Magic one win away from finals
May 27th, 2009 by TyIt was raining 3’s in this game with Rafer Alston setting a career playoff record of 3’s mad with 6 on his way to a 26 point burst for him, another career playoff record. But Dwight was the star tonight finishing with a dominant 27pts 14rbds with 7 of 9 free throws made. He took over in overtime and helped lead Orlando into a great position to take the Eastern conference championship with a 3 -1 lead heading into game 5. the game almost slipped away from them like the game 2 buzzer beating loss they suffered; but Lebron opted for a drive to the basket and secured overtime on free throws to extend the game after a spectacular 3 pointer by Rashard Lewis had the Magic up by 2 pts. In overtime Dwight took over in the paint finishing with 10pts and the Magic kept burning the 3’s, but the game was lost for Cleavland on bad shots and costly turnovers, of which Lebron had 8. Lebron was once again the point of the Cavs attack finishing with 44pts 12rbds and 7asts. The Cavs can still make this a series but need more from the rest of the team in all departments, scoring to hustle plays are needed especially from players who guarantee wins…… Mo keep your word next time. Magic 116 -114 Cavs (3-1)
Nuggets Even Series
May 26th, 2009 by ChaI-WalaBefore tip off of game 4 of the western conference finals, Carmelo Anthony was throwing up and getting IVs from the personal trainers. With their star player at less that 100% the Nuggets seemed hard pressed to come out and win game 4 in a series where the games have been decided in the final minutes all series long. But the Nuggets bench came out to play..led by the dynamic shooting guard JR Smith, who came into the game penetrating and making fabulous assists to his teammates to set them on right tone. Then when the defence got used to him attacking the rim, he reverted back to what he is most known for, Knocking down 3s. Chris “Birdman” Andersen also did a great job off the bench, blocking 2 shots and grabbing 14 rebounds in the most decisive win for either team this series. Chauncey Billups was his usual self, controlling the game masterfully and contributing 24 pts to supplement the absence of Anthony. Kobe Bryant finished with 34 pts and 7 rebs in the loss while Pau gasol continued his strong play this series with 21 pts and 10 rebs. It wa sobvious in this game that the Lakers are going to have to get more production fromtheir shooters ( Fisher, Vujacic and Framar) if they are going to stay competitive against the Nuggets. Look forward to the pivotal Game 5 which will be played in LA on Wednesday.
Magic Maintain edge in series
May 25th, 2009 by ChaI-WalaThe Orlando Magic came to play Sunday night as they jumped on the Cavaliers early. Something they have not been able to do through the first 2 games of the series. Dwight Howard set the tone early, dominating in the post while the cavaliers struggled to make shots. Howard’s early start got shut down early, as he quickly picked up two fouls and found himself playing only 10 minutes in the first half. But with Lebron James doing most of the scoring for the Cavaliers, the Magic were able to control most of the game by making James take tough shots and keeping his teammates cold. Lebron James scored an Amazing 41 out of his teams 89 points in the game and added 9 assists and 7 rebs but didn’t get help from anywhere else. Dwight Howard led the Magic with 24 pts and 9 Rebs in only 27 minutes of action while making 14-19 from the free throw line, a commendable performance from the notoriously bad free throw shooter. All being said it safe to say that the Cavaliers are struggling against the Magic, if not for James miracle shot in game 2, the Cavs would be in a 0-3 hole with one more game in Orlando. Check game 4 in Orlando on Tuesday for what should be a do or die game for the Cavs.
Orlando 99 Cleveland 89
RIP Chuck Daly
Kobe takes a beating but pulls out the win in Denver!
May 24th, 2009 by TyThe Lakers matched the intensity of the Nuggets in every quarter for the full 48 minutes with controlled and decisive plays that may not have been pretty but they counted.
Hard fouls and hustle plays were abundant in this game and with both teams finding it hard to get into any real rhythm offensively the game it looked like the game was bound to be decided by defensive stops and that’s exactly how it played out. With the Nuggets down by 3pts, Trevor Ariza stole the ball on Kenyon Martins bad inbound pass and Melo had to foul Ariza to prevent an easy lay-up and with Melo fouling out at that point the game was decided at the free throw line.
The main star of this game was, once again Kobe who finished with 41pts and 6rbds. He took a lot of beating in this game from Donte Jones and pretty much any of the Denver players that had to guard him . But kudos to Kobe for staying calm through most of it and just setting the tone for the rest of his team to follow.
The Nuggets will look back and see that playing with emotion can win you some games but can also help to lose some crucial games. Lakers have a chance to clamp down on the high hopes of the Nuggets on Monday. It should be a fun game, see you then!
