PISTONS, CAVS, JAZZ GRAB CONFERENCE SEMI SPOTS

 

Well, the Lakers were the first team to make the 2008 NBA Conference semi finals, and the Magic, Hornets and Spurs followed them through in Game 5. For the teans remaining though, it was another switch of location and another attempt to kill the series off for the leading sides! Four series were left undecided, three of them in the East and knockout blows were imminent.

In the East, The Pistons faced the Sixers in Philadelphia. I wouldn't have wanted to be a home fan at that game, the Sixers were just never there, the Pistons were at double digits before the hosts were on the scoreboard. The best the Sixers were able to do in the second was just keep things ticking over but still, Chauncey Billups led with 11 points a Pistons team that led 51-33 at the half!

In the second half well the Sixers were lucky to keep the deficit under 20 points as the Pistons simply went up a gear effectively ending the series after three quarters. The Pistons led by over 30 points early on in the fourth but the Sixers did manage to outscore the vistors in the final quarter but it was still way too little too late. Richard Hamilton topscored with 24 points, Pistons won the game 100-77 and the series 4-2. They face the Magic in the Conference semis.

Elsewhere, the Cavs faced the Wizards in Washington. The Wizards opened up the first quarter hot but the Cavs soon replied and it became a tight affair, only for the Wizards to open up again and hold a 31-27 lead at the first buzzer. The Cavs then blitzed the opposition in the second, turning the game round in the latter stages and at half time Daniel Gibson led with 15 points and the Cavs led 56-48.

There was no way back for the Wizards in the second half, the Cavs simply turned up the heat and their opponents struggled to keep the deficit to single figures. They got it down to seven at one point but the Cavs just surged back. The fourth quarter was effectively a dead rubber for the entire series, LeBron leading the way with 27 points. The Cavs won the game 105-88 and the series 4-2.

Out West, the Jazz faced the Rockets in Utah. The Rockets weren't helped by injury trouble but lead 6-4 early on before the Jazz were able to take advantage and once they did so, they didn't look back. The Rockets had a pretty good surge late in the 2nd quarter but when the half time buzzer sounded, Carlos Boozer had 11 points and the Jazz still had a 58-54 lead.

From there on in though it was all the Rockets could do to keep the deficit to four, the Jazz being another team that were able to come up with a killer third quarter, their lead soon hitting double digits, then 20 plus. The Rockets were never able to undo the damage let alone get back into the game. Deron Williams collected 25 points, the Jazz collected a 113-91 game win and a 4-2 series win to face the Lakers in the Conference semis.

Back in the East, the Celtics faced the Hawks in Atlanta. The Celtics smashed their opponents in the first quarter but the Hawks simply surged back in the second though the Celts still held a 50-49 halftime lead and increased the gap slightly to hold an 82-79 lead at the end of the third quarter. However the Hawks are proving to be one seriously stubborn underdog, they surged back with Joe Johnson hitting a big three pointer to win the game 103-100.

One spot still up for grabs but the conference semis are coming anyway.