If the first two days were any indication, we could be in for perhaps the craziest postseason yet. So far, every higher seed was either challenged or lost, and yesterday, two Western Conference powerhouses were on the receiving end of Joe Frazier hooks … Charles Barkley said during the pregame show that he is convinced the Spurs can’t even beat Memphis, their eight-seeded matchup, in the first round. We won’t go that far, especially with Manu Ginobili probably coming back soon. But one thing is certain: the Grizzlies are not playing. They’re here to win, and truly believe they can. They showed that at the end of Memphis’ shocking 101-98 Game 1 win. It might not have been the most impressive display by a lower seed yesterday, but it was certainly the most surprising. We knew Memphis would push the Spurs with their size, but we didn’t know they could escape death so well. After leading for much of the fourth quarter, Memphis missed four consecutive late free throws while Matt Bonner banged two consecutive threes to put San Antonio up four. We figured it was over. But then Marc Gasol finished in the lane, and Shane Battier canned a wing three to put the Grizzlies back on top. Memphis ended the game on an eye-opening 7-0 run, surviving after Richard Jefferson‘s wide-open (and we’re talking wide open) three was long … In the third quarter, we thought the Spurs had finally figured out Memphis. They used the Grizzlies’ strength against them, shooting a whopping 19 free throws in the quarter. But yet, Zach Randolph (25 points, 14 rebounds) and Gasol (24 points, 9 rebounds) answered every challenge. Randolph played so well, the Grizzlies gave him a four-year, $66-million extension last night (with added incentives) … When was the last time a team “bonded” because of a fight over a mid-air card game? Does that not make the Grizzlies the most loveable team ever? Basically, because Tony Allen got pissed at O.J. Mayo and the two got physical, it emboldended everyone else to never be afraid to challenge each other. The squad came together after that. Yeah, that sounds about right … All season long, Derrick Rose, and even Rusell Westbrook, have been the talk of the league. Rose has vaulted into “best player in the world” discussions while Westbrook has morphed the Thunder into legitimate threats in the West. But yesterday afternoon, Chris Paul was loud and clear with a Did you forget about me? performance at Staples Center. He was supposedly hurting, dragging that leg around all year. But in the Hornets’ 109-100 win over the Lakers, Paul turned in one of the best performances by a point guard in recent memory. His numbers (33 points, seven rebounds, 14 assists, four steals) don’t even tell the whole story. He toyed with L.A., and hit every big shot down the stretch. Every time Pau Gasol switched onto him, he killed the big man. He got his supporting cast involved, and matched every L.A. run. It was his world all afternoon. Still, New Orleans doesn’t steal Game 1 without some of their role players. Carl Landry, Jarrett Jack and Aaron Gray all contributed, and were the catalysts in an early fourth-quarter run that pushed the Hornets lead up to double digits … For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant (34 points) was great, but where was Gasol (eight points, six rebounds, just two baskets all game)? He’s had stretches where he wasn’t aggressive before, but yesterday, he was in a game-long swoon. Someone could’ve backhanded him in the face and he probably wouldn’t have flinched … Since getting Gasol, the Lakers had been 31-4 at home in the playoffs before yesterday … During the second half, Willie Green airballed a free throw. We aren’t sure if we’ve ever seen a perimeter player completely miss the rim on a freebie like that … Keep reading to see Jesus doing his holy thing again, and how the Thunder and Nuggets played the most exciting game of the weekend …
Is Ray Allen the best clutch shooter in the league? No one is more dangerous, no one is more accurate late and no one steps it up like he does during the playoffs. Once again, Boston ran their patented back screen to get Jesus (24 points) a shot at the end of the game, and he nailed the three with 11 seconds remaining to put the Celtics up two. After Carmelo Anthony‘s (15 points, 5-18 from the field) long three was short (a shot Barkley described as: “If you ain’t in the service, you ain’t no hero”), Boston had themselves a 1-0 series lead with a wild 87-85 win over New York. It’s been 10 years since the Knicks won a playoff game, and after Toney Douglas‘ three with 37 seconds left put them up three, it seemed like the drought was finally over. But Boston countered, just as they did all night, and eventually found a way to win it. The Knicks led by as many as 12, and were in control of the game for most of the first three quarters, but down the stretch, it got tight … While Anthony struggled, Amar’e Stoudemire (28 points, 11 rebounds) was an absolute man. He had the shot of the day to put New York up five late, then followed that up with a dunk, packing it in Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O’Neal‘s faces. The problem was that he didn’t touch the ball again. In fact, New York’s decision-making was terrible down the stretch. After Chauncey Billups left with an apparent knee injury, nearly every possession was a disaster. Still, if Stoudemire plays like that all series, New York will be in good shape because Anthony will come around … The same can be said for Boston’s O’Neal, who might’ve only had 12 points and four rebounds, but he had four blocks and helped fill a major void in the middle … There is no better duo in the league than Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Young, poised and willing to take over games down the stretch, the two of them combined for 72 points in probably the most exciting game of the weekend, a 107-103 win over Denver. Westbrook (31 points, seven assists) was an absolute monster in the first half, abusing Ty Lawson with pull-up jumpers. Two minutes into the second half, Russ already had 26 points. As long as Denver plans to play him with Lawson, he’s going to be a handful this whole series (they better hope Arron Afflalo comes back soon). Then, in the second half, it was Durant’s (41 points, 9 rebounds) turn, hitting rainbow threes during a third-quarter stretch that really put OKC in control. Late in the game, they took turns. Eventually, it was a couple of jumpers from Westbrook (one of them should’ve been offensive goaltending) that gave the Thunder just enough room to escape … Denver came out firing, hitting their first seven shots. Nene (22 points, 8 rebounds) was destroying Kendrick Perkins inside, dunking over the top of him two or three times. For the Nuggets, they had a lot of players make contributions. But it just wasn’t enough because no one could stop Russ & KD … Serge Ibaka told Wilson Chandler to get the $%^& out … We’re out like boredom.
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