The Celtics beat Philadelphia 85-75 to win Game 7 of their playoff in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. The hero of the game was Rajon Rondo, who scored a bunch of points down the stretch -- including two three-pointers(!) -- after Paul Pierce had fouled out.
So the only real drama of the first two rounds was that Derrick Rose tore his ACL, and that as a result the Bulls lost to the Sixers. Otherwise the playoffs have gone almost exactly as the standings would have indicated. Now we get down to games that really matter:
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL:
Miami v. Boston
Boston looked pretty bad in the series against Philadelphia, and the Heat looked pretty awesome in their last three games against the Pacers. I will be very surprised if Boston wins two games against Miami.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL:
San Antonio v. Oklahoma City
These are the two best teams in the NBA, and it will be interesting to see how they do against each other. San Antonio is really old, but old teams tend to do pretty well in the NBA playoffs. In some ways, the person who has the most at stake in this series is LeBron James -- if Kevin Durant (born 9/29/88) wins an NBA title before LeBron (born 12/30/84), the pressure on LeBron will be extremely unpleasant. It would be much better for LeBron if the old guys from the Spurs would knock off OKC.
Until I wrote this post, by the way, I never realized that LeBron James has the same birthday as Tiger Woods (born 12/30/75).
That is crazy about LeBron James and Tiger Woods.
ReplyDeleteYea!
DeleteSan Antonio 73 - 73 Oklahoma City (7:58 left in 4th Quarter)
ReplyDeleteThis has been a low-scoring game, with both teams shooting around 40 percent. OKC appeared to have matters in hand, but the Spurs have just tied things with an 11-2 run.
San Antonio 77 - 76 Oklahoma City (5:59 left in 4th Quarter)
ReplyDeleteThe Thunder, who scored 18 points in the 1st quarter, 29 points in the second, and 24 points in the third, have scored only five points in this quarter. But if they could pull this game out, the Spurs would be in big trouble.
By the way, I'm listening to the Spurs radio network, which is outstanding -- much better than the typical local NBA broadcast (although that's not saying too much).
ReplyDeletePut it this way. The Spurs' broadcast team would be really good even by the standards of college basketball.
ReplyDeleteSan Antonio 88 - 84 Oklahoma City (3:18 left in 4th Quarter)
ReplyDeleteOKC has finally started going back to Durant, who is now attacking the basket over and over. He leads all scorers with 27 points. But it may be too late. San Antonio has their offense rolling right now -- their three old guys (Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli) look for all the world like basketball hustlers who suckered the Thunder for most of the game, but who are cranking up their performance with the game on the line. SA has outscored OKC 26-13 in this quarter.
San Antonio 91 - 84 Oklahoma City (2:46 left in 4th Quarter)
ReplyDeleteStephen Jackson hits a three-pointer to put the Spurs up by 7, and then Russell Westbrook is called for charging at the other end. That's your ball game.
But it could be even worse for OKC, as Westbrook -- their outstanding point guard -- appears to be hurt.
Westbrook is still on the floor, and he appears to be OK.
ReplyDeleteSan Antonio 96 - 89 Oklahoma City (1:11 left in 4th Quarter)
ReplyDeleteThis has just been a clinic in championship basketball. The Spurs have outscored the Thunder 34-18 in the fourth quarter. There's a good chance they will put up 40 points in 12 minutes.
San Antonio 101 - 98 Oklahoma City (Final)
ReplyDeleteThis had to be a very discouraging loss for OKC, which played really well on the road, but simply had no answer to San Antonio's efficient offense in the fourth quarter. The Spurs put up an amazing 39 points in the last 12 minutes of the game, outscoring the Thunder 39-27 in that period. But the Thunder are young and improving. They will learn from this, and they may do better in Game 2.