Chris Paul and a few teammates sneaked across the street from their hotel to Staples Center the night before the New Orleans Hornets began the postseason, eagerly hoisting up a few shots in the shadows of the Lakers' imposing championship banners.
With their tumultuous regular season finally a memory, Paul said the Hornets were almost unbearably eager for the playoffs to start.
Maybe that's why New Orleans got the drop on the defending champs in a stunning series opener.
Paul had 33 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds, flawlessly leading the Hornets down the stretch of a 109-100 victory Sunday.
In the other 3 games, the Celtics came back from a double digit deficit against the Knicks to snatch Game 1 (87-85) on a Ray Allen clutch triple with 11 seconds to play. Carmelo Anthony had a shot at the victory but missed. The Memphis Grizzlies shocked San Antonio with their first ever playoff victory (101-98). Matt Bonner seemed to rescue Spurs with two triples but Memphis found the answer in Shane Battier. Finally, Kevin Durant scored a playoff career high 41 points and Russell Westbrook added 31 as OKC won a hard-fought battle against Denver.