Let's Hear It For New York: Knicks & Nets Dominate Game 1 in Each Series

The bright lights in the big city shone even brighter yesterday asNew York hosted not one but two playoff games. The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets both showed out for NYC exerting their dominance and winning game one of each of their series.
The New York Knicks kicked things off taking on the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden.  It was no surprise that the matchup between the Knicks and Celtics would be intense, as both teams tend to go extra hard when playing each other.  The Knicks however had a score to settle and something to prove.  They not only had to defend home court, they had a grudge against the Celtics for sweeping them during the 2011 playoff games.  Carmelo Anthony came out hot hitting his first four shots but then went cold.  The Knicks lost focus; starting playing iso ball and seemingly letting the game get away.  Things changed in the third quarter however when they turned the defense up and Kenyon Martin and Jason Kidd relived their days of playing on the New Jersey Nets together.  Martin was a vital piece of the puzzle as Tyson Chandler was off and played only 20 minutes.  The Knicks held the Celtics to just 25 second half points tying a franchise record for the lowest ever and breaking another record by holding them to just 8 points in the fourth quarter.  Carmelo Anthony finished with a game high 36 points and 6 rebounds.  Jeff Green led the Celtics finishing with 26 points and 7 rebounds.  The Knicks take a 1-0 lead over the Celtics and will play game two on Tuesday April 23 at the Garden.
Things then shifted over to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  I’ll admit there are a few things that surprised me about this game.  First I want to give major props to Brooklyn and it’s fans, the atmosphere was spectacular considering the previous games I’d been to where many fans favored the opposing teams.  That wasn’t the case last night as Brooklyn came out in full force and began with the national anthem sung by their very own Jerry Stackhouse.  From there it was all Nets as they completely dominated the Chicago Bulls.  Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace dominated the paint while Deron Williams fired off from the perimeter.  The Bulls looked helpless, as the Nets were on point in every aspect.  Chicago was of course without their star point guard Derrick Rose and their star center Joakim Noah still looked visibly injured only contributing 13 minutes to the game.  Deron Williams led all scorers dropping 22 points and 7 assists; Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 25 points and 8 rebounds.  The Nets lead the series 1-0 and will play game two on Monday April 22 at the Barclays Center.
Big things are happening for New York; it’ll be interesting to see if both teams successfully make it to the next round.  Check back next time.