2012 NBA Playoffs: Kevin Durant Ends Day 1 With A Bang After Bulls, Heat, Magic Win

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Durant, who struggled all night, threw up a prayer from the free throw line that hit the rim, kissed the backboard, and fell in to give the Thunder a 99-98 victory. It gave him 25 points on the night (on 10-for-27 shooting), and gave Oklahoma City a 1-0 lead in the series.

Dallas controlled most of the game, leading for most of the fourth quarter and keeping Durant in check. But the spring-legged Thunder played suffocating defense in the dying throes of the fourth quarter and closed on a 14-6 run.

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For more on the Thunder, visit SB Nation’s Thunder blog Welcome to Loud City. For more on the Mavericks, visit SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball and SB Nation Dallas. For more on the 2012 NBA Playoffs check out SB Nation’s dedicated NBA hub.

For more on the Thunder, visit SB Nation’s Thunder blog Welcome to Loud City. For more on the Mavericks, visit SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball and SB Nation Dallas. For more on the 2012 NBA Playoffs check out SB Nation’s dedicated NBA hub.

Duhon wasn’t even in the game, but keep an eye on the background of this video. You’ll know Duhon when you see him.

Via @EyeOnBasketball

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Nine blocked shots through three quarters is pretty good. How good? If he just gets one blocked shot in the fourth quarter, he’ll tie the single-game playoff record.

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At this point, you’re wondering what Van Gundy and Weezy have in common. According to Van Gundy, it sounds like they’re pretty much best friends. And that mental image is the best thing to happen today -- surely better than watching two players go down with significant knee injuries, at least.

Notice Van Gundy calls him “Little Weezy.” Weezy, your thoughts about all this?

Making matters worse for the Knicks, promising rookie Iman Shumpert suffered a bad knee injury in the third quarter and did not return. Shumpert is tasked with guarding Wade so, if he misses an extended period of time, the Knicks are in trouble.

Game 2 is scheduled for Monday night at 7 p.m.

The rookie guard writhed in pain as ABC went to commercial break; reporters in the arena tweeted that not only was Shumpert helped from the floor, but that a Knicks trainer held the back of the guard’s knee for support.

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Jeff Van Gundy certainly thinks so and took to the airwaves to make his point.

James, for his part, said at halftime that he had a little “whiplash” in his neck, which explains his delayed reaction. The nerves can sometimes take a split second to manifest themselves, so it’s possible James didn’t feel the pain until he fell over.

The 76ers had cut Chicago’s lead down from 16 to 12 in the few possessions before the injury, so Thibodeau was technically right. That said, there was little chance that the 76ers could make up a 12-point deficit in a minute and 10 seconds. Thibodeau has a reputation for sticking with key players instead of resting them with the game out of hand, and it came back to bite him in this instance.

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Things are getting to get really heated when Haslem sees Amare’s giant tattoo of Florida riddled with bullet holes.

Rose’s teammates looked stunned as he was being tended to on the court. They all know that, despite their regular-season success, they have little chance to win the title if Rose is not healthy. Now, they must hope that the injury ends up not being serious.

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Rose walked off the court slowly with assistance after receiving attention from the Bulls’ medical crew. He received MVP chants and an ovation as he limped off.

Rose was driving to the bucket when he landed poorly and careened to the floor. There did not appear to be contact on the play -- Rose may have just twisted poorly in the air and landed wrong. Regardless, while the Bulls have played well without Rose this season, losing him would be awful for their title hopes.

Even if it turns out that all those demons weren’t stashed somewhere in his beard, at least LeBron is just a little more aerodynamic now.

Chandler is a very important player to the Knicks’ success, as he shoots 68 percent from the field and anchors their much-improved defense. With Chandler not at 100 percent, the Knicks’ chances of stealing Game 1 in Miami just got tougher.

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