The Celtics roared back with a 97-81 win over Miami last night, while the Grizzlies came from behind to stun Oklahoma City 101-93 in overtime. So here's where we stand now:
EAST:
Bulls 2 - 1 Hawks
Heat 2 - 1 Celtics
WEST:
Lakers 0 - 3 Mavericks
Thunder 1 - 2 Grizzlies
Today the Lakers make their last stand in Dallas. It may the be last game Phil Jackson ever coaches -- it will be the first game he's coached when he was down 3-0.
Dallas 14 - 11 Los Angeles (5:22 left in 1st quarter)
ReplyDeleteThis has been an entertaining series, but Dallas just always seems to have an answer for anything the Lakers do.
Dallas 19 - 17 Los Angeles (2:53 left in 1st quarter)
ReplyDeleteKobe already has 11 points. His performance so far reminds me of how Tiger, trying desperately to come from behind, shot a 31 on the front nine in the last round of Masters last month.
I just want to point out that Dr. Jack Ramsay -- who is doing the color commentary for this game on ESPN radio -- is 86 years old. That is amazing.
ReplyDeleteDallas 27 - 23 Los Angeles (end of 1st quarter)
ReplyDeleteActually, the story of this series is pretty straightforward -- the Mavs have been on fire from 3-point range and the Lakers have not. Here is the 3-point shooting by game:
GAME 1: Dallas 9-20, L.A. 5-19
GAME 2: Dallas 8-25, L.A. 2-20
GAME 3: Dallas 12-29, L.A. 3-13
GAME 4 so far: Dallas 4-7, L.A. 0-5
So Dallas is 33-81, while L.A. is 13-57. That's a difference of 60 points. Given that Dallas has outscored L.A. by only 24 points, it is clear that 3-point shooting has been the difference.
Dallas 50 - 32 Los Angeles (6:32 left in 2d quarter)
ReplyDeleteTiger couldn't keep it going at the Masters, and Kobe can't keep up with Dallas. The Mavs have simply buried L.A. with 9-12 shooting from behind the arc.
Dallas 122 - 86 Los Angeles (Final)
ReplyDeleteAs I said when the playoffs started, the NBA is not for folks who insist that every game be played at a high level of intensity. The Lakers gave it a good go for about 15 minutes of game time, and then once they realized Dallas was on its game, they went out without too much fuss. This series was really decided in Game 3, which was excellent.