NO SWEEPS IN SEMIS

 

 

Well after Games 1 and 2 of the Conference semi finals, only one series out of four was certain not to end in a sweep and that was the Suns vs Spurs series with the Spurs switching homecourt advantage after beaten the Suns in Game 1 in Phoenix. The job was only half done for the Pistons, Cavs and Jazz though as all of their opponents looked to have either the class or stubbornness to win on their turf and extend this stage of the playoffs.

In the East, the Pistons chased the Bulls to Chicago looking for an unlikely second sweep in a row. Sure enough, they won Game 3 81-74 but only after they were down by 19 at one point in the third quarter. That turned out to be a warning shot as in Game 4 the Bulls took their last chance to make a fight of the series by following a solid first half with a killer third quarter with Luol Deng breaking free of the Pistons straightjacket as his team won 102-87 to chase the Pistons back to Detroit for Game 5.

The Cavs and Nets headed to New Jersey for a series that on paper looked even less likely to finish in four than Pistons vs Bulls and that was proven when Jason Kidd fixed up a triple-double to give the home side a 96-85 win in Game 3. The resulted in a tight Game 4 with neither side able to build much of a lead untill early in the third when the Nets lead by as much as 8 but the Cavs eventually overcome that and won 87-85 to set up a possible series win in Game 5 in Cleveland.

In the West, the Jazz swung into Oakland in the hope of sweeping the upstart Warriors but if they hadn't had enough of a warning in Game 2, the certainly got a reality check in Game 3. After a tight first quarter Baron Davis took over to blow out the Jazz in the second quarter and eventually the Warriors won 125-105. The Warriors looked to level the series after they led the Jazz at the end of the third quarter only for the Northwest Division champions to blow out the underdogs in the fourth and win 115-101.

And so then there's the Suns vs Spurs series which headed to San Antonio having turned into a five gamer. The Suns led Game 3 at the End of the first quarter only for the Spurs to take over mid game and win 108-101. Game 4 and it looked like deja vu only for the Suns to toast the Spurs in the fourth quarter with Steve Nash directing things yet again on the way to a 104-98 win to tie up the series at 2-2! Which leaves them with a three gamer, homecourt advantage Suns.

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