Lebron’s Magic shot saves Cleveland
May 23rd, 2009 by ChaI-WalaWith their entire championship dream hanging in the balance, having blown another huge lead at home..the Cavs rested everything on the huge shoulders of their super star..and Lebron hit arguably one of the biggest shots of his short but storied career. down 2 with 1 second left on the clock..James made a 3 pointer to win the game for the Cavaliers ,preventing them from loosing their first 2 home games of the 7 game eastern conference finals. it seemed Turkoglu had won the game for the magic after hitting a clutch jumper to give the magic a 2 point lead and 1 second left on the clock for Lebron to work his “Magic”. An absolutely exciting game..series tied 1-1 and the Cavs will try to win one on the road as the series heads to Orlando. James finished with 35 pts and 5 assists
Cavaliers 96 Magic 95
RIP Chuck Daly
Melo Leads Nuggets past Lakers
May 22nd, 2009 by ChaI-WalaCarmelo Anthony Has played like a Man amongst boys so far this series, and this time, the Nuggets made sure they finished off the game well down the stretch. A complete flipside from game 1, it was the nuggets hitting clutch free throws and making smart plays, while it was the Lakers missing free throws and turning over the ball in the final minutes of another tightly contested game. Carmelo Anthony once again proved to be force in the game dominating on both ends of the ball, dominating on Offence and Guarding Kobe Bryant for a good portion of the game. He poured in 34 pts and 9 “Man” Rebounds. Chauncey Billups added 27 pts of his own and Linas Klieza was huge off the bench adding 16 clutch buckets that helped Denver get back into the game when they were down double digits in the first half. Kobe Bryant had 32 pts and Pau Gasol had another big game with 17pts and 17 rebs in the loosing cause. Game 3 will be played in Denver..Look forward to an exciting series.
Lakers 103 Nuggets 106
RIP Chuck Daly
Magic Steal One in Cleveland
May 21st, 2009 by ChaI-WalaThe Orlando Magic went into the the Home of the Dominant Cavaliers…got them selves into an early deficit, vandalised Thier Basket ball Rim..and then proceeded to shoot their way to victory. In a game that seemed would be a blow out the Orlando Magic Battled back from as much as a 16 pt deficit in the first half, as they had no answer for Lebron James who set a playoff franchise record for points in the first half with 26pts. to steal game one in Cleveland. Lebron James was his usal dominant self finishing with a career playoff high 49 pts along with 8 asts and 6 rebs but got no help from his bench as they were outscored 25 – 5 in this game. Dwight Howard starred for the Orlando Magic with 30 pts and 13 rebs and one broken shot clock ( when he dunked and broke the shot clock in the first half….we havent seen anything like this since Shaq brought down the rim in the 90’s). But it was the Magic’s hot shooting that got them back into the game and eventually won it for them as they kept hitting big shot after big shot in the 4th quarter. This was the Cavaliers first playoff loss this postseason and will look to bounce back in game 2.
Cleveland 106 Orlando 107
Kobe gets One up
May 20th, 2009 by ChaI-WalaIn a hotly contested game, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers narrowly slipped past the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the western conference finals. Kobe starred for the Lakers scoring 40 points on 13 – 28 shooting. Pau Gasol had a strong game also contributing 13 pts and 14 rebs in the win while Derek Fisher came to play while hitting huge shots down the stretch to preserve the Lakers lead. The denver nuggets had some costly mistakes down the stretch of the game that cost them the win, with Kenyon Martin fouling Kobe Byrant with under a minute left to go in the game and no fouls to give. Only for Anthony Carter to turn the ball over again on an inbound pass that would have given the nuggets an opportunity to tie the game. Carmelo Anthony poured in 39 pts and 6 rebs and played like a beast in the game. The Lakers will have to find a better defensive plan for the versatile forward in game 2. Look for the Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals tonight as the Orlando Magic will Visit the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Lakers 105 Nuggets 103 (1-0)
Game 7’s coming up!
May 15th, 2009 by TyWin or go home was the slogan for the home teams and both were able to pull off impressive wins to force the decisive game 7.
Orlando beat Boston to force a final game in Boston. Orlando was powered by their superman, Dwight Howard and he really did play like one; 23pts and 22rbds definately should spell a win especially when Ray Allen did not get his shots to drop tonight and finished with 5pts on 2-11 shotting. Rondo led all Celtics players with 19pts 16rbds and 9 asts.
The Rockets were able to send this series back to L.A for the decider with the help of a solid team performance with Aaron brooks and Luis Scola starring. Bryant kept his team in it with 32pts, but was unable to drag the Lakers back from a 17 – 1 start in the first quarter.
Game notes will be posted soon.
Nuggets Wrap up Series
May 14th, 2009 by ChaI-WalaCarmelo Anthony and Chanucey Billups ensured they snuffed the life out of the Dallas Mavericks quickly. Showing the same kind of intensity and focus only duplicated by the Cleveland Cavaliers this playoffs, the Nuggets rode their stars to a 4-1 series win. Carmelo scored 30 pts while Chauncey Billups added 28 of his own in the winning cause. The Nuggets look like prime Championship contenders and will give the winner if the Houston – los Angeles series a really tough time to advance to the finals. The Nugggets do like the Cavs…and wait for their next opponents.
Nuggets 124 Mavericks 110 (4-1)
Its a Wrap…RIP Chuck Daly!