Jorge Gonzalez’s NBA Playoff Notes 04-17-2011

The 2nd day of the playoffs saw three favorites go down and the other favorite squeezed out a victory. The New Orleans Hornets set a record with only three turnovers in their 109-100 upset win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Chauncey Billups injured his leg in the final minute of the Boston Celtics 87-85 win over the New York Knicks. The Underdogs were a money making 7-1 over the first two days. There were controversial calls in two of the games that affected the outcome of the games.

The Memphis Grizzlies capitalized in their 101-98 win over the top seeded San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs missed the offense of Manu Ginobli. The Grizzlies pounder the ball inside and scored 40 points in the paint. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combined for 49 points on 19-35 shooting and cleaned the glass with 19 rebounds. Point guard Mike Conley had 10 of the teams 22 assists.
Chris Paul struggled over his last 10 games shooting just 40% from the field. He shrugged it off and hit 11 of 18 shots and dished out 14 assists, as a team the Hornets shared the ball for 24 assists, with only two of the teams record setting three turnovers. The Hornet’s bench was a force scoring 39 points on the road while Lakers reserves only pitched in 21 points. The Lakers interior defense allowed for 52 points in the paint. The Lakers were not able to solve the pick and roll offense of the Hornets. Kobe Bryant had a minor head injury but finished with 34 points.

The New York Knicks were not happy with a late game offensive foul on Carmelo Anthony. Anthony was catching the basketball when called for the ticky tack foul in a physical game. Billups was missed at the end of the game as the as Anthony had two missed shots and two turnovers in his last four possessions. Kendrick Perkins scored a basket with just over a minute left in the game. The Celtics were efficient on the offensive end of the court with 20 assists and won the rebounding battle 39-29.

The Oklahoma Thunder went to their two all-stars to outlast the Denver Nuggets. Forward Kevin Durant scored a playoff career high 41 points and nine rebounds and Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and dished out seven assists. The Nuggets had five players score in double digits but lacked a go-to- guy in the final seconds of the game. The Nuggets scored 46 points in the paint and dished out 23 assists. The Nuggets were horrible from beyond the arc hitting just 4-16 attempts while the Thunder looked sharp hitting 9-19 attempts.