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Happy Game 5 day everyone! I've heard some sort of rumor that a lot of teams that win Game 5 go on to win the series ... so, you know, keep that one in the back of your mind as Portland invades US Airways Center. If you're in the arena go ahead and yell really loud....but if you're in my section and you decide to use thundersticks just expect that I'll be the guy taking and popping them.
There are still 16 teams left in the playoffs -- a fact that is sure to end very quickly. If the Bobcats don't go down tonight then it's entirely possible that 3 teams could be eliminated on Tuesday (Heat, Bulls, Mavs).
Sunday April 25th Playoff Results:
Miami Heat 101 Boston Celtics 92 (Recap): Dwyane Wade. I had to lead with his name basically because he is the sole reason Miami is still alive in this series. Wade went a ridiculous 16/24 from the field (5/7 from three) on his way to 46 points in the game. Q-Richardson (20) and Michael Beasley (15) were the only other players in double figures for Miami so yeah -- it was all D-Wade. Rajon Rondo led Boston with 23 who will finish off take on Miami in Game 5 on Tuesday night. Way to not get swept Heat.
Cleveland Cavaliers 121 Chicago Bulls 98 (Recap): The Bulls really are a perfectly average NBA basketball team. Considering they lost 10 consecutive games at some point this season (seriously), they should be happy to have even made the playoffs -- hell, LeBron even let them grab a win. Enough messing around. Cleveland used a 37 point third quarter to open up a large gash in this game and put Chicago at death's door. LeBron James led the Cavs with 37 points and posted his fifth career playoff triple double as he added 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
San Antonio Spurs 92 Dallas Mavericks 89 (Recap): As if having Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker getting back to full health wasn't enough, George Hill looks like he's recovered from his bad ankle. Hill led the Spurs in scoring with 29 and helped push the Mavericks -- the second seed in the West -- to the brink of elimination. For those of you who missed it, this was a pretty damn entertaining game that featured three flagrant fouls and Eduardo Najera's ejection for a hard foul on Manu Ginobili. For Dallas, things are not looking good. All the bluster about their Butler/Haywood trade and their being touted as a West title contender and they now sit in a situation where they need to win 3 straight just to stay alive. The Mavs had defeated the Spurs in the previous two playoff series' between the two -- maybe it's Shawn Marion's fault. That dude just cannot beat San Antonio.
Utah Jazz 117 Denver Nuggets 106 (Recap): Denver is a hot mess and everyone knows it. I gather this is the reason most Suns fans wanted them instead of a well-coached Portland team, because Adrian Dantley just looks confused every time they cut to the sidelines. Utah used 31 from Carlos Boozer and 24 from Deron Williams to win the game, which they led most of the way. Denver rallied from 19 down in the fourth to make the game interesting for stretches but could never get quite close enough despite 39 from Carmelo Anthony. The Nuggets may be able to muster enough to win Game 5 but there is no way in hell they take this thing to seven. Book it.
Series Standings:
(1) Lakers v. (8) Thunder: 2-2 tie
(2) Mavericks v. (7) Spurs: 3-1 Spurs
(3) Suns v. (6) Trail Blazers: 2-2 tie
(4) Nuggets v. (5) Jazz: 3-1 Jazz
(1) Cavaliers v. (8) Bulls: 3-1 Cavs
(2) Magic v. (7) Bobcats: 3-0 Magic
(3) Hawks v. (6) Bucks: 2-1 Hawks
(4) Celtics v. (5) Heat: 3-1 Celtics
Monday April 26th Playoff Games:
Game 4 - Magic @ Bobcats: Orlando will be making an attempt to be the only team pulling off a sweep in Round 1. Yet as has been discussed many times around these parts, no matter how good you are it's awfully tough to win 2 games on the road against another playoff team.
Game 4 - Hawks @ Bucks: Milwaukee actually developed a nice little home court advantage aided by Andrew Bogut's Squad 6 endeavor and that was enough to get them a win the other night. Since I've adopted the Bucks as my Eastern Conference team of choice I'll hope they can get one more and make this a series. I won't hold my breath.
Game 5 - Trail Blazers @ Suns: As you all know I'm typically the first dude to frantically pound the panic button when things go wrong for the Suns - and I didn't even do so after the Game 4 loss. I'll gladly take my chances with 2/3 in Phoenix. That being said, in case the Suns lose Game 5 I'll bring the button to the game.