NBA Playoff 2010-11: Thursday Roundup (Part 1)
The National Basketball Association (NBA) Playoff games on Thursday, 21st April, featured three very close matchups that ended in hard-fought, but important wins. The Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers came out on top in their respective
games.
Here is the brief review of the games:
Chicago Bulls 88 – Indiana Pacers 84
The favourite for the most valuable player (MVP) award, Derrick Rose, led the Chicago Bulls to an 88-84 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game three of their best-of-seven quarter-final series at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Eastern Conference Champions took
a 3-0 lead in the series.
Luol Deng added 21 points, six assists and six rebounds while Carlos Boozer grabbed 11 rebounds in the victory. Kyle Korver added 12 points while centre Joakim Noah finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the league’s best, Bulls.
Forward Danny Granger posted 21 points while Dahntay Jones came off the bench with 11 points for the Pacers. Indiana power forward Tyler Hansbrough registered 10 points and five rebounds while Paul George pulled down 12 rebounds in the defeat.
Chicago held the eighth-seeded Pacers to 31 percent shooting from the field in the opening quarter to take a 21-17 lead after 12 minutes. However, Indiana managed to cut the deficit in the second quarter, tying the game at 42-42 at half time. The Bulls then
held the Pacers to 22 points in the third quarter, taking a 65-64 advantage into the fourth.
Both teams got the crowd going a bit with about two minutes left in the fourth quarter as they tied the game at 84-84. Rose then hit a lay-up shot to put the Bulls ahead by two points with just 17 seconds remaining. Brewer hit a pair of free throws in the
last second to seal Chicago's third consecutive victory of the series.
Paul George and Dahntay Jones of Indiana guarded Rose brilliantly on the night and limited him to just 4-of-18 shooting, but they could not handle him down the stretch.
Rose told reporters after the game, "The whole time I was thinking of just going to the hole. It was tough all night the way that they were playing me. But at that time I saw a little space and I just went to the hole."
Miami Heat 100 – Philadelphia 76ers 94
Dwyane Wade finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, as the Miami Heat took a 3-0 first-round series lead with a 100-94 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Centre.
LeBron James finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and six assists while Chris Bosh added 19 points and six rebounds in the victory for Miami.
Elton Brand scored 21 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Jrue Holiday with 20 points, while Louis Williams managed 15 points off the bench for Philadelphia.
Tags: