1st Round 2011 NBA Playoffs Recap: Who Left a Lasting Impact?

The first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs left a lasting impact and a big one too. From the Memphis Grizzles ousting the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs to Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic taking an early exit, the first round was full of action and surprises. Let's recap all the excitement!


Upsets

Memphis rested their players at the end of the season, so they could finish as the eighth seed and face the San Antonio Spurs instead of finishing seventh and facing the LA Lakers. The gamble paid off, as the Grizzles dumped the Spurs in six games. They became the second eighth seed in just five years to take down the top seed in the West. Golden State did it in six against the Dallas Mavericks in 2007.

Zach Randolph made a huge contribution, grabbing key rebounds and draining key shots to help the Grizzles coast to a series win. The Grizzles grabbed a lot more rebounds than San Antonio and made the old Spurs look even older. San Antonio almost lost the series in five, but Gary Neal saved the club.

Atlanta beat Orlando in six, getting big contributions from Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford to stun the Magic. In Game 1, Dwight Howard scored 46 points, but the Magic lost. Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford made key shots when they needed to, and Jamal Crawford picked up a five point play in the clinching victory.

Atlanta won the series by grabbing rebounds and winning close games. All three of the games in Atlanta were decided by three or four points, with Joe Johnson or Jamal Crawford making huge plays. In Game 3, Jamal Crawford made a huge three-pointer to ice the game and seal a 2-1 series lead. In Game 4, Atlanta got a huge offensive rebound by Joe Johnson. In Game 6, Atlanta used a couple missed triples from Orlando to survive.


Close Games

Chicago needed huge efforts from Derrick Rose, Kyle Korver and Luol Deng to survive the Pacers. The first three games were decided by 5, 6, and 4 points, but the first one was a huge comeback. A huge three-pointer that sparked the win in Game 1, a huge effort from Derrick Rose clinched Game 2, and a big bucket by Rose and good defense decided Game 3. The Bulls finally executed their plan of holding Indiana to tough shots and not allowing easy layups in the last three games.

In Game 1, the Bulls trailed by 12 points in the third quarter, and with 3:28 left, the Bulls trailed 98-88. Then Derrick Rose took over, making crazy layups and assisting Kyle Korver. Korver drained a late three-pointer to save the game and give Chicago a 104-99 win. Rose scored 36 in Game 2 and made a great left-handed layup off the glass to give the Bulls an 88-84 win in Game 3.

In Game 1 of the Oklahoma City-Denver series, the Thunder trailed by one but got a controversial tip-in to give OKC the lead. Russell Westbrook made a great runner to give the Thunder a 107-103 win. Kevin Durant scored 41 points twice in the series, and Russell Westbrook made a couple huge shots.

Boston picked up a couple huge wins too, with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen making game-winning shots to propel the Celtics to a sweep. Throughout the regular season and playoffs, Boston went 8-0 against the Knicks.

In Game 1, with the Celtics trailing by 3, Kevin Garnett scored on an alley-oop inbounds play, and after Carmelo Anthony was called for a foul, Ray Allen drained the game-winning three. In Game 2, Kevin Garnett's turnaround and the Knicks turnover sealed the 2-0 series lead for the C's.


Big Performances

Players like Jason Kidd, Jamal Crawford, Serge Ibaka and others made huge plays for their teams. Kidd scored 24 in a huge Game 1 win for Dallas, and made big plays throughout the series, Jamal Crawford averaged 20.5 PPG, scored a five point play, and drained a huge 3 to seal Game 3, and Ibaka scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as OKC took Game 3 from Denver.

Ibaka averaged a double-double for the Thunder, and in Game 3, he scored 22 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and made all 10 of his foul shots. He made a huge shot to help the Thunder seal the game, and he made enough contributions for the Thunder to win the series. Kidd scored 24 and 18 in the Mavericks first two victories, with Kidd making six triples in Game 1, and making key shots in Game 2. Crawford banked in a three to seal an 88-84 Atlanta win over Orlando in Game 3, and his five point play in Game 6 helped the Hawks finish off the series.

Memphis plays OKC, LA plays Dallas, Chicago plays Atlanta, and Miami plays Boston in the second round.