San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers win: 2011 NBA Playoffs Game 2 Round-up (Part 4)
San Antonio Spurs 93 – Memphis Grizzlies 87
Tim Duncan spearheaded the San Antonio Spurs, as they squeaked past the Memphis Grizzlies in a 93-87 victory. The Spurs bounced back in the series with this victory and tied the seven game series 1-1.
Manu Ginobili made a comeback after the injury with this game and fuelled the Spurs with his 17 points.
"Manu [Ginobili] elevated their team, and their crowd was much more electric. Manu is Manu. He could be in a body cast and he's still gonna make plays."
-- Memphis' Shane Battier on Ginobili
Both teams shot poorly in the game, San Antonio finished at 44 percent while Memphis were below 40 percent on the night. However, it was the turnovers and the points off them, which cost Memphis the game. Both teams went almost
neck to neck in the first quarter and the scores remained tied at the end, 17-17.
The Spurs took the charge early in the second quarter, but the Grizzlies remained within the striking distance and finally snatched the lead from San Antonio just 3:23 minutes before the break on Marc Gasol’s two free throws. The
Grizzlies led the Spurs 44-41 at halftime.
The Spurs came out fired up in the second half. Their starters made the surge and notched the lead with a 15-4 run, which pushed them to a 56-48 advantage. Although the Grizzlies remained within striking range, but the Spurs didn’t
allow them to come in front again.
Grizzlies had a good chance to take the lead mid-way through the fourth quarter, when they were 77-78, but George Hill and company dented their spirits with a brisk 15-10 surge, which helped San Antonio to take the game away from
Memphis.
Gasol led the Grizzlies with 12 points and 17 rebounds, his team-mate Sam Young made 17 points for Memphis.
Los Angeles Lakers 87 – New Orleans Hornets 78
The top two players of the Los Angeles Lakers – Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol- struggled on the night, but still the two times defending champions managed to pull out an 87-78 victory over the New Orleans Hornets and levelled the best
of seven game series 1-1.
Andrew Bynum led the Lakers with his double-double. He scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Lamar Odom added 16 points, seven boards and two assists for the Lakers.
Both teams looked to dominate right from the start. The Hornets grasped the lead in the eighth minute and stretched it down the quarter, before the Lakers made a 12-1 surge that tied the scores at the end of the frame.
The first quarter spurt gave the Lakers boost at the right time. They restricted New Orleans to 18 points in the second period and led them by 47-41 at halftime.
The Hornets gathered their defence after the break and launched the assault on the Lakers that trimmed the shortfall to 51-49, before the Lakers again rattled them with 10 straight points. The Los Angeles finished the third quarter,
up by 61-49. The Lakers were never threatened after that.
Trevor Ariza was the major contributor for the Hornets. He scored 22 points along with seven rebounds. Chris Paul added 20 points for New Orleans.
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