Home » Sports » Basketball
Lakers steal the Thunder, Blazers put Suns to shade
Source: Agencies |
April 20, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE defending champions Los Angeles Lakers held on for a gritty 87-79 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, taking a 1-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Andrew Bynum fit in seamlessly with 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in his first game back from an ankle injury since March 19.
Pau Gasol added 19 and 13 rebounds but it was the defense that allowed the Lakers to survive a rusty performance.
Los Angeles harassed National Basketball Association scoring champion Kevin Durant into 7-for-24 shooting and he finished with 24 in his postseason debut.
"We had to work hard as a team to limit his easy touches," Kobe Bryant told reporters after scoring a team-high 21 despite making just 6 of 19 shots from the field. "It's tough because (the Thunder) do a good job getting him open. It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it."
The Lakers led the entire game in Los Angeles and were up by 17 in the second quarter but they made just 41 percent of their shots and allowed the Thunder to cut into the lead.
Derek Fisher made a timely three-pointer with 1:30 remaining to give the Lakers a 10-point lead after Oklahoma City was threatening in the fourth quarter.
Russell Westbrook had 23 points and eight assists for the Thunder in its first playoff appearance since the franchise moved from Seattle for the start of the 2008-09 campaign.
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 36 points to lead the second seed Mavericks to a 100-94 victory over the San Antonio Spurs to claim a 1-0 series lead.
Scored an upset
In Phoenix, the Portland Trail Blazers scored an upset 105-100 win over the Suns to take a 1-0 series advantage.
In the Eastern Conference, Jameer Nelson scored 32 points to lead the Orlando Magic past the Charlotte Bobcats 98-89 in their series opener.
In Dallas, Nowitzki made 12 of 14 shots against San Antonio. The Spurs did a good job of slowing Nowitzki in the first round last year, usually by swarming him with two and sometimes three defenders. They went with only one most of this game and paid the price.
Caron Butler scored 22 points and Brendan Haywood added 10 in their playoff debut for the hosts Mavericks.
Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker all looked in prime playoff form - but didn't get much help. Duncan had 27 points and eight rebounds, Ginobili scored 26 and Parker had 18 points and four assists. George Hill started at point guard, but was scoreless with two turnovers in 18 minutes.
In Phoenix, Andre Miller scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and equaled his career playoff high with 31 points as the short-handed Portland beat Phoenix.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points and Nicolas Batum 18 for Portland, which was without scoring leader Brandon Roy. Jerryd Bayless also had 18 for the Blazers, 10 in the fourth quarter, but missed two free throws with 12.2 seconds left to give Phoenix a shot to tie. Steve Nash's three-point try was well short, though, and Miller's two free throws iced the victory.
In Orlando, Jameer Nelson scored 24 of his 32 points in the first half as Orlando nearly blew a 22-point lead before beating Charlotte.
Rashard Lewis added 19 points, and Dwight Howard had nine blocks but was limited to five points.
Gerald Wallace had 25 points, and Stephen Jackson played through knee pain to finish with 18 points in the Bobcats' first playoff game in franchise history.
Andrew Bynum fit in seamlessly with 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in his first game back from an ankle injury since March 19.
Pau Gasol added 19 and 13 rebounds but it was the defense that allowed the Lakers to survive a rusty performance.
Los Angeles harassed National Basketball Association scoring champion Kevin Durant into 7-for-24 shooting and he finished with 24 in his postseason debut.
"We had to work hard as a team to limit his easy touches," Kobe Bryant told reporters after scoring a team-high 21 despite making just 6 of 19 shots from the field. "It's tough because (the Thunder) do a good job getting him open. It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it."
The Lakers led the entire game in Los Angeles and were up by 17 in the second quarter but they made just 41 percent of their shots and allowed the Thunder to cut into the lead.
Derek Fisher made a timely three-pointer with 1:30 remaining to give the Lakers a 10-point lead after Oklahoma City was threatening in the fourth quarter.
Russell Westbrook had 23 points and eight assists for the Thunder in its first playoff appearance since the franchise moved from Seattle for the start of the 2008-09 campaign.
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 36 points to lead the second seed Mavericks to a 100-94 victory over the San Antonio Spurs to claim a 1-0 series lead.
Scored an upset
In Phoenix, the Portland Trail Blazers scored an upset 105-100 win over the Suns to take a 1-0 series advantage.
In the Eastern Conference, Jameer Nelson scored 32 points to lead the Orlando Magic past the Charlotte Bobcats 98-89 in their series opener.
In Dallas, Nowitzki made 12 of 14 shots against San Antonio. The Spurs did a good job of slowing Nowitzki in the first round last year, usually by swarming him with two and sometimes three defenders. They went with only one most of this game and paid the price.
Caron Butler scored 22 points and Brendan Haywood added 10 in their playoff debut for the hosts Mavericks.
Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker all looked in prime playoff form - but didn't get much help. Duncan had 27 points and eight rebounds, Ginobili scored 26 and Parker had 18 points and four assists. George Hill started at point guard, but was scoreless with two turnovers in 18 minutes.
In Phoenix, Andre Miller scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and equaled his career playoff high with 31 points as the short-handed Portland beat Phoenix.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points and Nicolas Batum 18 for Portland, which was without scoring leader Brandon Roy. Jerryd Bayless also had 18 for the Blazers, 10 in the fourth quarter, but missed two free throws with 12.2 seconds left to give Phoenix a shot to tie. Steve Nash's three-point try was well short, though, and Miller's two free throws iced the victory.
In Orlando, Jameer Nelson scored 24 of his 32 points in the first half as Orlando nearly blew a 22-point lead before beating Charlotte.
Rashard Lewis added 19 points, and Dwight Howard had nine blocks but was limited to five points.
Gerald Wallace had 25 points, and Stephen Jackson played through knee pain to finish with 18 points in the Bobcats' first playoff game in franchise history.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
