but finished on a high for the second
time in as many games. After the victory, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said, "We were lucky to win."
Rajon Rondo spearheaded the Celtics with his career-high 30 points, along with four boards, seven assists and two steals. Rondo’s made 14 of his 30 points during the first quarter, as he kept driving towards the basket.
Rondo said, "I tried to attack Game 1, it’s just [that] my lanes were getting blocked."
Both teams tipped-off sluggishly. The Celtics were the first one to put the point on board, but the Knicks thumped the lead straight away. The Celtics however outscored them with a 14-4 run midway and pushed the scores to a 23-13
advantage. Knicks again managed to crawl back and at the close of the first quarter, the Celtics led the Knicks by 23-21.
Trailing by two points into the second quarter, the Knicks made the surge and notched the lead in the tenth minute on Shawne Williams three. The 3-pointer ignited the battle as both teams fought hard to grab the lead. Knicks finished
the first half ahead by one, 45-45.
The battle for supremacy continued after the break. With the score tied at 59, the Celtics thumped a 15-4 run. Paul Pierce led the rally with his seven points. Ray Allen and Jeff Green hit three-pointers during the gush, which
put the Celtics on top 74-63 with less than 50 seconds to go in the third quarter. The fierce surge enabled Boston to secure the third by 74-67.
When the fourth quarter began the Knicks were in a seven point deficit. Then, Carmelo Anthony emerged on the scene and on his own dragged the Knicks back in the game. He scored Knicks’ first seven points of the period brought them
to 76-74 with 10:01 left. The Knicks then grasped their final lead in the 2:36 minutes with Anthony’s three-pointer, 91-88. However, Jared Jeffries fouled Pierce, who hit two free throws and Kevin Garnett dished one with 14 seconds left and stole the ball
again with just 4 seconds that put the Celtics up 94-93. Then, in the last second, Anthony’s personal take allowed Delonte West to draw the foul, hitting 2 of 2 from the paint, as the Celtics sealed the game by three points.
In this victory Pierce made 20 points and his teammate Allen added 18 points for the Celtics.
The Knicks who lost Amare Stoudemire for the second half and Chauncey Billups for the entire game, still gave the Celtics a tough time. Besides matching his previous playoff record of 42 points Anthony also set a new high with
17 boards. Other than Anthony none of the Knicks gained big numbers. Toney Douglas scored 14 and Williams had 10 off the bench.
Orlando Magic 88 – Atlanta Hawks 82
Dwight Howard led the Orlando Magic’s attack, as they overcame the Atlanta Hawks 88-82 on Tuesday night at Amway Centre, Orlando. Howard shined in with 33 points and 19 rebounds to reach another other double-double of his career.
With this victory the Magic has levelled the seven game series 1-1. Before the game Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said, if his team succeeded in cutting down the turnovers and played well at the defensive end then everything would be fine. However, his team
only fulfilled half of that statement.
Continued in Part-2
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