Category: NBA Playoffs Blog

NBA playoffs blog

Game 3: Nelson, Magic beat Bobcats 90-86

The Charlotte Bobcats have heart, but they’re in big trouble!

The AP reports:

Nelson, Magic beat Bobcats 90-86

No Dwight Howard, no problem for the Magic, who got 32 points from sudden star Jameer Nelson to overcome another frustrating, foul-filled game by their big man in a 90-86 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday.

Spoiling Charlotte’s return to the playoff stage after an eight-year absence, the Magic took a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series despite being without Howard for the final 3:32 after he fouled out…

For the third straight game and two days after Orlando was assessed $70,000 in fines for complaining about the officiating, Howard played about half the game, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks…

Stephen Jackson scored 19 points, but was 6 of 18 from the field and missed a key 3-pointer in the final minute for the cold-shooting Bobcats, who face the prospect of a first-round sweep in their first playoff appearance…

Gerald Wallace added 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting for Charlotte. Raymond Felton also scored 13, but shot 5 of 14 and again couldn’t contain Nelson.

Game 3: Pierce at Buzzer, Celtics beat Heat

The AP reports:

Pierce at Buzzer, Celtics beat Heat

Paul Pierce’s 21-footer at the buzzer Friday night gave Boston a 100-98 win over Miami in Game 3 of the teams’ Eastern Conference first-round series. The Celtics lead 3-0, and will try for a sweep in Miami on Sunday afternoon…

Game tied at 98, less than 20 seconds left, the Heat had exactly what it wanted—the ball in Dwyane Wade’s hands. The 2006 NBA finals MVP tried a straightaway 3-pointer and missed with 14 seconds left, which is where the game and perhaps the season slipped away from Miami. Wade crumpled to the court in a heap, his left calf cramping for the second time in the final quarter…

Pierce finished with 32 points and Ray Allen added 25 for the Celtics, who got 17 from Rajon Rondo and 16 from Kevin Garnett.

Wade finished with 34 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Heat, who rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead. Michael Beasley scored 16 points, Wright scored 15 and Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers each scored 10 for the Heat.

Game 3: Ginobili, Spurs take 2-1 series lead over Mavs

The AP reports:

Ginobili, Spurs take 2-1 series lead over Mavs

Blood dripped from Manu Ginobili’s nose. He had caught an elbow from Dirk Nowitzki, then disappeared into the locker room while leaving a trail of red blotches behind him on the tunnel floor.

He didn’t know yet his nose was broken. That diagnosis would have to wait.

Ginobili still had work to do, so he patched up his gushing nose with a bandage and came back late in the third, then scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 94-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night…

Dirk Nowitzki made good on his vow after the Game 2 loss to hit the looks he got last time, scoring 35 points…

But Caron Butler never left the bench in the second half on Friday as coach Rick Carlisle instead went instead with Barea in the backcourt…

Aside from Game 4, Sunday is also when Duncan turns 34—but so far in this series, he’s looked practically ageless. He scored 25 points for the second straight game, and has the Spurs in position to possibly celebrate a commanding lead in this series if they can win on his birthday.

Tony Parker had 23 points off the bench while continuing to thrive in the sixth man role that Ginobili held for so many years.

Game 3: Millsap explodes, Jazz beat Nuggets

The AP reports:

Millsap explodes, Jazz beat Nuggets

Paul Millsap led a surge early in the second quarter that got Utah back into Game 3 after a disastrous start, then the Jazz took control of the game and their Western Conference playoff series with a 105-93 victory Friday night.

“That’s what we do, especially coming off the bench,” said Millsap, who finished with career highs of 22 points and 19 rebounds…

Millsap’s 18 points in the second quarter gave the Jazz a chance to recover after Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams struggled early. Once Williams and Boozer got going, the Nuggets never recovered in their first road playoff game of the series.

Utah limited Denver’s Carmelo Anthony to 25 points and flustered him into five fouls. He also had just four free throw attempts after taking 19 while scoring a combined 74 points in the series’ first two games.

Anthony and Chauncey Billups, who also scored 25 points, were the only Denver players to score in double figures.

Lakers must keep feeding Gasol

Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports:

Lakers must keep feeding Gasol

It probably could be argued that Pau Gasol has been the best Laker in the postseason.

