Times wires
Sunday, April 17, 2011
LOS ANGELES — With their tumultuous regular season a memory, Chris Paul said the Hornets were almost unbearably eager for the playoffs to start.
Maybe that's why New Orleans got the drop on the defending champs.
Paul had 33 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds, leading the Hornets down the stretch of a 109-100 victory over the Lakers on Sunday.
New Orleans overcame Los Angeles' major size advantage with cagey defense and a disciplined offensive approach that led to just three turnovers, tying an NBA playoff record.
Paul scored 17 in the fourth quarter and led a decisive 8-0 run after the Lakers trimmed the lead to four. Repeatedly shredding Los Angeles' defense on pick-and-rolls, the four-time All-Star was at his playmaking apex.
"I've struggled all season long, trying to figure out where to pick my spots," said Paul, who inscribed his sneakers with the No. 30 of injured David West, New Orleans' leading scorer. "It's the playoffs. It's a whole other energy."
Los Angeles' 7-foot starters, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, were expected to be an awful matchup for smallish New Orleans but had little impact. Gasol had six rebounds, zero offensive: "That's something that I don't like at all."
"Our defense, I thought, was late," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I think we were late on everything. They were the aggressors, and they stayed aggressive."
Hornets 109, Lakers 100
NEW ORLEANS (109): Ariza 2-13 2-4 6, Landry 6-13 5-5 17, Okafor 2-4 0-0 4, Paul 11-18 9-12 33, Belinelli 4-9 0-0 10, Gray 5-5 2-4 12, Ja.Smith 1-3 0-0 2, Jack 5-6 5-7 15, Mbenga 1-1 0-0 2, Green 4-7 0-1 8. Totals 41-79 23-33 109.
L.A. LAKERS (100): Artest 4-8 6-6 16, Gasol 2-9 4-4 8, Bynum 4-7 5-7 13, Fisher 3-8 1-2 8, Bryant 13-26 7-8 34, Odom 3-6 2-4 10, Brown 4-6 0-0 8, Barnes 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson 1-2 1-2 3, Jo.Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Ratliff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-74 26-33 100.
New Orleans 26 29 18 36— 109
L.A. Lakers 24 23 25 28— 100
3-Point Goals—New Orleans 4-11 (Paul 2-3, Belinelli 2-4, Jack 0-1, Green 0-1, Ariza 0-2), L.A. Lakers 6-13 (Artest 2-3, Odom 2-5, Fisher 1-1, Bryant 1-2, Brown 0-1, Gasol 0-1). Fouled Out—Okafor. Rebounds—New Orleans 44 (Ariza, Paul 7), L.A. Lakers 51 (Artest 11). Assists—New Orleans 24 (Paul 14), L.A. Lakers 17 (Gasol 6). Total Fouls—New Orleans 22, L.A. Lakers 24. Flagrant Fouls—Ariza. A—18,997 (18,997).
Grizzlies get milestone
SAN ANTONIO — Zach Randolph raised his fists above his head. Memphis carried the motto "Let's Make History" into the playoffs, and in a stunning Game 1 upset, it had done it.
Sixteen years after entering the NBA, the Grizzlies finally have a postseason win.
Randolph had 25 points and 14 rebounds and Shane Battier hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 23.9 seconds left to give Memphis a 101-98 victory over the top-seeded Spurs.
Memphis, which had been 0-12 in three previous playoff trips.
"It's nice from an annoyance perspective to have it out of the way, because I don't have to answer questions about being 0 and 13," coach Lionel Hollins said.
Playing without All-Star guard Manu Ginobili, who continued to rest his sprained right elbow, San Antonio had a chance to force overtime. Richard Jefferson missed an open straight-ahead 3-pointer as time expired then bit down on his jersey collar.
"I was wide open," he said.
Grizzlies 101, Spurs 98
MEMPHIS (101): Young 1-3 0-0 2, Randolph 10-15 5-8 25, Gasol 9-10 6-10 24, Conley 4-10 6-8 15, Allen 2-6 3-6 7, Battier 4-5 0-0 10, Mayo 5-13 0-0 13, Arthur 2-5 1-1 5, Vasquez 0-0 0-0 0, Haddadi 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-67 21-33 101.
SAN ANTONIO (98): Jefferson 4-6 3-4 13, Duncan 8-13 0-2 16, McDyess 1-5 1-2 3, Parker 4-16 12-16 20, Hill 2-7 11-13 15, Neal 4-10 0-0 10, Bonner 2-4 6-6 12, Blair 3-9 3-4 9, Green 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-70 36-47 98.
Memphis 27 18 25 31— 101
San Antonio 22 21 31 24— 98
3-Point Goals—Memphis 6-10 (Mayo 3-4, Battier 2-2, Conley 1-2, Randolph 0-1, Young 0-1), San Antonio 6-15 (Jefferson 2-3, Bonner 2-4, Neal 2-4, Parker 0-1, Hill 0-3). Fouled Out—Mayo. Rebounds—Memphis 45 (Randolph 14), San Antonio 50 (Duncan 13). Assists—Memphis 22 (Conley 10), San Antonio 13 (Parker 5). Total Fouls—Memphis 33, San Antonio 27. Technicals—Memphis defensive three second, San Antonio defensive three second. A—18,581 (18,797).
Allen rescues Celtics
BOSTON — Ray Allen hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, Paul Pierce shut down Carmelo Anthony and the Celtics rallied to beat the Knicks 87-85.
New York led 85-84 when Anthony was hit by an offensive foul for pushing Pierce with 21 seconds left. Allen, who led Boston with 24 points, hit the decisive 3 from beyond the left arc.
Anthony missed a long 3-pointer with two seconds left. The star forward went 1-for-11 from the field in the second half.
Amare Stoudemire had 28 points and 11 rebounds for New York.
Celtics 87, Knicks 85
NEW YORK (85): Anthony 5-18 3-4 15, Stoudemire 12-18 4-6 28, Turiaf 4-5 1-2 9, Billups 3-11 2-2 10, Fields 0-3 0-0 0, Walker 3-5 0-0 7, Jeffries 1-4 1-2 3, Douglas 3-8 0-0 8, Carter 1-4 0-0 2, Sha.Williams 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 33-78 11-16 85.
BOSTON (87): Pierce 6-16 4-5 18, Garnett 5-14 5-6 15, J.O'Neal 6-6 0-0 12, Rondo 5-14 0-2 10, Allen 9-15 3-3 24, Davis 1-8 0-2 2, Green 2-4 0-0 4, West 1-2 0-0 2, Krstic 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-80 12-18 87.
New York 23 28 13 21— 85
Boston 24 15 20 28— 87
3-Point Goals—New York 8-23 (Douglas 2-5, Billups 2-6, Anthony 2-8, Walker 1-1, Sha.Williams 1-2, Carter 0-1), Boston 5-13 (Allen 3-5, Pierce 2-5, Davis 0-1, Green 0-1, Rondo 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—New York 44 (Stoudemire 11), Boston 57 (Garnett 13). Assists—New York 16 (Billups, Anthony 4), Boston 20 (Rondo 9). Total Fouls—New York 17, Boston 15. A—18,624 (18,624).
WADE AILING: Heat guard Dwyane Wade did not practice because of symptoms of a migraine, and his status for tonight's game is unclear.