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| NBA.com/Celtics |
Columnist
The second day of the 2012 NBA Playoffs is finished. Once again, there was a lot of hype, excitement and drama in it with a historical comeback as well.
There were couple of surprises in the series with some players playing above the normal, having remarkable performances and helping their respective teams in their wins.
Which of them did the best? Without further ado, here are the top individual playoff games from day two of the post season.
Related: 2012 NBA Playoffs: Ranking The Best Individual Playoff Performances After Day One
10. Blake Griffin
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| NBA.com/Clippers |
He was extremely nervous and the inexperience clearly showed yesterday. Blake didn't look like himself at all, as he lacked the normal aggression in the course of the game, didn't have his normal production nor or his "normal" highlight plays from him.
Nonetheless, Griffin had a good game. He scored 17 points, grabbed seven boards, recorded three steals, shot 7-15 from the field and 3-4 from the line.
This should be a good lesson for Blake. He'll definitely need to increase his aggressiveness, intensity and give his best in the playoffs in order to win.
9. Michael Conley
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| NBA.com/Grizzlies |
Although he has a tough match up to cover defensively and play against on offense in Chris Paul, it seemed to have no effect on him.
Mike scored 17 points, dished out eight assists, grabbed five boards, shot 5-8 from field, was perfect on all of his five attempts from deep and connected on two of his four free throws.
Quite impressive, isn't it? He was perhaps the biggest factor for Memphis' strong lead at the start, but even he couldn't do enough to stop the Clippers' comeback.
8. Kevin Garnett
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| NBA.com/Celtics |
Although at the beginning he struggled at the beginning, KG produced above his already great production in recent time.
He scored 20 points, grabbed 12 boards, dished out three assists, had two steals, one block, shot 8-19 from the field and connected on all of his four attempts from the stripe.
With Rondo out against Atlanta in Game Two due to a suspension, he'll need to step up his game and take a bit more of the scoring load as well.
7. Rajon Rondo
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| NBA.com/Celtics |
He was doing it all for his Celtics, as he seemed to be everywhere on the court. Rajon was scoring, setting up his team mates, getting steals, cleaning the glass and making several highlights as well.
Rondo had a great performance from an individual point and the stats prove that. He recorded 20 points, 11 assists, four rebounds, four steals and shot 10-18 from the field.
Unfortunately, he did one act late in the game which hurt his team's chances to win the game and possibly the series. That's bumping into a ref. Although it looks like it wasn't an intentional one at least to me, it won't do any good considering his value to this Boston squad.
6. Kobe Bryant
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| NBA.com/Lakers |
He didn't have a great start, but made up for it in the second half where he was the one that put the team on his back offensively and scored huge when needed most. In fact, the majority of his points came late.
Kobe scored game high 31 points, grabbed five boards, dished our four assists, shot 11-24 from the field, missed his two threes and hit 9-11 from field.
Although he wasn't the best player on the Lakers in that night thanks to Andrew Bynum, he still managed to put a vintage Bryant like performance in the playoffs and show that he and his Lakers mean all business this year.
5. Josh Smith
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| NBA.com/Hawks |
The results of his hard work have payed off. He was all over the court, being consistently active and flying as a true hawk on the court on every possession. His presence was felt and made a great impact too.
Josh had a fantastic start of this year's post season. He scored 22 points, pulled down 18 boards, dished out four dimes, blocked a shot, had three turn overs and shot 8-20 from the field.
He made some crucial decisions late and hit important shots when needed most. He'll definitely be one guy Atlanta will rely on in this series.
4. Chris Paul
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| NBA.com/Clippers |
Despite playing on the road and being down in by 27 points at one point, he never gave up. Chris, like all of the other legendary point guards, was the vocal leader on the court for his team and had a nice performance as well.
Paul scored 14 points, dished out 11 assists, grabbed four boards, had a steal, shot 5-12 from field, missed his attempts from deep, hit 4-5 from the line with four turnovers.
Even though he didn't score as much, he drew a foul late in the game and made the two key free throws to lead his Clippers to a historical comeback. Although stat wise it isn't as impressive compared to the others, CP3's impact goes beyond statistics.
3. Tim Duncan
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| NBA.com/Spurs |
He sure made his presence known on the court yesterday. Timmy faked his defenders out of their shorts as usual, finished hard at the rim, cleared the glass, found his team mates and had an efficient day shooting the ball too.
The stats back that up. Tim scored 17 points, grabbed 12 boards, dished out five assists, shot 7-14 from the field and 3-5 from the line. He also played solid defense as well.
For the Spurs to beat the Utah Jazz and advance deep in the playoffs this season, Duncan will have to step up his game as usually. He's capable to do that for sure.
2. Andrew Bynum
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| NBA.com/Lakers |
The young center was all over the court. Although offensively he didn't have his normal day, it was under the glass and especially in protecting the paint where he made the clear difference. Andrew's defensive presence was the biggest reason why his team won the game.
He's the first player on the Lakers roster to record a triple double after the legendary Magic who achieved it before 21 seasons. When you additionally the incredible impact, it's obvious that 'Drew had a truly amazing performance.
1. Tony Parker
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| NBA.com/Spurs |
There isn't any debate who's the Spurs top player now, not with the way Tony has been playing. Utah hadn't have an answer for his drives, shots and passing which was the reason why they lost.
Parker scored game high 28 points, dished out also game high eight assists, grabbed four boards, had a steal, shot 10-19 from the field and made eight of his ten attempts at the free throw line. Impressive, isn't it?
The veteran floor general who has so much playoff experience under his belt, will probably have a big series and will be asked to try to play as hard if San Antonio wants to advance deep in the post season.
