The 2012 NBA Playoffs kicked off with a bang. The story lines out of the Eastern Conference Game 1's were dominated by the ACL injury to Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert and a possible suspension for Rajon Rondo while on the court the level of competition was pretty miserable. Condolences if you sat through that ugly Boston vs. Atlanta game. What a mess.
Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoots over Shawn Marion #0 of the Dallas Mavericks in Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs(Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
In the Western Conference there were a few blowouts, but there were also the two best games of the weekend. The Battle of Clutch between Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant was epic and the Clippers fourth quarter comeback / Grizzlies fourth quarter collapse was one for the ages.
As always, you can find more about all of these series at SB Nation's NBA page.
Action continues on Monday, here's the full schedule:
New York Knicks at Miami Heat at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT on TNT. The Heat blew the Knicks out of the water in Game 1 and hold a 1-0 lead in the series. Miami held Carmelo Anthony to 1-9 and LeBron James was dominate on both ends. The Knicks have a lot of work to do to avoid a sweep.
Orlando Magic at Indiana Pacers at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT on NBA TV. The Magic shocked the Pacers to steal Game 1 on the road. They shot the ball well and delivered a wake-up call to the highly-favored Indiana team. It will be interesting to see how the Pacers respond.
Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder at 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT on TNT. This is clearly the game of the night and a rematch between Dirk's playoff greatness and Durant's growing legend. Frankly, the Thunder were damn lucky to escape with a Game 1 win. It will be interesting to see if they can do a little bit better in this game. If not, we're in for a long series.
