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Good morning guys and gals - it's your buddy Scott Howard here to write about some professional basketball. Speaking of professional basketball, I went to my first Diamondbacks game of the year last night and they actually held a lead and won. How about that. (Note to 8472species: Those two things aren't related and I was joking. Love you buddy).
Friday April 23rd Playoff Results:
Boston Celtics 100 Miami Heat 98 (Recap): Coming off an ass-kicking in Game 2 even when Boston was without Kevin Garnett, you'd think the Heat would have been able to muster a win in this series, right? Well they didn't. In Miami's defense they did actually compete in the game (unlike Game 2) but a 21-foot jumper from Paul Pierce with 2 seconds remaining clinched the game and probably the series for the Heat. Dwayne Wade led Miami with 34 but was on the bench in the final seconds due to cramps in his leg. Considering Miami held a 12 point lead in the 3rd quarter of Game 1, I'll say I'm surprised that they're probably going to get swept.
San Antonio Spurs 94 Dallas Mavericks 90 (Recap): The San Antonio Spurs have no idea what dead means. Manu Ginobili took a third quarter elbow from Dirk Nowitzki that broke his nose but only seemed to make him better - as he scored 11 of his 15 points in the final quarter of play. Any Suns fan that is thrilled at the prospect of playing the Spurs should also adjust to the fact that Tony Parker is again a factor, he had 23 in this one and seems to have his rhythm back. Tim Duncan added 25 for San Antonio and George Hill had his most productive game of the series in scoring 17 points. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 35 but it wasn't enough to keep them from trailing 2 games to 1 in the series.
Utah Jazz 105 Denver Nuggets 93 (Recap): Do injury problems mean anything to Jerry Sloan and the Jazz? Utah got strong performances from Deron Williams (24/10), Carlos Boozer (18/8), and Paul Millsap to help them win a tightly contested Game 3. As for Denver they were basically Melo and Chauncey as each scored 25 and no other Nuggets player scored in double figures. Apparently George Karl is more missed than either Andrei Kirilenko or Mehmet Okur.
Series Standings:
(1) Lakers v. (8) Thunder: 2-1 Lakers
(2) Mavericks v. (7) Spurs: 2-1 Spurs
(3) Suns v. (6) Trail Blazers: 2-1 Suns
(4) Nuggets v. (5) Jazz: 2-1 Jazz
(1) Cavaliers v. (8) Bulls: 2-1 Cavs
(2) Magic v. (7) Bobcats: 2-0 Magic
(3) Hawks v. (6) Bucks: 2-0 Hawks
(4) Celtics v. (5) Heat: 3-0 Celtics
Saturday April 24th Playoff Games:
Game 3 - Magic @ Bobcats: Are the Bobcats going to be able to summon the same one game playoff magic that the Thunder were able to swing? This is the first home playoff game in Bobcats team history and you know the crowd will be hyped. Question is whether or not it will matter.
Game 4 - Suns @ Blazers: Check back here later for the preview....but this will be a test of whether or not the Suns have a killer instinct. Portland has no intention of going down without a street fight. Just ask Andre Miller.
Game 3 - Hawks @ Bucks: The first two games of this series have been barely competitive but if there is one thing this first round has taught me it's that everyone has a solid punch in them. If Milwaukee is going to grab a game it's gonna have to be this one.
Game 4 - Lakers @ Thunder: Here it is OKC - a chance to make this a series. The home fans should make enough deafening noise to provide a home court advantage but if Kevin Durant has another 33% shooting night, LAL will win the game.