He had been averaging a double-double in the first two games, 22 points and 12.5 rebounds. He had been making 53.6% of his shots.

And yet, the Lakers went away from Gasol in the fourth quarter of their 101-96 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round opener at the Ford Center.

“We tend to settle sometimes a little too much,” Gasol said. “We have to create penetration. We have to take advantage of our size.

Deron Williams not afraid of being trapped

Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post reports:

Deron Williams not afraid of being trapped

The new-look, super-trapping Nuggets were in EnergySolutions Arena this morning, going over last-minute preparations on their game plan for tonight’s Game 3.

The plan is simple: Don’t let Deron Williams go berserk.

To keep that from happening, the Nuggets are expected to press and trap Williams to get the ball out of his hands, forcing someone else to beat them.

Williams, however, shrugs off the Nuggets’ much-hyped new strategy, saying he and the Jazz can handle it.

“Just find the open guy,” Williams said. “If they want to trap me and take me out of the game, we have plenty of guys on this team that can score the basketball. Especially when it’ll be four-on-three, because two people are going to be on me.”

Game 3: Durant 29/19 game helps Thunder beat Lakers

The AP reports:

Durant 29/19 game helps Thunder beat Lakers

Kevin Durant had 29 points and 19 rebounds, and snapped out of a shooting funk while guarding Bryant to lead the decisive run, lifting the Thunder to a 101-96 victory in Game 3 on Thursday night in the first playoff game in Oklahoma City…

Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 22 of the final 23 for the Thunder, including every point during a 10-2 surge that put Oklahoma City ahead to stay…

Bryant scored 24 points to surpass Jerry West’s franchise record for playoff scoring, and Pau Gasol had 17 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles.

But when it came down to crunch time, Bryant couldn’t deliver as he did in scoring 15 fourth-quarter points to seal the Lakers’ 95-92 victory in Game 2. He went 2 for 10 in the final 12 minutes, with Durant stopping between free throws at one point to motion to the bench that he wanted to guard the former MVP…

“That was the loudest I’ve ever heard a crowd get,” said James Harden, a rookie reserve who scored 18 points after going scoreless in Games 1 and 2.

Game 3: J-Rich scores 42, Suns beat Blazers 108-89

The AP reports:

J-Rich scores 42, Suns beat Blazers 108-89

Jason Richardson made eight 3-pointers and finished with playoff career-high 42 points Thursday night in the Suns’ 108-89 victory over the Trail Blazers, which gave Phoenix a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series…

Richardson hit his first three late in the first half as the Suns built a lead that would extend to 31 points. He made 13-of-19 shots from the floor…

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 17 points. Andre Miller, who scored 31 in Portland’s Game 1 win, was off for the second straight game and finished with just 11. And the home team was dismal from the free throw line, making just 16-of-28 attempts.

Amar’e Stoudemire had 20 points for the Suns, while Nash finished with 13 points and 10 assists. Richardson ended up the beneficiary.

Game 3: Bulls upset Cavaliers, 108-106

The AP reports:

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers can forget about sweeping the Bulls out of the playoffs.

Bulls hang on to beat Cavaliers 108-106

Derrick Rose scored 31 points, Kirk Hinrich added 27 and Chicago hung to beat the top-seeded Cavaliers 108-106 Thursday night in Game 3 of a first-round series after its 21-point lead dwindled to one.

James scored 13 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter but also committed some turnovers down the stretch. Even so, the Cavaliers were within 107-106 after Mo Williams nailed a 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left. They immediately fouled Luol Deng, who hit the first free throw but missed the second.

Cleveland’s Anthony Parker got the rebound and raced up the right side but missed a 3 at the buzzer, and the Bulls escaped with the win despite some shaky foul shooting late in the game.

InsideHoops.com Reports:

The Bulls shot 50.0%, the Cavs 43.9%. The Cavs launched 35 three-point attempts, hitting 14 (40.0%), while the Bulls hit 5-of-12.  Free throw attempts were fairly close, but the Cavs only hit 64.5% from the charity stripe. Rebounds and assists were close.

For the Bulls, Joakim Noah had 10 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

For the Cavs, aside from LeBron’s 39, Mo Williams had 21 points but little else, and Antawn Jamison had 19 points and 11 rebounds. But Shaq shot just 2-of-8. And the entire Cavs benched combined for just 13 points.