Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics win: NBA Playoffs Roundup 24th April - Part 1
Eight teams of the National Basketball Association (NBA) went head-to-head on Sunday, April 24, in the best-of-seven first round series. The Philadelphia 76ers, Boston
Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, and New Orleans Hornets came out on the top in their respective games.
Here is an overview of the games:
Philadelphia 76ers 86 – Miami Heat 82
The Philadelphia 76ers avoided elimination by defeating the Miami Heat 86-82 in the fourth game of the Eastern Conference best-of-seven quarterfinal series at Wells
Fargo Center. However, the Heat still leads the series 3-1.
Lou Williams and rookie Evan Turner came off the bench with 17 points apiece in the victory. Andre Iguodala posted 16 points and Elton Brand added 15 points and 11
rebounds for Philadelphia.
LeBron James had a game-high 31 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for the Heat. Dwyane Wade scored 22 points while Chris Bosh ended with 12 points and five
rebounds in the defeat.
The Sixers went on a 20-6 in the first five minutes of the first quarter to take an initial lead. Although the Heat responded but Philadelphia still carried a 28-16
lead into the second.
The Heat got back into the game in the second quarter and outscored the Sixers 31-18, taking a 47-46 advantage into the locker room. In the third quarter, a sell-out
crowd witnessed some highly contested plays. However, Miami found its way to take a 66-64 lead into the fourth.
The Heat widened their lead to 82-76 with 01:35 to go in the fourth quarter. However they let the Sixers off the hook in the last minute of play. The home team scored
10 unanswered points during that stretch to seal their first victory of the series.
Boston Celtics 101 – New York Knicks 89
Forward Kevin Garnett finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds as the Boston Celtics swept the New York Knicks 101-89 in the fourth game of the Eastern Conference
quarterfinal series at the Madison Square Garden. With this victory, Boston became the first team of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to win the first round of the best-of-seven playoffs series.
Rajon Rondo had 21 points and 12 assist while Ray Allen and Glen Davis added 14 points each in the victory.
Carmelo Anthony did all he could and added a game-high 32 points and nine rebounds in the defeat. Forward-centre Amar'e Stoudemire finished with 19 points and 12
rebounds while guard Anthony Carter came off the bench with 11 points for the Knicks.
Rondo was in his zone early and scored nine of his 21 points in the first quarter as the Celtics held a 29-23 lead after 12 minutes. Boston continued its hot shooting
throughout the second quarter and outplayed New York 26-15, taking a 55-38 lead at halftime.
Trailing by 17 points after first half, New York fought hard in the third quarter and managed to cut the deficit to ten-point, 82-72, heading into the final stanza.
The Celtics maintained their double-digit lead in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for good.
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