It all started Saturday afternoon at the United Center in Chicago. The Bulls trailed until the final 3 minutes, overcome 10-point deficit for win. The Heat felt pressure pressure from Philly throughout, but escape. Atlanta torched Orlando for 38 in 2nd quarter for upset of Magic. Dirk's double-double lifts Mavericks over Portland. On Sunday, Memphis shocked the Spurs for the franchise's first playoff win. Chris Paul's 33 points and 14 dimes help take down the Lakers. Durant/Westbrook combine for 72 as Thunder nip the Nuggets. Ray Allen hits a late 3, nets 24 as Celtics edge the Knicks.
Chicago Bulls 104, Indiana Pacers 99
The Eastern Conference top-seed Chicago Bulls got quite the scare from the 8-seed Indiana Pacers, but held on to top the feisty youngsters from Indianapolis, 104-99. Indiana led for the first 45 minutes of the game, but couldn't quite hold on to steal the series. With 3:38 remaining, Tyler "Psycho T" Hansbrough dunked and was fouled by Carlos Boozer. Sinking his attempt at the charity stripe, Hansbrough helped extend the Pacers' lead to 98-88 and a steal of home court advantage in sight. The Bulls used a 16-1 run in the final 3:38 to stun the Pacers in their tracks.
Unfortunately, the United Center crowd got rowdy for the final few minutes. The Pacers defense had a complete letdown. Kyle Korver broke a 99-99 tie and gave the Bulls a 102-99 lead, drilling a 25-foot three. Derrick Rose knocked down a couple free throws for the final of 104-99, giving him a game-high 39 points (19-of-21 free throws), along with 6 rebounds, 6 assists and three blocks to pace the Bulls.
Game 2: tonight in Chicago, 9:30 p.m.
Miami Heat 97, Philadelphia 76ers 89
The Miami Heat had some early trouble with the 76ers, but being at home, they probably figured they might be alright in Game 1. Down 31-19 after one, I think I would be a little worried. LeBron, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade were in control from there out. The Heat outscored Philly 78-58 over the final three quarters to hang on for the eight-point win.
Chris Bosh was the surprise leading scorer with 25 points and 12 rebounds, followed by 21 and 14 rebounds from LeBron James and 17 points and 7 boards from Wade.
Game 2: tonight in Miami, 7 p.m.
Atlanta 103, Orlando 93
Normally when a player like Dwight Howard dominates the box score with 46 points and 19 rebounds, it means that the opponents couldn't find an answer and didn't win. The problem for the Magic was that they weren't able to rely on anyone else to pick up slack the when Howard and Jameer Nelson weren't scoring. Nelson had 27 to help out, but Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, J.J. Redick and Gilbert Arenas all combined for the remaining 20 points, in a ten-point loss to the upset-minded Hawks.
Atlanta was led by Joe Johnson with 25 and Jamal Crawford with 23. Al Horford (16), Josh Smith (15) and Kirk Hinrich (13) pitched in to helped beat the Magic and steal the home court from Orlando.
Game 2: Tuesday in Orlando, 7:30 p.m.
Dallas Mavericks 89, Portland Trailblazers 81
Dirk Nowitzki's 28 and 10 rebounds and Jason Kidd's 24 points and 4 assists put the Mavericks in cruise control and gave them the series lead, 1-0. LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 27 and Marcus Camby had 18 rebounds, but it wasn't quite enough.
Game 2: Tuesday in Dallas, 9:30 p.m.
Memphis Grizzlies 101, San Antonio Spurs 98
Zach Randolph (Marion HS) was the dominating force for the Grizz with 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Marc Gasol added 24 and nine rebounds to catch the 1-seed Spurs off guard. Mike Conley (Lawrence North HS) also chipped in 15 points and 10 assists. The Spurs were without guard Manu Ginobili, but they were hoping that a deep bench would make up for his absense. Tony Parker led San Antonio with 20 and Tim Duncan with 16 and 13 rebounds. George Hill (Broad Ripple HS) had 15, Richard Jefferson (13), Matt Bonner (12) and Gary Neal (10), but Memphis always had an answer. The Grizzlies take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Game 2: Wednesday in San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
New Orleans Hornets 109, Los Angeles Lakers 100
It's always great to see Kobe Bryant and the Lakers fall flat on their faces, but we all know that this won't last long. They just honestly had no defensive answer for Chris Paul and his 33 points, 7 rebounds, 14 assists and 4 steals. Bryant still got 34 points, but Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom only combined for 26 points, which didn't help compliment the effort of Kobe. Getting outscored 52-34 in the paint by the Hornets was probably the biggest factor.
Game 2: Wednesday in LA, 10:30 p.m.
Boston Celtics 87, New York Knicks 85
The Knicks had their chances to win this game, but the veterans of the Boston Celtics weren't going to let that happen. The Celtics are still my pick to win the NBA Championship this season, despite how "old" they're being called by basketball experts on ESPN. Yes, they are a very veteran laiden squad. Ray Allen led Boston with 24, while Paul Pierce had 18, Kevin Garnett with 15 and 13 boards, Jermaine O'Neal had 12 and Rajon Rondo nearly had a triple-double with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Amare Stoudemire led all scorers with 28 (11 rebounds), while Carmelo Anthony had 15 and Chauncey Billups netted 10.
Beantown is starting to feel a lot better. The Celtics are up on the Knicks 1-0 and the Boston Red Sox are on the rise, winning two of three over the Blue Jays over the weekend to raise their record to 4-10.
Game 2: Tuesday in Boston, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City Thunder 107, Denver Nuggets 103
When Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are shooting like some gun-slingers, the opponents really have no chance to win. Durant scorched the nets for 41, while Westbrook had 31. It will be interesting to see how long these two can last in the playoffs by scoring a majority of the Thunders' points. The Nuggets won't last too long either, mainly because they really don't have a dominant scorer, but that could also help them out in the long run. If they can get Ty Lawson, Wilson Chandler or Danilo Gallinari to lead them in scoring the rest of the series, they might be able to advance to the 2nd round. If Nene (22) leads them in scoring again, chalk up another L for Denver and an early exit.
Game 2: Wednesday in Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.
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