Kevin Durant, Zach Randolph: Top Five performances in the 2011 Conference Quarterfinals – Part 1
The first round of the 2011 National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs showcased some amazing performances. There were players like LeBron James, Marc Gasol, Dwyane Wade and so on, who consistently put up big numbers throughout
the first round. However, in this piece, we will illustrate the game-breaking performances of players, who changed the scenario of the whole game with their brilliance.
Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant showed the NBA world that he has the guts to become the next big thing in NBA. The 22-year-old scored his playoff-best 41 points, including 16 of his team's final 20 points, as the
Oklahoma City beat the Denver Nuggets 100-97 in game-5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. The victory propelled the Thunder into the second round of the NBA playoffs.
On that night, the OKC were trailing by nine points with just four minutes remaining in the game and it seemed like the Bronchos will pull back in the series. However, the dazzling Durant took the charge and put up an off balance
3-point shot, cutting the margin to six and getting the crowd back into the game. He then nailed a setback jump shot to tie the game at 93, with 01:21 remaining. He didn’t finish there though and went on to score the next seven points for his team to seal
the victory.
The Nuggets coach George Karl praised the breath-taking performance of Durant and said, "Durant made some very difficult shots. I don't care how many guys we put him he's probably going to make those shots."
Zach Randolph – Memphis Grizzlies
During the course of the last two seasons, Zach Randolph has emerged as one of the best rebounders and post scorers in the league. And in the game-6 of the first round series against the Western Conferences’ best San Antonio Spurs,
he certainly proved his reputation. Randolph scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies made history by finishing off the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs 99-91 in the sixth game of the quarterfinal series.
Z-Bo’s performance was not that impressive until the fourth quarter as he scored just 14 points at the end of the third quarter, shooting just 6-for-14 from the field. The fourth quarter however heralded one of the most belligerent
one-man shows in this year’s playoffs as the 29-year-old shot 6-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to hound the Spurs.
With 04:40 to go in the fourth, the Spurs’ centre Antonio McDyess hit a jump shot to put San Antonio ahead by 80-79. Randolph hit a turnaround jump shot on the next possession to give Memphis a one-point lead.
Z-Bo played the game for the home crowd and provided all the offense down the stretch, scoring 17 points in the final stanza. He scored 13 of his team’s final 20 points in the final four minutes of the game, sending them into the
semifinals for the first time.
The Memphis center Marc Gasol appreciated the terrific performance of his teammate and said, “He put the whole team on his back and delivered,” “That was, for me on the court, one of the most unreal performances in the fourth quarter
in a long time.” “The last 4 or 5 minutes of the game, he just carried us. It was unbelievable.”
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