CAVS, BULLS, SIXERS, HAWKS, LAKERS, NUGGETS, MAVS, ROCKETS GO ONE UP
Well the cliche says that a journey starts with a single step. For sixteen teams, this was the chance to make that step. The 2009 NBA playoffs has certainly thrown together some interesting ties. At the outset, some looked straightforward, others anything but. Some teams are just glad to be there, others are more ambitious. This particular journey is made up of sixteen steps in total. The team that wins sixteen games in the next couple of months will be the NBA champions, and the Celtics have a fair bit of competition before they have a chance to retain that title. This should be just the first course. First team to win four games in a season goes through to the conference semis.
First up in the East, the Cavs faced the Pistons in Cleveland. Well the Pistons opened up at 2-0 but it wasn't long before there was only one team in this contest and that team was the Cavs. After the first two and a half minutes the Pistons looked to be decked already. More of the same came in the second quarter as the Pistons came close but the Cavs still pulled out a double digit lead. The Pistons cut the deficit down to single figures for a bit in the third but the Cavs came right back and even extended their lead slightly. The Pistons tried rallying again one last time in the 4th but the Cavs replied by extending the gap to twenty points, and though the Pistons had the last word, the Cavs won 102-84 with LeBron leading the way on 38 points.
The Celtics faced the Bulls in Boston. The defending champions struggled to get hold of the game early on and at the end of the first quarter, the match was tied. Worse was to come in the second quarter and the Bulls actually led 53-44 at half time. The Celts rallied in the third quarter and with less than four minutes left in the quarter, looked to have got themselves out of trouble, taking the lead then holding on to it till the buzzer with the score 72-71 at that point. The Bulls quickly retook the lead in the 4th though and that led to a tight last few minutes but in the end with Rajon Rondo leading the Celtic with 29 points and Derrick Rose leading the Bulls on 36, regulation ended with the game tied at 97. Overtime.
The Celtics took the first lead in overtime for 99-97 but the Bulls soon levelled things in what began as a quiet extra period. In fact there was a two minute spell in the middle of overtime with only one bucket scored, grabbed by the Bulls. With less that two minutes on the clock there was another exchange of buckets, and that was enough to level the scores at 103 with the game still very much up for grabs and double overtime looming. With 50 second on the clock Tyrus Thomas came up with a jumper for the Bulls. The Celtics were not able to respond. And so the Bulls took the game 105-103 to turn the series on it's head. That is not how you defend a title Cs.
The Magic faced the Sixers in Orlando. The Magic opened the scoring and the Sixers were still scoreless after the opening minute but after that they came alive and the Magic were behind at the first buzzer. They managed to turn things round in the second quarter though and were leading 50-46 at half time. The Magic really turned on the class in the third quarter, extending their lead to double digits and lead 79-65 at the end of three. All the Magic had to do was "put the baby to bed" in the words of the NBA.com commentators. They failed in that mission. Spectacularly. The Sixers dominated the fourth quarter with Andre Iguadola hitting the last of his two points with seconds on the clock. The Magic had no response and the Sixers won 100-98 and that's another serious upset.
The Hawks faced the Heat in Atlanta. Well the Heat opened the scoring but though though the Hawks may have no real A-List individuals, they still made the Heat look like a one-man team and led at the end of one. In the second quarter, they just stepped up a gear. By half time the lead was twenty points. The defence then hit top gear in the third quarter, the Heat took a slight bite into the gap but not enough to really look competitive for the fourth quarter. And the forth quarter was just more Miami misery. The Hawks won 90-64 with Josh Smith running their show to the tune of 23 points. The Heat look a long way from their glory days.
Out West, the Lakers faced the Jazz in LA. Well the Jazz may have been 6-2 up in the early stages of the first quarter but that was nothing the Lakers couldn't handle and they'd opened up a double digit lead by the first buzzer. That lead became twnty points with seconds left in the first half and the pattern of the game looked to be set. The Jazz made a go of rallying in the third but they still were unable to cut the gap down to single digits. The fourth quarter proved to be a dead heat, the Lakers holding on to win 113-100 with Kobe leading the way with 24 points. No surprises here, the Lakers starting their playoff run as they mean to go on.
The Nuggets faced the Hornets in Denver. Well the first minute of the game was scoreless and when it did get going the Hornets led 4-2 at one point. The Buggets turned it round before the end of the first though. There was another long scoreless period in the second quarter, but the Nuggets were able to extend their lead. The road team cut into the gap for a bit in the third but the Nuggets were still able to extend their lead to double digits. It soon became a twenty point lead early on in the 4th, the Nuggets in the end deepfrying their opponents to the tune of 113-84, Chauncey Billups leading the way with 36 points and the Hornets have a lot of work to do.
The Spurs faced the Mavs in San Antonio. Well the Mavs may have opened the scoring but by the end of the first quarter it was the Spurs that had the double digit lead. The game may have been theirs to lose but the Mavs certainly put on a strong rally in the second quarter,but the Spurs still led at half time to the tune of 49-45. In the third quarter the Mavs kept coming though, and managed to turn the game round, only for the Spurs to get a second wind. Game tied at 74 at the end of three. The Spurs took first blood in the 4th but it was the Mavs who then took over and they won 105-97 with Josh Howard looking after them to the tune of 105-97. That's put the Spurs in a hole.
The Blazers faced the Rockets in Portland. Well even on their home court, the tip off was as good as in got for the Blazers. They faied to score for the first two minutes while their opponents built up a double digit lead before the end of the first. That lead was smoothly extended in the second quarter. It then breached the twenty point mark at the end of the third, scratch that, it was nearly 30 points and the game was surely over by this point. The Blazers finally got the act together in the fourth quarter...but it could have just been the Rockets taking their foot off the gas. The Rockets won 108-81 in the end with guard Aaron Brooks surprisingly leading the scoring with 27 points.
Click here to visit the Basketball archive
Comments go here
