The playoffs continue to roll on, as Day Nineteen is already behind us. There were two exciting and dramatic games which didn't fail to provide the usual intensity as always. During this playoff day, the Lakers won their first game and the 76ers tied up the series too.
Some players performed well enough to help their teams, wheres others didn't. They raised their games to a different level, with which they either won the game for their teams or kept them close all the time. Who ranks on top? Without any further ado, let's start.
5.Russell Westbrook
Russell's Westbrook, who's been playing on much better level when compared to the regular season in the series, slowed down for the first time in this series. That was one of the biggest reasons why the Thunders lost Game Three on the road against the Lakers.
Russell attacked the defense well, got the rim, was solid on the glass, didn't lose his head in terms of taking care of the ball and didn't make bad decisions. However, in a close game, he didn't provide the usual scoring punch nor or he distributed the rock nicely.
Still, he ended up with a nice statistical game. Westbrook scored 21 points, grabbed nine boards, recorded an assist, had two steals, shot 7-18 from the field, 0-3 from three point land, 7-8 from the free throw line and committed a turnover in 35 minutes of action.
4.Rajon Rondo
Although he didn't have a game that we've seen from him during this series, it's safe to say that Rajon Rondo definitely played well. However, it just wasn't enough to stop the 76ers, as he and his Boston Celtics failed on the road this time.
Nonetheless, Boston's point guard played excellent throughout the entire game. He pushed the pace, found the open man, scored quite nicely on terrific efficiency and had a good night displaying his versatility. Stat wise, he was above good.
Rondo scored 15 points, dished out 15 dimes, pulled down four rebounds, recorded two steals, shot 7-14 from the field, 0-2 from distance, 1-1 from the stripe and committed four turnovers in 41 minutes of action out there. He'll have to return to his usual form for his Celtics to get what they want.
3.Paul Pierce
Celtics' All-Star forward Paul Pierce played quite well. Despite having an injured knee, he fought through it like in the previous games. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't enough. He and his Celtics melted in the second half with which they lost a game that they could have won.
Although he lost, it couldn't been said anything negative about his strong play. Paul entered his rhythm from the start to the end, rebounded and did all of the others things well. Simply said, he was excellent on both sides of the court.
The stats back that up. Pierce poured in 24 points, grabbed six boards, had an assist, recorded two steals, swatted two shots, committed three turnovers, shot 8-13 from the field, 4-6 from deep and 4-4 from the free throw line in 42 minutes of action.
2.Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant's been absolutely brilliant against the Lakers, and he didn't stop in Game Three of the 2012 postseason. Unfortunately, not even his outstanding individual performance couldn't stop his opponents as his Thunder failed on the road.
Kevin looked amazing as always. He picked up where he left, entered his scoring rhythm from to the start to the end of the game, was solid on both sides of the court thanks to his activity. From the statistical point of view, he was outstanding.
Durant scored 31 points, grabbed five boards, had an assist, recorded two steals, blocked one shot, had five turnovers while shooting 12-23 from the field, 1-4 from deep and 6-6 from the fee throw line in 42 minutes.
1.Kobe Bryant
The biggest reason why the Lakers managed to get their first win in this playoff series and the biggest hope of a possible surprise for the team from the City Of Angels was non other than Kobe Bryant. He was definitely excellent.
Kobe, although didn't have a great night shooting the ball, found way to get to the line where he made all of his trips and ended up with a dozen of points. Besides the great scoring, he provided excellence on the other side of the court and closed out the Thunder.
Bryant poured in 36 points, grabbed seven boards, dished out six assists, recorded two steals, shot 9-25 from the field, 0-1 from deep, perfect 18-18 from the free throw line and committed two turnovers in just under 40 minutes. Stat wise, that's an excellent game.
Darko Mihajlovski is a columnist at FootBasket. He also contributes to Hoops-Nation. You can read more about him at our Staff page.
