Monday 25 April 2011

Big Rally by Blazers; Grizzlies Lead Spurs, 2-1

Posted by chardyboy on Monday, April 25, 2011 0 comments

source: By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Brandon Roy’s season had been fraught with uncertainty, first over the stability of his knees, then over his diminished role with the Portland Trail Blazers. 

All those doubts melted away Saturday when he led host Portland to one of the greatest comebacks in N.B.A. playoff history.

With 39.2 seconds left, Roy made a go-ahead bank shot that gave the Trail Blazers a stunning 84-82 comeback victory over the Dallas Mavericks — and evened their first-round playoff series at two games each. The series returns to Dallas for Game 5 on Monday.

Roy finished with 24 points, 18 in the fourth quarter, as the Blazers erased a 23-point deficit. Portland became the third N.B.A. team in the shot-clock era to win a playoff game when trailing by 18 points or more heading into the fourth quarter.

“I’ve been in some pretty good zones before,” Roy, a three-time All-Star, said. “But nothing like tonight.”
After the victory, Roy was swallowed by the embrace of several of his teammates.

“It still just doesn’t feel real yet,” he said. “It was just an unbelievable game and comeback. With everything I’ve been through this season, they just all came into that moment there on the court when guys we’re grabbing and cheering me on. It was real special.”

Trailing, 67-44, in the third quarter, the Blazers tied the score, 82-82, with 1 minute 6 seconds left when Roy made a 3-pointer and a free throw. After Roy’s go-ahead jumper, the Mavericks missed two 3-point tries, the first by Jason Kidd and the second by Jason Terry as time ran out. Roy defended Terry on the final shot.

“When people ask me what did I do in the fourth quarter, I’ll tell them I stood in the corner and watched ‘The Brandon Roy Show,’ ” said Portland’s Gerald Wallace, who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Roy embarked on a turnaround when he had 16 points in Portland’s Game 3 win after grousing to a reporter in frustration after going scoreless in Game 2. The comments seemed to polarize fans, but Roy said overwhelming encouragement from friends and family led him to the breakthrough.
He has played off the bench since his operation in January, and has at times had trouble adjusting to his diminished role.

Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle insisted Roy’s emergence in the playoffs didn’t surprise the Mavericks. “We’ve been saying all series that we’ve been game planning for him like he’s an All-Star,” Carlisle said. “He’s had two of those nights now, so we’ll continue to do that.” 

GRIZZLIES 91, SPURS 88 Zach Randolph scored 25 points, including a rare 3-pointer with 41.9 seconds left, and Memphis beat San Antonio, the Grizzlies’ first playoff victory on their home court.
The Grizzlies have been busy this postseason making history at the Spurs’ expense. They opened this series with their first playoff win, and now eighth-seeded Memphis has a 2-1 lead over the Western Conference’s best team during the regular season.

Memphis is trying to become just the fourth team to knock off the top-seeded team. Game 4 is Monday night in Memphis.

Marc Gasol scored 17 points for Memphis. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 23 points. Tony Parker had 16, Tim Duncan 13 and George Hill 11.

PACERS 89, BULLS 84 Chicago’s fans traveled to Indianapolis by the thousands, planning to celebrate a first-round playoff win.

The Pacers sent them home disappointed, holding off a furious rally to beat the Bulls for their first playoff win since 2006. Chicago’s Carlos Boozer missed a 3-point attempt that could have tied the score with a second remaining.

The Pacers not only faced the star guard Derrick Rose and the pressure of a 3-0 deficit in the series, but they also dealt with an unexpected roadblock — a hostile environment on their home floor at Conseco Fieldhouse. The crowd shocked Pacers center Jeff Foster, who has played his entire 12-year career for the team.

“I have seen every professional game in this arena, and I have never seen anything like that,” he said after the Pacers were booed loudly by the red-and-black-clad visitors.

The Bulls still lead the series, 3-1, and will have a chance to close it out at home Tuesday.
Danny Granger scored 24 points for Indiana, which never trailed and finally broke through after losing the first three games by a combined 15 points.

Rose, who averaged 32.7 points in the first three games, finished with 15 points and 10 assists. He sprained his left ankle late in the first quarter and scored 8 points on 3-for-16 shooting the rest of the way.

Chicago trailed by 84-71 with 2:17 remaining before making a final rally that cut Indiana’s lead to 85-84 when Joakim Noah hit a free throw to trim the Bulls’ deficit to 85-84 with 15 seconds left.



Comments
0 Comments

0 Responses so far:

Leave a Reply