NBA Playoffs 2011: Game 1 Roundup (Part 2)
Miami Heat 97 – Philadelphia 76ers 89
The Miami Heat thrashed the Philadelphia 76ers 97-89 in Game one of their best-of-seven conference quarter-final series at the American Airlines Arena on Saturday night. The result gave the Heat a 1-0 lead in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Miami's Big Three were once again the main contributors for their team, as they combined for 63 points in the victory. Heat forward Chris Bosh made his first appearance in the playoffs since 2008. Bosh scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds
for Miami.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged Bosh' brilliant performance on the night. Spoelstra said, "He (Bosh) was good on the glass (as he's been all year) and he was active. We were able to run some offence through him. I think all of us in general
will be better and more efficient offensively as the series goes on."
LeBron James finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds while Dwyane Wade had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Heat, who went 58-24 in the regular season. Thaddeus Young came off the bench with a team-high 20 points and 11 rebounds in the
defeat.
Jrue Holiday finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Elton Brand added 17 points and seven boards for Philadelphia, who closed the current season at 41-41.
The seventh-seeded Sixers got off to an impressive start and carried a 31-19 lead after 12 minutes. However, the Southeast Division Champions got their shooting touch back in the second quarter. Miami converted the 12-point first quarter deficit into a 54-49
lead at half time.
The Heat responded with four unanswered points early in the third quarter to take a 60-51 advantage for good. The second-seeded Miami then extended their lead to 80-69 after three quarters. Trailing by 11 points, the Sixers fought hard in the fourth quarter,
and trimmed the deficit to one point at 88-87. The Heat went on a 9-2 run in the last two minutes of the final stanza to seal victory.
Chicago Bulls 104 – Indiana Pacers 99
The top-seeded Chicago Bulls edged past the Indiana Pacers 104-99 in the opening game of their Eastern Conference quarter-final series at United Centre on Saturday night.
The MVP candidate, Derrick Rose, finished with a playoff career-high 39 points, six assists, six rebounds and three blocks in the victory.
Luol Deng had 18 points and 10 rebounds while guard-forward Kyle Korver came off the bench with 13 points for the Eastern Conference Champions in the victory. In addition to a 13-point spurt, Korver hit a fantastic three-pointer with 48.4 seconds remaining
in the fourth quarter, to give Chicago their first lead of the game.
Carlos Boozer finished with 12 points and six rebounds while centre Joakim Noah totalled 10 points and 11 rebounds for Chicago, who went 62-20 this season to clinch league's best overall record.
Danny Granger led the Pacers with 24 points and nine rebounds while Tyler Hansbrough posted 22 points in the defeat. Darren Collison finished with 17 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the eighth-seeded Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers held a 27-23 lead after the first quarter. The second quarter ended in a 28-28 tie but Indiana managed to take a 55-51 lead into the locker room. The Pacers continued to play offensively and were up 79-71 at the end of the third quarter.
The Eastern Conference Champions were back in the contest in the fourth quarter and outscored Indiana 33-20 to walk away with the victory.
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