POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
Darren Hunte
Cavaliers - Lakers 93-79
Cavaliers outgunned Lakers in the semifinal opener. Bridgetown made 22-of-28 free shots (78.6 percent) during the game. Bridgetown outrebounded Lakers 48-33 including 33 on the defensive glass. 24 personal fouls committed by Lakers helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Swingman Darren Hunte stepped up and scored 33 points (!!!) and 6 rebounds for the winners and American power forward Granville Gittens (198, college: Baruch) chipped in 21 points and 6 rebounds. At the losing side the former international forward Mark Bridgeman (198-90) responded with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and the former international guard Keefe Birkett (183-88) scored 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures.
Top scorers:
Cavaliers: D.Hunte 33+6reb+1ast, G.Gittens 21+6reb+1ast, J.Puckerin 12+6reb+1ast, J.Smith 10+9reb+3ast, J.Hunte 7+6reb+6ast, S.Ottley 6+8reb+5ast
Lakers: K.Birkett 17+5reb+4ast, M.Bridgeman 17+6reb+4ast, C.Browne 15+7reb+2ast, O.Haynes 11+4reb+1ast, A.Boadu 9+8reb+1ast, R.Jemmott 4+2reb
gschID: 729024
Bulls - Warriors 93-69
Bulls fired past Warriors to open win count in the series. Bulls dominated down low during the game scoring 76 of its points in the paint compared to Warriors' 40. Bulls forced 25 Warriors turnovers and outrebounded them 52-37 including 17 on the offensive glass. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. The former international power forward Akeem Marsh (208-86) nailed a double-double by scoring 26 points and 12 rebounds for the winning side and international guard Kelan Phillips (183-93) accounted for 8 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. Bulls' coach felt very confident that he used 11 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. International forward Justin Pile (196-97) came up with a double-double by scoring 11 points and 11 rebounds and forward Jamar Headley added 13 points and 8 rebounds respectively for Warriors in the defeat. Four Warriors players scored in double figures.
Top scorers:
Bulls: A.Marsh 26+12reb, R.Gibbons 16+3reb+3ast, R.Lovell 14+5reb, A.Ifill 12+7reb+6ast, A.Smith 9+8reb+2ast, K.Phillips 8+10reb+8ast
Warriors: S.Newton 16+1reb, J.Headley 13+8reb, R.Toussaint 11+6reb, J.Pile 11+11reb+1ast, W.Nicholia 7+8reb+1ast, B.Williams 6+1reb+9ast
gschID: 729025
