The NBA playoffs continued on Saturday with four games, including a triple overtime thriller in Chicago. Here’s a recap of the day’s action.
Bulls prevail in 3OT game over Nets, 142-134
In the best game of the postseason thus far, Chicago held on for a 142-134 win against Brooklyn in a triple overtime game.
If ESPN Classic were still a relevant channel, this is the type of game that could be shown on replay later today. Chicago trailed by double digits late in regulation, but came back to tie it behind the play of guard Nate Robinson. Afterward, Robinson likened his game to one you’d find in SEGA Genesis’ NBA Jam and it was hard to argue that point.
The guard played Superman with 23 points in the fourth quarter – only one shot of Michael Jordan’s record of 24 in a postseason period. Coming off the bench, he led all players with 34 points. After the teams exchanged big shot after big shot in the first two overtimes, Chicago pulled away in the third, scoring 15 points.
The win gave the Bulls a 3-1 series lead and Game 5 will be on Monday.
Oklahoma City holds on against Houston, 104-101
The Oklahoma City Thunder won a close game against the Houston Rockets, but the real news came off the court. Over the weekend, the Thunder learned they’d be without star guard Russell Westbrook for the rest of the playoffs after he suffered a knee injury in Game 2.
With him out of the lineup, Kevin Durant picked up the slack with 41 points and 14 boards. Former Thunder sixth man James Harden had another great game for Houston with 30 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, but it wasn’t enough. Jeremy Lin continued his lackluster postseason with a mere two points. His 13 total points in the series are fewer than his per game average was in the regular season (13.4).
Back to Westbrook, though – the injury is a serious blow, obviously. And while Durant is likely the best player in the Western Conference, it’s one that could put Oklahoma City’s title hopes on ice for another year. Much is made of Westbrook’s questionable shot selection, but point guards that average 23 points a game don’t grow on trees. And dishing out seven assists and hauling in five rebounds a game, he is becoming one of the more complete guards in the league.
The Thunder won this game, but the jury’s still out on how far the team can go without him.
Hawks rout Pacers, 90-69
With their backs to the wall, the Atlanta Hawks won convincingly at home against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, 90-69. The victory cut the Pacers’ series lead to 2-1. Playoff games are supposed to be close, but this one never was. Indiana tied a franchise record for fewest points in a half as the Hawks were up 54-30 at the break.
Neither team shot particularly well, but the Pacers were an abysmal 27% from the field, ‘highlighted’ by a 2-15 performance by the starting backcourt of Lance Stephenson and George Hill. Starting Hawks guards, Devin Harris and Jeff Teague, didn’t light it up either, with their 6-26 performance. But they were able to get to the foul line quite a bit and outscore their counterparts, 21-7.
Atlanta center Al Horford was the clear star of the night with 26 points and 16 rebounds.
Since the Pacers haven’t won in Atlanta in more than six years, this one could be tied up after Monday’s game. The Hawks have won 12 consecutive games over Indiana at home and now have a bit of momentum on their side.
Memphis evens series against Clippers with 104-83 win
The Memphis Grizzlies tied up their series with a 21-point home win against the Los Angeles Clippers yesterday. All five starters for the Grizzlies got into double figures, but the story of the game was the dominant performance by big men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Each had 24 points and the duo combined for 22 rebounds.
But while they had help, the Clippers’ stars did not. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin each tallied 19 points, but it’s still not known if the rest of the starters even got off the team bus for the game. Chauncey Billups, DeAndre Jordan, and Caron Butler had only two points making only a single field goal. Equally as bad was that they didn’t contribute anywhere else as the trio had only five rebounds and one assist. Few teams can win with such little production from three starters.
The big difference was the second half. Memphis actually held a one-point lead at halftime, but shot only 33% the rest of the way. The Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 33-16 in the 4th quarter and put the game away.
The pivotal Game 5 will be on Tuesday in L.A.
