NBA Playoff action from Sunday saw the elimination of the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, but that wasn’t it. The Boston Celtics fought off elimination and the Golden State Warriors continued piling up points. Here’s your daily recap of the 2013 NBA Playoffs.
Spurs sweep Lakers with Game 4 win
When the Lakers beat the Spurs near the end of the regular season, it gave many fans hope that they could make a series of it even without injured star Kobe Bryant.
So much for that.
San Antonio had little trouble with injury-riddled Los Angeles, winning Game 4, 103-82. The Lakers were missing a host of players including Bryant, Metta World Peace, and Steve Nash—all out due to injuries. Meanwhile, the Spurs rolled along, led by Tony Parker’s 23 points.
In the midst of it all, Lakers center Dwight Howard was ejected for getting two technical fouls while arguing with officials. The offseason for the team has officially started and there will be a slew of questions. Will Howard return? Does Nash have anything left in the tank? When will Kobe be healthy? And if the entire cast returns, will management bring back coach Mike D’Antoni for another run?
The Spurs now await the winner of the Golden State-Denver series. In the meantime, they’ll hope the extra rest will allow starting center, Tiago Splitter, to recover from a sprained ankle in time for the next round.
Celtics stave off elimination, defeat Knicks 97-90 in overtime
Facing a potential sweep, the Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks in overtime on Sunday, 97-90.
After being ejected for an elbow in Game 3, the Knicks’ guard J.R. Smith was suspended for the contest. Boston ran out to a 19-point halftime lead and appeared to have an easy victory. But the Knicks fought back, largely behind 36 points from Carmelo Anthony and 27 from Raymond Felton.
In overtime, though, it was the Jason Terry show. The guard, who was on the receiving end of J.R. Smith’s elbow in the previous game, took over in the extra period and scored the Celtics’ last nine points.
Along with Jeff Green, who provided 26 points, Boston’s two veteran stars led the way in regulation. Paul Pierce had a team high 29 points, and Kevin Garnett added 13 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists.
Game 5 will be in New York on Wednesday.
Miami sweeps Milwaukee with 88-77 Game 4 win
The Miami Heat swept the Milwaukee Bucks winning Game 4, 88-77. Surprisingly enough, this was the first playoff sweep the team has had since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami.
Wade sat out to give his knee some rest, but that hardly mattered to the team. James had 30 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, and the Heat got 29 minutes out of veteran guard, Ray Allen, who added 16 points and seven rebounds.
The best thing for Miami is to get some rest for guys like Allen and Wade. The Heat will now have at least five days off before their next game against the winner of the Nets-Bulls series.
Golden State takes 3-1 lead over favored Denver
The Golden State Warriors inched closer to pulling off an upset of the third-seeded Denver Nuggets, winning 115-101 on Sunday night to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
Stephen Curry is battling a sprained ankle, but you’d never know it from the results. The guard had another monster game with 31 points, including six three-pointers. Golden State is also getting a big lift from point guard, Jarrett Jack. Jack had 21 points in the game, and after averaging only 13 points in the regular season, he’s scoring 20 per game in the postseason.
Now on the verge of elimination, the Nuggets need to find a way to slow down the surging Warriors. They came into the series giving up 101 points per game, but Golden State has had their way with them offensively. The Warriors have scored more than that in three of the four contests and are averaging a whopping 113 each game.
