THE 2013 NBA Play-offs began last Saturday and, needless to say, there were no surprises in the opening games of the post-season. There were a few close calls, but no surprises, as all the winning teams made sure that they preserved the luxury of playing at home first.

Melo form continues

EASTERN CONFERENCE – CARMELO Anthony brought his regular season scoring touch with him into the play-offs as he led the New York Knicks to a comfotable win in their match-up with the Boston Celtics. Playing in front of their home crowd at the Madison Square Gardens, Melo contributed 36 points as the Knicks beat the Celtics 85-78.

With the Celtics short-handed, this is as good a chance as any for the Knicks to advance to the second round of the post-season, a feat they have missed out on for many a season.

Also looking to get back into the thick of things are the Brooklyn Nets who hammered the Chicago Bulls in their opening encounter. The Bulls are statistically one of the best defensive teams in the league, but they were hapless against Derron Williams and his teammates as the Nets cruised to a 106-89 victory.

Through injury to Danny Granger, Paul George was forced to step up this season, and so he has. George showed his maturity in the encounter between the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks, as he recorded his first play-off triple-double of 23 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists as the Pacers ran out 107-90 winners.

(The result of the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks encounter was unavailable at press time.)

It’s Miller time

WESTERN CONFERENCE – WHEN the discussions are flying around about the aging players that are still making great contributions to their franchise, Andre Miller isn’t usually among the top of the pile.

All that changed last Saturday, however, as Miller contributed 28 points (18 points in the fourth quarter) to guide the Denver Nuggets to a 97-95 win over the Golden State Warriors. Not only was he the leading scorer of the game, but he scored the game-winning basket with 1.3 seconds to go.

In their second consecutive first-round match-up, the Los Angeles Clippers easily got by the Memphis Grizzlies 112-91. Chris Paul was in superb form, dictating the pace of the game and weaving through the defence of the Grizzlies with 23 points and seven assists. He seems to be playing at a high level and with Chauncey Billups back in the mix, this could be the year that they emerge as conference and league champions.

The San Antonio Spurs easily got by the Los Angeles Lakers in their match-up thanks to efforts of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginboli who combined for 53 points. They made sure that the absence of Kobe Bryant was exploited to full effect as the game ended 91-79. They fought hard to get there, but the Lakers’ post-season may very well be short-lived.

(The Oklahoma City Thunder vs Houston Rockets result was unavailable at press time.)

— Devaro Bolton