The 2013 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs were one of the best in the league’s history, especially the final two games. Both teams have made it back to the NBA conference finals, and if the oddsmakers are to be believed, a rematch looks in order.
Dwayne Wade was amazing last night in Game 6 of the Miami-Indiana series in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. LeBron James was good, while Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert were so-so. These themes, commonly struck in TheSportsNotebook’s playoff commentary on this series, were very much in evidence last night. But they aren’t the reason Miami won 103-95 and clinched a spot in the conference finals. Miami’s advancing because they took care of the ball and Indiana didn’t, with the final turnover numbers being 20 for the Pacers and 9 for the Heat. Offensive execution like that ends seasons and that’s what happened to Indiana last night.
When I sat down to watch Game 6 of the Boston-Philadelphia series in the NBA’s Eastern Conference semi-finals, if you’d have told me that Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett would each have 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds, I’d have figured the Celts were in good shape, and could fit enough offense around them. If you told me that Boston would win the rebounding battle 48-37, I’d have figured the series was all but over. Both of those things happened, but the 76ers clamped down on the defensive end, the Celtics shot a miserable 33 percent from the floor and Philly got a survival win, 83-75 and set up a decisive seventh game on Saturday.
The series between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers turned ugly in more ways than one. Indiana felt Miami resorted to cheap shots, including one that sidelined power forward David West in the second half, and the Pacers themselves played some flat-out ugly basketball, turning in a performance that on less than authority than team president Larry Bird called “S-O-F-T” and Miami delivered a resounding 115-83 win to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-final series.
The Los Angeles Lakers are going home early for the second straight year, as the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled to a 106-90 win and clinched the NBA’s Western Conference semi-final in five games. The Lakers have lost in the second round two straight years, and gone 1-8 in those games. The Thunder are in the conference finals for the second consecutive year. Can anyone spell “Changing Of The Guard In The West?” In the meantime, the Boston Celtics showed they aren’t quite ready for a Changing Of The Guard In The Atlantic Half Of The East—at least not yet. The Celtics put together a strong second half and beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-85 and took a 3-2 series lead. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games and looks ahead to tonight…
You can’t say LeBron James answered his critics on Sunday—that will take at least one championship, probably more, all with him winning Finals MVP honors, before that happens. But LeBron delivered the kind of game everyone’s been waiting to see—a completely dominating performance with all the money on the table—as Miami beat Indiana 101-93 to even their NBA Eastern Conference semi-final series up at two games apiece. TheSportsNotebook recaps this game, along with San Antonio’s closeout against the Los Angeles Clippers, and we look ahead to tonight’s doubleheader…
Yesterday at the Staples Center will undeniably go down as Black Saturday in the developing history of the 13-year-old Los Angeles arena. The Clippers and Lakers each hosted must-win playoff games, each had them seemingly in control and both let them slip away. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games and looks ahead to Sunday’s twinbill in the NBA playoffs…
The Oklahoma City Thunder showed why they may be morphing into a championship team in front of our very eyes. The Boston Celtics showed the stuff that once helped them win a championship, as both teams won last night in the NBA playoffs. OkC successfully defended its homecourt against the LA Lakers to grab a 2-0 series lead, while the Celtics reclaimed homecourt, by beating Philadelphia on the road in Game 3 and going up 2-1. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games and looks ahead to tonight’s doubleheader…
Rebounding was the story in the NBA last night, as the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs each hit the glass, and the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers either couldn’t or wouldn’t. The Pacers evened their series with the Heat at a game apiece and the Spurs took the opener of their battle with the Clippers. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games and looks ahead to tonight’s twinbill…
The Philadelphia 76ers officially sent word to the NBA that the battle is joined in their second-round series against the Boston Celtics, as the Sixers pulled out an 82-81 win in the Garden last night to even the series at a game apiece as action reverts to Philadelphia on Friday night.
The first round of the NBA playoffs officially ended yesterday afternoon as the Los Angeles Clippers won Game 7 over Memphis, while the second round continued, as Miami beat Indiana. TheSportsNotebook recaps both games and looks ahead to a doubleheader tonight…