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Detroit 100 Orlando 93: Orlando really blew a good chance to steal one on Detroit's home floor in this one. The game was close at the end and Orlando have several chances to take control of this game but wasn't able to do so. If they have any chance of winning this series, they will have to win both of their home games. Right now I'd have to say it is going to be tough for Orlando to win this series. It might still go 7 games but I think Detroit will come out on top.
At the beginning of the game, I thought that Detroit was going to pull away for good once they got up 10 points but Orlando hung in there because of their 3-point shooting. They finished with 11 of 26 from deep, with Jameer Nelson leading the way as he shot 5 of 8 from long range. Nelson finished the game 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Dwight Howard played much better in this game than Game 1 and he finished with 22 points and 18 rebounds. Unfortunately for Orlando, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu did not look comfortable out there in this game at all. Turkoglu only took 11 shots the whole game and some of the shots he took he missed badly on. I thought Turkoglu probably should have gotten a little more involved in the offense. Lewis struggled all night in this one, as he shot only 6 of 21 from the floor. That was a key in this game because Lewis and Turkoglu need to play well for Orlando to beat Detroit. They also got nothing from their bench, which is not a surprise, but they need to score more than 4 points.
Detroit was led by Chauncey Billups who scored 28 points, including 10 for 10 from the free throw line. One thing that not many people talk about with Detroit is their free throw shooting. They really do have some guys who can knock down free throws in clutch moments with Billups and Hamilton leading the way and that is one of the reasons they are so tough to beat in a close game. You can't afford to put those guys at the line and they killed Orlando in this one, combining to shoot 15 of 16 from the line. Overall, Detroit was 24 of 28 from the line in the game.
I also thought Tashuan Prince had an excellent game as he hit some big shots early and finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Detroit is going to be a very tough team to beat if Prince keep putting up numbers like that and of course he played excellent on the defensive end in this one.
At the beginning of the game, I thought that Detroit was going to pull away for good once they got up 10 points but Orlando hung in there because of their 3-point shooting. They finished with 11 of 26 from deep, with Jameer Nelson leading the way as he shot 5 of 8 from long range. Nelson finished the game 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Dwight Howard played much better in this game than Game 1 and he finished with 22 points and 18 rebounds. Unfortunately for Orlando, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu did not look comfortable out there in this game at all. Turkoglu only took 11 shots the whole game and some of the shots he took he missed badly on. I thought Turkoglu probably should have gotten a little more involved in the offense. Lewis struggled all night in this one, as he shot only 6 of 21 from the floor. That was a key in this game because Lewis and Turkoglu need to play well for Orlando to beat Detroit. They also got nothing from their bench, which is not a surprise, but they need to score more than 4 points.
Detroit was led by Chauncey Billups who scored 28 points, including 10 for 10 from the free throw line. One thing that not many people talk about with Detroit is their free throw shooting. They really do have some guys who can knock down free throws in clutch moments with Billups and Hamilton leading the way and that is one of the reasons they are so tough to beat in a close game. You can't afford to put those guys at the line and they killed Orlando in this one, combining to shoot 15 of 16 from the line. Overall, Detroit was 24 of 28 from the line in the game.
I also thought Tashuan Prince had an excellent game as he hit some big shots early and finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Detroit is going to be a very tough team to beat if Prince keep putting up numbers like that and of course he played excellent on the defensive end in this one.
New Orleans 102 San Antonio 84: Early on in this game, I really felt like the pace of the game favored San Antonio and I thought there was no way they would not end up winning this game. San Antonio was up one at the half but they let New Orleans run wild in the second half and outscore them 36-18. San Antonio is definitely in trouble in this series right now. I thought they would put out a better effort in this one and I am actually pretty shocked they got beat the way they did. Now if any team can come back from a 2-0 hole and win a series it is definitely this one, but now there is alot of pressure for them to win their two home games to even this series up.
Chris Paul was obviously the man in this game with 30 points and 12 assists but New Orleans would probably not be up in this series if it wasn't for the outstanding play of Peja Stojakovic. He has really shot the ball well in this series, which is somewhat surprising considering he has kind of fallen off the map in the past few years since he left the Kings. Peja hit a few back breaking three's in this game and finished with 25 points on 8 of 13 shooting, which included 5 of 7 from deep. The Spurs did a better job on David West in this game and were able to limit him to 10 points on 2 of 11 shooting, but he still chipped in with 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Defensively for the Hornets, they were really effective by double teaming Duncan and Ginobili and it is starting to look like the Spurs are being hurt by not having someone who can consistently knock down open jumpers. Udoka, Bowen, and Finley are just not the guys who you want shooting open jumpers out of a double team on a consistent basis. I would not be surprised if Popovich stays with Brent Barry on the court in the next few games. He shot the ball well in this game hitting 4 of 5 threes and scoring 14 points.
Ginobili and Parker really struggled in this game and combined for 8 turnovers. Parker only shot 5 of 14 from the floor and finished with only 11 points. Meanwhile, Ginobili had trouble with the double teams all night and comitted 5 turnovers by himself and scored only 13 points on 4 of 10 shooting. The double teams also bothered Tim Duncan because he was not able to shoot the basketball as much as the Spurs needed him to in this game. Duncan only attempted 11 shots from the floor but he did make 6 of them. He finished with a respectable 18 points and 8 rebounds but the Spurs need him to come up big in the next two games.
Overall, I thought the Hornets just looked younger and quicker on the court and when all is said and done, that may be the story of this series. It might be time for the Spurs to add some young bodies next season at the wing position and also down low but we will see how this veteran team responds in their two home games.
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