NBA Playoffs: Recap of Day 1 of the 2011 NBA Playoffs
The first day of the 2011 NBA Playoffs was filled with plenty of excitement and great individual performances. A more exciting start to the postseason could not have been asked for.
The day started off with an afternoon double-header. The first game was a nail-biter between the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers, followed by a hard-fought game between the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers.
After an hour break of NBA action, the night featured a division rivalry between the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers versus the Dallas Mavericks. Here is a look back at today's games.
Chicago Bulls (1) v. Indiana Pacers (8), Game 1
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Final Score: Chicago Bulls 104, Indiana Pacers 99
The Pacers came out firing on all cylinders Saturday. Darren Collison was not backing down against Derrick Rose, and for much of the second half, Danny Granger and Tyler Hansbrough were controlling the game.
Granger scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half, energizing his team for much of the game. Hansbrough took an elbow from Bulls' forward Kurt Thomas that sent him to the locker room but came back and continued to provide energy.
Hansbrough completed a three-point play with only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter after a steal on the defensive end to put the Pacers up 98-88, but the Pacers scored only one point after that.
The Bulls ended the game on a 16-1 run, led by the probable MVP Rose.
Rose had an MVP night finishing with 39 points and six assists with 19 of those points coming at the free-throw line where he shot 19-21. The only knock on Rose's game was his poor three-point shooting; he missed all of his nine attempts.
With the game tied at 99, Chicago put the ball in their best player's hands. Rose drove the ball, drew the double-team and kicked it out to Kyle Korver for the go-ahead three.
The Pacers seemed to be in complete control of the Bulls, and the crowd, until Rose was fouled upon driving to the paint and teammate Luol Deng came over to protect his point guard and received a technical foul.
Darren Collison missed the following foul shot, but regardless of the outcome of his shot, Deng re-energized the crowd and the Bulls never looked back.
Rose showed why he deserves the MVP on Saturday afternoon, doing everything the Bulls needed him to do. He turned up his game over the final minutes, relentlessly attacking the basket and providing leadership.
Chicago picked up forward Carlos Boozer this past summer, but he was nonexistent for most of this game. Boozer recorded only 12 points and six rebounds while playing just over 26 minutes.
Miami Heat (2) v. Philadelphia 76ers (7), Game 1
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Final Score: Miami Heat 97, Philadelphia 76ers 89
The second game of the afternoon double-header was the first game in the series between the Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Sixers came out running and put on an excellent first quarter. At the end of the first, Philadelphia led 31-19 and opened the second quarter with a Thaddeus Young layup for a 33-19 lead.
Miami resorted to a zone defense in the second quarter, and it took Philadelphia out of their offensive flow completely.
LeBron James turned up his game in the second quarter, scoring 12 of his 21 points. James did not have a great night shooting from the floor, but he took 14 free throws, knocking down 13 of them.
James did everything out there, adding 14 rebounds and five assists to his stat line.
The high scorer of the game was Chris Bosh, who finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
The Sixers received great production from their bench, in particularly Thaddeus Young, who scored 20 points off the bench and provided the energy needed to keep the Sixers in the game. Young also grabbed 11 rebounds.
Andre Iguodala provided a very lackluster game for the Sixers, scoring only four points but grabbing nine rebounds. Iguodala did a good job defending James for most of the game.
With just over two minutes to play, the Sixers cut the Miami lead to one point. Miami looked to shooting guard Dwyane Wade to close out the game, and he hit a crucial shot while drawing a foul from Young and gave Miami a five-point lead.
Even with five personal fouls, Wade stayed on the attack and headed toward the basket where he is at his best.
Wade did not have his best offensive performance but had 17 points along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Jrue Holiday scored 19 for the Sixers but turned down a good look from long range with about 30 seconds left in the game, and the Sixers could not go for the two-for-one opportunity.
Orlando Magic (4) v. Atlanta Hawks (5), Game 1
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Final Score: Atlanta Hawks 103, Orlando Magic 93
The first half was basically Dwight Howard against the Atlanta Hawks. Howard had 31 of Orlando's 48 first half points, while the Magic trailed the Hawks by seven at the half.
Howard was controlling the paint and dominating the Atlanta big men. Atlanta locked down on Howard in the second half but still allowed a total of 46 points and 19 rebounds from the All-Star center.
Orlando's problem on Saturday night was that only one player other than Howard scored in double-digits. Jameer Nelson dropped 27 points, but only one in the first half.
Atlanta came out with something to prove. Many people predicted Atlanta to lose this series after an unimpressive playoff performance last year, especially against the Magic.
The Hawks had five players in double-figures, including two big games from their two best scorers. Joe Johnson scored 25 points while last year's Sixth Man of the Year, Jamal Crawford, scored 23.
In typical live-and-die-by-the-three fashion, Orlando threw up 22 three-point attempts but only hit six of them. If Orlando wants to win this series, they will need to knock down their long-range attempts.
Atlanta won the turnover battle 18-9. With players like Josh Smith, Johnson and Crawford, the Hawks were able to score off of turnovers.
Dwight Howard was sent to the line 22 times, knocking down 14 of his free-throw attempts. The rest of the team combined for eight free-throw attempts.
Saturday night's game between the Hawks and Magic came down to a few main points. For starters, Howard received no help from his teammates, minus a good second half from Nelson. Howard scored 49 percent of Orlando's points.
The Hawks were able to run their offense smoothly. Howard was able to alter a few shots and record one block, but the Hawks executed for majority of the night. The Hawks' five players in double-figures also all shot over 50 percent from the field.
In Game 1, the Hawks showed that they were ready to be taken seriously in the playoffs. They shot the ball well, played very good defense and were not intimidated by the Magic. A team that many counted out of this series took control after an impressive win.
The Hawks became the first team in the 2011 NBA Playoffs to win a road game.
Dallas Mavericks (3) v. Portland Trail Blazers (6), Game 1
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Final Score: Dallas Mavericks 89, Portland Trail Blazers 81
The story on the final game of opening Saturday had to be Jason Kidd. The savvy veteran, known more for his passing and leadership, had 24 points, 18 of which came from beyond the arc.
Portland fought hard all night, but at the end of the night, they could not get crucial stops.
LaMarcus Aldridge led his team with 27 points in a valiant effort to bring the Blazers a big road win, but he just fell short. The Mavs gave Aldridge multiple looks, placing Tyson Chandler, Brendan Haywood and Dirk Nowitzki on him.
The Blazers did an excellent job of frustrating Nowitzki throughout the night despite his stat line.
Nowitzki had a game-high 28 points but only shot 7-for-20 from the floor. Nowitzki's less-than-mediocre shooting night did not carry over to the free-throw line, as he connected on all 13 of his attempts.
The Mavericks had a large advantage on the line, attempting 16 more free throws.
The two teams went back and forth all night, but the Dallas veterans were too much to handle down the stretch.
Portland received very little from Brandon Roy and Wesley Matthews, who shot a combined 2-for-10 and a had a combined four points. Gerald Wallace also had a poor shooting night but played very good defense throughout the night.
Andre Miller had 18 points along with six assists for Portland. Nicolas Batum added 14 points off the bench, leading all bench scorers.
