Monday night’s NBA Playoff action featured a pair of Game 4s. While Miami cruised to an easy victory, things weren’t quite as easy for Memphis in their Western Conference win. Here’s the recap from the night’s action.
Miami wins third straight over Chicago, 88-65
Even with Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and Kirk Hinrich on the bench, the Chicago Bulls looked like they could give the Miami Heat a run for their money after winning the first game on the road. That seems like a lifetime ago now, though. The Heat won their third straight game in the series on Monday, 88-65 over a hobbled Bulls squad.
Behind a near triple-double from Lebron James, the Heat jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. James had 27 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists in the easy win.
Miami won every single quarter as Chicago’s offense sputtered all night long. After scoring only 33 points in the first half, the Bulls saved their ‘finest’ performance for the third quarter when they scored only nine points. Both the nine points in the quarter and the 65 points scored overall by Chicago were franchise playoff records.
That historic third quarter is what sealed the Heat’s fate. Miami only scored 17 in that period and had Chicago been able to produce even modestly, the game could have been a close one heading into the fourth. The ten points scored by Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem outdid the Bulls in that decisive third period. Scoring wasn’t the Bulls’ only problem in the third, though. Chicago not only shot poorly in that quarter (15%), but suffered seven turnovers.
Leading the way for futility was Nate Robinson who went scoreless on 0-12 shooting. He also had four turnovers in the game, which was easily his worst of the series. Carlos Boozer was one of Chicago’s lone bright spots with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The back story for the series continues to be the struggles of Dwyane Wade. Those six third quarter points scored by Wade were his only ones of the entire night as he shot only 3-10 from the field.
The series moves to Miami on Wednesday night when the Heat will try win the series in Game 5.
Grizzlies take 3-1 lead over Thunder with 103-97 OT win
The Memphis Grizzlies needed overtime against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but at the end of the night, they prevailed 103-97 and are now one game away from the Western Conference finals.
The two teams traded baskets late in the fourth quarter and a Kevin Durant layup in the closing seconds sent the game to overtime. But in the extra period, it was the Grizzlies who took control. Memphis outscored Oklahoma City 9-3 in overtime as the Thunder went only 1-8 from the field.
Oklahoma City looked dominant early on. They raced out to an eight-point halftime lead and at one point in the second quarter, they led by 17. But a late run in the second quarter and a second-half comeback by Memphis tied the game at the end of regulation.
Kevin Durant led the way for the Thunder with 27 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. But it will be overtime that many remember. In the extra session, the forward went 0-5 from the field and was scoreless. His big bucket to get the game to overtime shouldn’t be forgotten, but he also was frigid in OT. Durant has struggled late in this series and is only 3-17 in the fourth quarter and overtime of the past two games.
Memphis was led by a trio of stars in the win. Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, and Marc Gasol combined for 70 points and Randolph and Gasol also added 23 rebounds.
Few would argue that Oklahoma City is incapable of coming back to win this series. With a player like Durant, the team is an explosive one. But the Thunder have gone from heavy favorites to decided underdogs with the loss. A 3-1 deficit not only means they’ll need to win two games at home, but also go on the road and beat Memphis.
Game 5 in the series will be in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.
