Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets win: NBA Playoffs 2011 Roundup
Four games were scheduled on the second day of the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs on Sunday night.
The Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder came out on top in their respective games.
Here is an overview of the matchups:
Memphis Grizzlies 101 – San Antonio Spurs 98
The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the San Antonio Spurs 101-98 in the first game of their best-of-seven conference quarter-final series at the AT&T centre on Sunday night. The win was the Grizzlies first-ever in the playoffs since they became a part of the
NBA in 1995.
Zach Randolph scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the victory. Marc Gasol added 24 point and nine rebounds, while point guard Mike Conley had 15 points and 10 assists for the Grizzlies.
O.J. Mayo came off the bench with 13 points while Shane Battier posted 10 points for Memphis, who went 46-36 in the regular season.
Tony Parker added 20 points and five assists while Tim Duncan finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds in the defeat for San Antonio. George Hill added 15 points and seven rebounds while Forward-centre Matt Bonner scored 12 points for the Southwest Division
Champions.
Guard Gary Neal netted 10 points for the Spurs, who ended the regular season with second spot in the Western Conference. The Grizzlies led 27-22 after the opening 12 minutes and were ahead 45-43 at half time. San Antonio got themselves back into the contest
in the third quarter and erased their two-point first half deficit. San Antonio carried a 74-70 lead into the final stanza.
In a tightly contested fourth quarter, both teams played with the same passion and intensity. However, San Antonio managed to take a four-point lead, with just one minute to go in the quarter. The Grizzlies then bounced back and scored seven unanswered points
in the last minute to seal the victory.
New Orleans Hornets 109 – Los Angeles Lakers 100
Guard Chris Paul finished with 33 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds, as the New Orleans Hornets outplayed the Los Angeles Lakers 109-100 in the opening game of their Western Conference quarter-final series at Staples Center.
Carl Landry contributed 17 points and five rebounds while Jarrett Jack added 15 points and five assists in the victory. Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 34 points, and grabbed five assists and four rebounds in the defeat.
Forward Ron Artest chipped in with 16 points and 11 rebounds while centre Andrew Bynum finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for the two-time defending NBA champions.
The second-seeded Lakers and the seventh-seeded Hornets played the first quarter at a crisp pace. Los Angeles went on an 8-2 run in the closing minute of the quarter to take a 26-24 lead into the second. Chris Paul scored 10 of his 33 points in the second
quarter as New Orleans took a 55-47 lead into the locker room.
The Lakers outscored the Hornets 25-18 in the third quarter. However, the Hornets managed to take a one-point lead into the fourth. New Orleans remained hot throughout the final stanza and maintained their lead down the stretch to seal the victory.
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