Cleveland 74, Detroit 72 (series tied, 2-2)
After the way the Cavs played in the first two games, I don’t think anyone outside of the Cleveland faithful gave them much of a chance of tying the series up. But here we are, two games later, and the Cavs have held serve on their home court. As you can tell from the score, Cleveland did it with their defense, holding the Pistons to just 33% shooting from the field. LeBron James flirted with a rare quadruple-double, tallying 22 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and eight turnovers. The Cavs were playing without Larry Hughes for the second straight game, due to the death of his brother. It will be interesting to see if the Cavs will be able to keep this momentum once Hughes returns to the lineup. But this victory was especially sweet, considering Rasheed Wallace’s guarantee of a victory in Game 4. The power forward had two key turnovers late in the fourth quarter and spent much of the period on the bench.
Dallas 123, San Antonio 118 (OT) (Mavs lead, 3-1)
These aren’t your daddy’s Dallas Mavericks. In the past, the franchise has had a difficult time winning playoff games, especially the close ones, but these Mavericks have shown the mental toughness absent in years past. The game was tight the whole way, with 20 ties and seven lead changes. Like Game 3, it seemed like the Spurs were going to find a way to pull out a win – only they didn’t. The Dallas backcourt shined in overtime, with Jason Terry and Devin Harris combining for eight of the Mavs’ 12 points in the period, including Terry’s impossible rainbow jumper over the outstretched arms of Tim Duncan, which put the Mavs up five with 0:38 to play. Terry had a great game, finishing with 32 points and five assists, while Dirk Nowitzki battled a sore ankle en route to 28 points and nine boards. Harris once again played well – the young point guard tallied 18 points (on 7-10 shooting), six assists and six rebounds. If he adds a consistent jumper in the offseason, he will be deadly.
