The day started off with the Memphis Grizzlies playing away at the San Antonio Spurs. Memphis have never won a playoff game in their franchise history and to make matters worse, their first playoff appearance was against the Spurs who swept them 4-0. Today's match however would be a different story.
With both teams missing a key player with Ginobli out for San Antonio and arguably the best player for Memphis Rudy Gay out for the season.
The Grizzlies were eager not only to avenge their 4-0 loss in their first playoff appearance against the Spurs but they also wanted to win their first ever play off game in their history. They played with heart, passion, intelligence, and mental as well as physical toughness. By doing all of this, they won their first ever playoff game agaisnt the team that did not welcome them to the post season a number of years ago. The final score was Memphis 101-98 San Antonio.
Memphis were down 98-96 but Shane Battier stepped up and hit a three without any signs of panic. The Grizzlies were having fun and it showed on the court. Center Marc Gasol and power forward Zach Randolph played a big part in their victory with Gasol scoring 24 points and adding 9 boards while Randolph scored 25 points and added 14 boards of his own. Game 2 will be played Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern
The next game had the defending champions host the New Orleans Hornets who were without David West who is an important part of their team. The Lakers had all of their starters but the away side caused the second upset of the day.
Chris Paul brought back memories from two to three seasons ago when he was absolute beast on the court with 33 points, 14 assists, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. Those numbers proved key in their 109-100 victory away at Los Angeles whose superstar Kobe Bryant had 34 points of his own and added 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Game 2 will be played Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
In the third game number 3 Boston hosted number 6 New York. Boston is known for its defensive talents but in the first half, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire proved too much as the Knicks entered the half with a twelve point lead at 51-39. However in the second half, the home side snapped out of their skid.
The Celtics started making shots and getting stops as the Knicks struggled to find any type of rhythm. The Celtics would end up winning the game 87-85 after Ray Allen nailed a three pointer with Carmelo Anthony's three point attempt hitting the rim and bouncing away just seconds later. Game 2 will be played Tuesday at the same time 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
The last but certainly not least exciting game of the night was played between the highflying Denver Nuggets and hearty Oklahoma Thunder.
The game began very slowly for the home side Oklahoma as the Denver Nugets nailed their first 7 shots eventually opening up a 13 point lead later on in the quarter. However their big lead would not last as they were only up one at the half.
The second half saw Oklahoma's two stars Russel Westbrook and Kevin Durant lead their team to a 107-103 victory over a feisty Denver side. Russel Westbrook scored 31 points and added 7 assists and 6 rebounds while Durant scored a game high 41 points and added 9 rebounds of his own. Game 2 will be played Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
The playoffs so far have been an absolute treat with greatly contested match-ups showing promise that the rest of the respective series will be equally as contested or even more. The underdogs as well as the favorites all have something to prove and are looking to make it all happen.
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