Danny Granger, Brandon Roy - Top scorers from April 23rd NBA playoff games
Granger, the saviour
On Saturday night, Danny Granger scored a game high 24 points and complemented it with 10 rebounds as the Indiana Pacers finally knocked down the top seeded Chicago Bulls.
Granger has been playing tremendously throughout the previous three games of the best-of-seven series. He has averaged 22.0 points in the Round 1 clinching a minimum 20 points in three out of four contests.
In nearly 37 minutes, he grasped the court; Granger also dished out four assists and made 6-of-7 free throws. Playing a major role in the final 14.1 crucial seconds of the
game, he pinned four straight free throws as the Bulls dropped two three-pointers in a row. The win saved the Pacers from being eliminated from Round 1.
Roy’s second straight show stealer
After expressing his grief on being allotted less playing time since he returned from surgery on both knees, Brandon Roy seems to have lightened the burden off his heart.
The player catapulted off the bench in the first half and by the time he finished, the Dallas Maverick were left stunned. Roy played a key role in tying the series at 2-2 and most importantly securing franchise best final quarter comeback record. His game
was throughout an open challenge for the opposition and his presence a source of encouragement for teammates.
The player capped 14 of his game high 24 points in the final period and turned the game around with four straight shots down the stretch. His pull-up bank shot with 37
seconds left, proved to be the game winning shot that placed the Portland Trail Blazers at an eye level with Dallas Mavericks.
Definitely overjoyed at the victory and on having lifted his team up, Roy expressed his emotions when he said, "I've been in some pretty good zones before. But nothing like
tonight."
Serge Ibaka’s surge over Nuggets
On Saturday night, Serge Ibaka, who was the league leader with 198 blocks during the regular season, switched roles as he broke down the defences of the short-handed Denver
Nuggets. Playing for 39 minutes while shading the opposition with his excellent performance, Oklahoma’s forward centre posted 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder took a 3-0 series lead in playoffs round 1 against the Denver Nuggets.
He was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw zone and aggressive as ever, made four blocked shots. OKC could not have asked for more.
Later he said. "The key was being aggressive and stay focus and try to do my job first, like defense. After that get confidence on offense."
Gasol, making the most out of it
Some players are lucky they get to score, some are luckier enough to be handed over the opportunity, but the luckiest are those who make the most out of it. On Saturday
night, Marc Gasol was the luckiest one. The player found a lemon when San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan was busy guarding teammate Zach Randolph and made lemonade out of it.
In 40 minutes of play, the lanky Gasol went 7-for-13 from the field and finished with 17 points. Highlighting the box score were his nine rebounds that were team high. The
player also dished out three assists and made a block.
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