As four games took place last night, I must admit I was only invested in one of them, the Miami Heat taking on the Boston Celtics. And of course, that game was the only huge letdown.
Starting from the top though, the Atlanta Hawks yet again took the win over the Milwaukee Bucks, 96-86, leaving no one to fear the deer. I mostly blame the loss on Brandon Jennings' poor night, having only 9 points, and the fact that Josh Smith and Joe Johnson are unstoppable. Though it is more than possible that Jennings just wasn't feeling it last night, as even the best players have off games, it is also the Hawks' defense that put him down. The Bucks may not have won game one but Jennings certainly went to town, giving the Hawks something to worry about. Therefore, this time around, the Hawks made sure that Jennings wouldn't be able to get every shot he tried for. And in fact, he barely got any. Going along with that, Smith and Johnson had 48 points combined, which mixed with Al Horford's (who is one of my favorite Hawks players) 20 points and 10 rebounds, more than got the job done. Sadly, since Jennings is one of my favorite rookies and I am still loyal to John Salmons, I had the Bucks winning this game, but hey, what can you do?
Moving on, the Miami Heat didn't stand a chance against the Boston Celtics as the final score was 106-77 (and yes, it pains me to type that), making the series 2-0. Honestly, I can't even tell you what happened, as I thought Miami had this game on lock, but I will say that it just goes to show that not even a superstar such as Dwyane Wade (who had 29 points) can carry a team by himself. My best guess as to why this game went the way it did would be that while the Heat were over-confident, having gotten KG suspended for one game, the Celtics were working in overtime to not let the loss of one of their key players affect them. Therefore, as the Heat played the first quarter much too loosely and relaxed, setting the tone for the rest of the game, the Celtics went hard from the start. Overall though it was a horrible game and I wish to forget about it all together.
Next came the Phoenix Suns against the Portland Trailblazers, with the Suns taking the much needed win, 119-90. Though the Trailblazers fought for the w, they fell short, not as effective defensively as in the first game, a injury to Nicolas Batum also hurting (no pun intended) the Blazers. It was quite clear to see that the Suns would not stand to be beat again, and so, Grant Hill, Amar'e, Nash and Richardson went to work, combining for a total of 80 points and 22 rebounds.
And last but not least was a thrilling matchup between the LA Lakers and the OKC Thunder, which the Lakers won, 95-92. In my opinion there is no doubt that the Lakers will be taking this series (and will probably also be one of the final two standing) but it is still nice to see the Thunder working hard. In fact, with only a little over two minutes left, it was the Thunder who led, having everyone sitting at the edge of their seats. The Lakers then took it back, but only leading by 3 with 7.7 seconds left on the clock, but held on to the win as Jeff Green missed a clutch 3-pointer. Though obviously the Thunder would have liked the win, they should still be proud of themselves, keeping up with the Lakers quite nicely, and as usual, KD shooting well, earning himself 32 points for the night.
In theory last night's games didn't go too poorly for me, as I went 2-2, but due to the fact that despite predicting the Lakers I actually want the Thunder to win the series (first so that the Cavs can get the ring without any doubts and second because I can only imagine how happy it would make Kevin Durant) and the fact that the Celtics' won, it ultimately ending up once again being a poor basketball night. Leave it to the Celtics to ruin everything.
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