LAKERS, NUGGETS, MAVS, SORTED IN FIVE

 

Well the 2099 NBA playoffs first round was now starting to get interesting. Games 1 and 2 are usually the ones to set the tone and while three ties looked to have clear winners, the opthers were a bit more messy. With Game 3 came the location switch, and in most cases that meant that the team who'd lost the first two games were able to get a degree of payback. The one exception to that rule was the Cavs vs Pistons series and that was decided in the Cavs favour in Game 4. However with that being the only sweep of the round, it was time for another switch of location for the remaining seven ties, and enough of them had tieams on the brink of elimination.

Out West, the Lakers faced the Jazz in LA. Well the Jazz opened the scoring and went to duel for the lead later on in the first quarter, leading by as much as 14-10 before the Lakers went on another run, but the Jazz didn't go away and the first quarter ended with the game tied at 26. The Lakers then held the Jazz scoreless for the first three and a half minutes of the 2nd quarter, and then built up a double digit lead with well over seven minutes left in the half. The Jazz trod water for a while but the Lakers still lead 56-43 at half time with Lamar Odom leading the way on 16 points and 5 rebounds. Impressive work from a team that wanted to get this series over and done with.

At the start of the third quarter, again, the Jazz were held scoreless for over a minute and in the end, it looked as though that the half time deficit was as good as it got for the Jazz. The gap hit twenty points with well over two minutes left in the third. The Jazz looked to come back but were still staring down a barrel with a quarter to go. The Jazz were able to tread water early on in the fourth but the Lakers defence pretty much smothered them. The Jazz did cut the gap to six with just under four minutes on the clock but after that it was lights out. The Lakers cruised to a 107-96 win, Kobe leading the way on 31 points. The Lakers won the series 4-1.

The Nuggets faced the Hornets in Denver. Well the Hornets opened the scoring and made a pretty good go of survival, coming back to take the lead with just under eight minutes left in the quarter and looking like the stronger team in that opening period, leading 27-24 at the buzzer. The Nuggets were knocking on the door again in the 2nd quarter though, and came back to lead 44-40 with just over six minutes left in the half. That was nothing the Hornets weren't able to handle but still the half ended with the game tied at 49. Kenyon Martin led the Nuggets with 13 points while David West led the Hornets on 16. An impressive display from the underdog given the mauling they had in Game 4.

The Nuggets sprung into the lead early on in the 3rd and the Hornets didn't really look like keeping up. They managed to tie the game again twice, the second time at 62 with less than six minutes on the clock but they were then shut down by the home side who surged into a double digit lead before the third buzzer. In the fourth quarter, well the Hornets were well and truly squelched! The gap reached twenty points with well over ten minutes left and the underdogs only started competing again when it was way too late. Nuggets won the game 107-86 with Carmelo leading the way on 34 points. The Nuggets win the series 4-1, their best playoff performance since before I was an NBA fan!

The Spurs faced the Mavs in San Antonio but amazingly it was the home side that was in trouble! And in the first quarter they didn't look like getting out of it, it was all downhill from the tip off. They were held scoreless for the first two minutes with the Mavs cruising to a double digit lead by the time the first buzzer sounded. The Spurs didn't look like really cutting into that in the 2nd quarter, again the Mavs defence managed to smother them. The Spurs did end the half on a rally but still the Mavs led 52-48 at the half with Dirk Nowitski still doing what he does and leading his team on 15 points. The Spurs did not look like a team that had won four NBA titles in the last decade.

And again at the start of the third quarter, the Spurs were held scoreless for over a minute and the Mavs soon rebuilt their double digit lead. The Spurs cut the gap back down to four with just under six minutes left in the quarter though only for the Mavs to come back and leave the Spurs needing a miracle at the end of three. The Spurs did try to come back at the start of the fourth quarter but weren't really able to do enough. The Mavs were always able to pull something out and anyone in a Spurs top was left seriously gutted. The Mavs won the game 106-92. Dirk led the way on 31 points with Jason Terry proving solid on 19. Mavs won the series 4-1 and will face the Nuggets in the conference semis.

Elsewhere, the Blazers saved their bacon by beating the Rockets 88-77 in Portland though the Rockets still lead the series 3-2 and still have their opponents at their mercy. In the East, the Celtics beat the Bulls 106-104(OT) in Boston to lead the series 3-2. The Magic beat the Sixers 91-78 in Orlando to give themselves a 3-2 advantage in the series though their opponents will surely have something to say once they get back to Philly for Game 6. The Hawks beat the Heat 106-91 in Atlanta to swing that series round yet again. They now lead 3-2 and we know from Game 4 that the arena in Miami does not scare them. Hell knows where that series is going to go.

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