The Eastern Conference semi-finals are set, as Philadelphia and Boston each won Game 6 thrillers at home to clinch and set up a second-round date with each other, joining Indiana and Miami. Out west, there’s still more work to be done, as the Denver-LA Lakers series will go to a seventh game. TheSportsNotebook looks back on last night’s three games and ahead to tonight’s Game 6 with Memphis and the LA Clippers…
Tuesday night had the chance to be a Close-Out Night, with four teams having Game 5 clinching opportunities. Only one of them—the Indiana Pacers—took advantage. And no failing was more surprising than the Los Angeles Lakers losing at home to Denver. TheSportsNotebook recaps the four games from Tuesday and looks ahead to two more Game 5 clinch possibilities tonight…
If you believe in the virtue of rebounding as a big key to winning playoff games in the NBA—and TheSportsNotebook does, as does another recommended blog over at Stat Intelligence—then last night was a challenge to the belief system. Because even though San Antonio and the LA Clippers were beaten on the boards—decisively in fact—it didn’t stop the Spurs from completing a four-game sweep of Utah and it didn’t stop the Clippers from taking a 3-1 lead in games against Memphis. TheSportsNotebook looks back on both games and ahead to potential Grand Slam Clinch Night on Tuesday…
The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have to get a win in Denver to win their first-round series, but championship teams find ways to scrape out W’s on the road and shorten a series. That’s exactly what Los Angeles did last in Game 4, as they beat Denver. With the Lakers, along with the Sixers and Celtics, taking 3-1 leads in their first-round series, it feels like we’re living some early 1980s retro—all we need is Dr. J, Magic and Bird in the house to make it complete. And the fourth game going Sunday, Heat-Knicks, is also at 3-1, although in this case it’s because New York staved off elimination. TheSportsNotebook recaps Sunday’s grand slam and looks ahead to Monday’s doubleheader…
It was a night for defense last night in the NBA playoffs, as five of the six teams in action shot less than 40 percent and the one that did meet that minimal threshold—the Boston Celtics—hit it right on the nose. TheSportsNotebook recaps Friday’s three games and looks ahead to Saturday’s quadruple header…
For the second straight night in the NBA’s Western Conference playoffs, the story was about a late comeback and a 99-98 final. But the Los Angeles Clippers came from a lot further back last night then Oklahoma City did on Saturday. The Clips were on the road, 27 points in the hole and in the fourth quarter, turned it around and won. TheSportsNotebook recaps this, along with Saturday’s other four games and looks ahead to Monday night’s playoff trio…
The Boston Celtics started the season slow, but closed on an up note and won their fifth straight Atlantic Division title. The Celts were 17-17 at the end of February before getting into rhythm, winning 21 of their last 31 going into Thursday’s meaningless finale against Milwaukee and securing homecourt advantage for the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks, on the other hand, were 16-6 at the end of January, but wasn’t able to elevate themselves into the top four with a 23-17 finish to the schedule. The Celtics and Hawks meet in the 4-5 bracket spot in the Eastern Conference. Are they two ships passing in the night or will the start of the postseason disrupt the trends of the last couple months? The SportsNotebook previews the Boston-Atlanta series…