Monday’s NBA Playoff Action featured three games with the Bulls and Thunder looking to move on to the next round. Here’s a recap of the action from the 2013 NBA Playoffs.
Nets fight off elimination, defeat Bulls 110-91
Facing elimination, the Brooklyn Nets held serve on their home court, winning Game 5 of their series against the Chicago Bulls, 110-91.
Brooklyn’s biggest stars didn’t disappoint with the pressure on them. Brook Lopez was the game’s dominant player with 28 points and ten boards and point guard Deron Williams added 23 points and a team-high ten assists.
Chicago was beaten badly on the glass, losing the rebounding battle 44-33. Their bench also fell short and was outscored and outrebounded.
Bulls guard Nate Robinson, who came up big in the team’s win on Saturday, finished with 20 points and eight assists. Robinson got the start over Kirk Hinrich, who injured his calf in that weekend game.
Chicago will have another chance to close out the series at home on Thursday.
Atlanta ties series with 102-91 win over Indiana
Facing an 0-2 hole, Atlanta used a pair of home games to get back into their series with Indiana. The Hawks won their second consecutive game over the Pacers on Monday, 102-91.
Atlanta held a 17-point halftime lead, but had to withstand a second-half rally by the Pacers to secure the victory. Scoring only 12 points in the third quarter, their lead was cut to seven heading into the fourth. But Al Horford scored 11 of his 18 points in the last period and helped to tie up the series. Josh Smith did his usual job to fill the box score with 29 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block.
An interesting twist to the game was Hawks’ center, Johan Petro, getting to the arena just in time for the contest. Petro was in Florida witnessing the birth of his first child and with the aid of a private jet, arrived to the game just in time to play 22 minutes.
The pivotal Game 5 will be in Indiana on Wednesday.
Rockets defeat Thunder at home, 105-103
The Houston Rockets finally won a game in their series on Monday, topping the Oklahoma City Thunder, 105-103. The win came with surprisingly little help from star James Harden.
In his worst playoff game to date, Harden scored only 15 points – well below his season average of 25.9 points per game. He shot only 4-12 from the field and added a whopping ten turnovers. But fortunately for him, he had a bit of help. Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik, and Patrick Beverley added a total of 60 points, led by Parsons’ 27. Jeremy Lin also was sidelined for the contest for the Rockets with a bruised chest muscle.
Leading the way for Oklahoma City was Kevin Durant with 38 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. But he also was plagued by turnovers with seven of the team’s 20.
Despite a great game by Houston, the Thunder still had a chance to close out the series. Down 105-103, Oklahoma City was a basket away from forcing overtime. But a missed jump shot by Reggie Jackson and ensuing layup by Serge Ibaka gave the Rockets their first victory of the series.
The Thunder lead the series 3-1 and Game 5 will be Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
