Category: NBA (Page 558 of 595)

Cleveland 86, Detroit 84 (Cavs lead series, 3-2)
OK, winning two games at home to tie the series is one thing. But to beat Detroit at their place to take a 3-2 lead in the series is something else entirely. LeBron James – as usual – led the way for the Cavs, scoring 32 points while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists. Zydrunas Ilgauskas finally made an appearance in the series, going for 14/10 while blocking six shots. Donyell Marshall added 14/13 in the victory. The Pistons have to be feeling the pressure being so close to elimination. The pressure should even out a bit as the Cavs and their fans will expect a win at home in Game 6. It will be interesting to see how the young Cavs – who have won three straight without Larry Hughes – respond to the added pressure.

San Antonio 98, Dallas 97 (Mavs lead series, 3-2)
An energized defense made the difference in Game 5, allowing the Spurs to survive for another trip to Dallas. Tim Duncan was once again a force, posting 36 points and 12 rebounds, while Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili made key defensive plays down the stretch. Dirk Nowitzki was more aggressive, going for 31/10, but the Mavs lost despite shooting 51% from the field. The Mavs are in the same position as the Cavs – two young teams going home with an opportunity to close out series that they weren’t supposed to win. Much like the parity of the NFL, conference championships without the Spurs and Pistons would be good for the league.

Miami 106, New Jersey 105 (Heat win series, 4-1)
Surely, the Heat did not want to go back to New Jersey for a Game 6. Six Miami players scored in double figures, led by Antoine Walker’s 23 points. Dwayne Wade posted 21 points, six rebounds and six assists, and came up with a key steal as the Nets were trying to set up for the game winning shot. Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson each had 33 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Jason Kidd posted 22 points and eight dimes. Shaquille O’Neal had a quiet, yet effective game, scoring 17 points on 8-10 shooting. Miami moves on and awaits the winner of the Detroit/Cleveland series, which is tied 2-2.

Phoenix 125, L.A. Clippers 118 (Suns lead, 3-2)
Phoenix had this game won. Then the Clippers had it won. Then the Suns actually won it. Phoenix led by as many as 19 points in the middle of the third quarter, but the Clippers stormed back to tie the game, 101-101, with 0:39 to play in regulation. Several missed shots later, the game went to overtime. With 0:03 to play in the first overtime, Sam Cassell – who had a costly 8-second violation at the end of regulation – calmly hit two free throws to give the Clippers a three point lead. After advancing the ball with a timeout (which is one NBA rule that drives me nuts), Raja Bell pushed off on the Clippers’ Daniel Ewing and got open in the corner. Ewing closed out on Bell, but he got the shot off and drained the game-tying bucket, forcing a second overtime. The wind was clearly out of the Clippers’ sails in the second extra period, but they kept the game close until the final minute of play. Shawn Marion led all scorers with 36 points, grabbing 20 rebounds in the process. Tim Thomas and Raja Bell chipped in 25 and 22 points, respectively, with each player hitting five threes in the game. Elton Brand led the Clippers with 33 points and 15 rebounds, while Cassell scored 32. The series moves back to L.A. for Game 6 on Thursday. The Clippers have to win to force a Game 7.

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.