JAZZ MAKE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

 

 

In the West, well the Jazz vs Warriors series was arguably the weakest of the Conference semi final matchups but it did provide a showcase for the stubbornness of the Warriors! The series started in Utah with the Jazz winning Games 1 and 2 but even then they needed their A game to pull out those wins and the second game was only won in overtime! Once the series hit Oakland, the Warriors promptly won Game 3. However the Jazz won Game 4 and looked to finish off the series in Game 5 in Utah.

Well the Jazz opened the scoring in the first quarter, taking an early 6-3 lead but the Warriors as always had no plan to lay down and took the lead two minutes into the game and though the Jazz battled, the Warriors won the first bout and proceded to hold off the home side, leading by as much as seven with less than a minute to go in the quarter with guard Monta Ellis leading the early scoring. The Jazz reined them in late on but it was still 32-29 at the end of the first.

The Jazz stayed with it in the 2nd quarter and retook the lead after a low scoring couple of minutes but the Warriors kept coming back despite some insane moments with the defence! The Jazz led by 39-38 with 7:20 on the clock only for the Warriors to go on another surge with Baron Davis hitting a good run of form to put his team up by six before the Jazz again wound them in in the dying moments of the half though the Warriors still led 54-52 at the buzzer.

The Warriors started the third quarter looking to try and maintain a five point lead and they actually led by as much as 61-54 at one point but that turned out not to be enough. The Jazz tied the game twice before wrestling with the Warriors for the lead again and gradually the Jazz started to get the upper hand. Eventually the best the Warriors were able to do themselves was keep tying the game and they completely broke with two mins left in the quarter and Matt Harpring made sure the home side had a 77-73 lead with a quarter to go.

The Jazz extended their lead at the start of the fourth but the Warriors managed to reel the Jazz in and eventually after a two and a half minute cold spell managed to tie the game at 83. An Andrei Kirilenko tip in soon broke that deadlock though and that lead was for keeps, the Ukrainian keeping the Jazz score ticking over after the last Golden State attempt to get back in the game, and the series. After that the Jazz got to stretch their legs and the final scoreline of 100-87 might flatter them slightly but the 4-1 series win wasn't exactly a surprise overall.

Elsewhere, the Suns and Spurs had their Game 5 in Phoenix. The Suns succsessfully shredded the visiting side in the first quarter of what was a crucial game and the Spurs weren't able to do much about that immediately so the Suns led 44-33 at half time. The Spurs started to eat into the deficit in the third quarter but the home side still led 62-56 at the end of the third. There was only a contest for the lead in the fourth quarter though and the Spurs completed their comeback by riding on the free throw ability of Manu Ginobli to win 88-85 and set the Suns up for execution in San Antonio in Game 6.

In the East, the Pistons vs Bulls series returned to Detroit with the Pistons expecting to finish the series off on home turf. The Bulls opened the scoring. The Pistons tied the game at 4. Then came apocylpse. For the Pistons. The Bulls led at the end of the first quarter. By the end of the third quarter it had turned into anhiliation with Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and crew scoring at will! The Bulls survive, they made the Pistons look pathetic to the tune of 108-92 at the series returns to Chicago for Game 6.

Elsewhere, the Cavs vs Nets series returned to Cleveland for Game 5. Well the Cavs opened this up to lead 9-4 but like the Bulls in Detroit, the Nets wanted a Game 6. And by the end of the first quarter they'd taken over. And by the end of the third the Nets were up by twelve with Jason Kidd running the show. The Cavs got the lead back to single figures for a bit in the fourth but at the buzzer the final score was 83-72 and the series returns to New Jersey.

One down, three to go.

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