The first set of games for the NBA 2013 Playoffs opener kicked off on Saturday, April 20, 2013. If you missed the action, here are the results for those games:
East
Brooklyn Nets def. Chicago Bulls (106-89)
Deron Williams led Brooklyn Nets to this win with his 22 points, together with Brook Lopez' 21 points. It turned out to be a blowout with the Nets dominating the Bulls in the series opener. The game started off on the right foot for Brooklyn Nets as they registered an 11-point lead as the first quarter closed out at 25-14. Even when the Nets were limited to just 17 points at the final quarter, it was not enough to help Chicago Bulls steal this one. Carlos Boozer was the lone bright spot for the Bulls with his 25 points in 45 minutes of play. Other players in double figures for the Bulls are Jimmy Butler, Nate Robinson, and Marco Belinelli. Next game for this series will be on Tuesday, April 23.
New York Knicks def. Boston Celtics (85-78)
Carmelo Anthony took charge in this game with his 36-point performance, along with 6 rebounds, to help the New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics during the tipoff of their playoffs series. This series is ridden with emotions as the city of Boston was just recently hit by tragedy during the Boston Marathon bombing. However, as the New York Knicks hosted the Celtics, Anthony went on a rampage with his 13-29 field goal shooting. What is more interesting is that besides Anthony, only 5 more players scored during this game including Raymond Felton (13 points), JR Smith (15 points), Kenyon Martin (10 points), and Jason Kidd (8 points). On Boston's end, Jeff Green led the team in scoring with 26 points as Paul Pierce chipped in 21 points.
Game 2 is scheduled on Tuesday, April 23, in New York. Boston is scheduled to host Game 3 on Friday, April 26.
West
San Antonio Spurs def. LA Lakers (91-79)
San Antonio Spurs' get an edge over the Lakers in their round 1 series at the Western playoffs as they took a 91-79 win on Sunday night. The Spurs led early with 24-15 game at the first quarter and the Lakers could not recover. Despite late-season injuries, Tony Parker showed up in this game and helped push Spurs to the win. Manu Ginobili also chipped in 18 points to help his team's cause despite coming off the bench.
LA Lakers, on the other hand, saw the return of Steve Nash after missing the 8 games to close off the regular season for his team after straining his hamstring. He did manage to score 16 points after playing a little over 29 minutes and went for 6-15 in shooting. The Spurs' defensive play helped to contain the Lakers resulting in a long dry spell. The next game is scheduled on Wednesday, April 24, at San Antonio.
This is a re-match from last year's playoff series and the Clippers edged out Grizzlies in a 112-91 game yet again. Seven players scored in double figures but it was Chris Paul who led them all with 23 points. Grizzlies put up a decent defensive showing as they slowed down LA Clippers' pace, but 57 personal fouls were called during that night and it sure did slow down the pace but not the fiery performance from the home team.
Jerryd Bayless led the Memphis Grizzlies in scoring with 19 points but the Clippers dominated in the fourth quarter, fending off any rally from the Grizzlies to come back. The Grizzlies tried to foul DeAndre Jordan and force him to the free throw line during the few remaining minutes of the game. However, it wasn't enough to crawl back into the game. They will attempt to even out the series on Tuesday, April 23.
Golden State Warriors def. Portland TrailBlazers (99-88)
Andre Miller gave his team the winning shot in the dying seconds of their game as he scored a layup to put Denver Nuggets' up 1 in their series against Portland TrailBlazers, 97-95. The game, which was hosted by the Nuggets, is also Miller's first post-season win despite making it to the playoffs in the past. Aside from scoring the winning layup, Miller also led Denver Nuggets in points with 28 in 27 minutes of play. Wilson Chandler and Evan Fournier scored 11 points each as Ty Lawson added his own 12 points.
Klay Thompson put on a valiant effort scoring 22 points for the Blazers. Four other players scored in double figures but it wasn't enough to steal one on the road. Game 2 will be on Wednesday, April 24.
Today, the following games are scheduled to take place:
Atlanta Hawks vs Indiana Pacers
Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat
Houston Rockets vs OKC Thunder
Stay tuned here for updates on game results for the remaining matchups.
