NBA Playoffs Rundown

Boston 96 Cleveland 89: Once again the Boston Celtics took care of business at home and are now 7-0 at home in the playoffs. Boston will now try to go to Cleveland and close out the series by attempting to win on the road for the first time in the playoffs. Since they are 0-5 on the road, you would expect this series to be coming back to Boston for Game 7.

The Celtics went down early in this game but Rajon Rondo hit two huge three pointers in the second quarter and cut a 12 point Cleveland lead down to 6. Those two shots were part of a Boston run where they scored 14 of the last 17 points in the first half to cut what was once a 14 point Cavs lead down to 3. I have to admit that when Cleveland was up 14, I thought Boston was dead in the water, but after Rondo hit those two big three's they really picked it up and I think those shots were huge not only for the Celtics but also Rondo's confidence. Rondo had a great game and finished with 20 points and 13 assists, while only turning the ball over once.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett also had great games in this one. They both stepped it up offensively, especially Pierce who finally got off on the offensive end. Pierce finished with 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Most importantly he was aggressive going to the hoop and got to the free throw line 13 times knocking down 11. Garnett also showed more aggressiveness and had a great game finishing with with 26 points and 16 rebounds on 12 of 19 shooting. You have to give these guys credit for stepping up in such a big game and the Celtics will need this same type of effort in Cleveland if they want to win Game 6 and close this series out.

One other thing to note for the Celtics is that Doc Rivers really cut down his rotation in this one. Pierce, Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rondo all played 40 plus minutes in the game. Sam Cassell had his minutes cut to 5 and the only Celtics bench players to see more than 10 minutes of action were James Posey and surprisingly Glen "Big Baby" Davis who was effective scoring 6 points on 3 of 4 shooting.

Cleveland actually shot 18 more free throws than Boston in this game and I thought this was one of the better officiated games in the playoffs so far. The fact that the road team shot that many more free throws than the home team kind of shows that there was no home court bias by the refs. However, Cleveland was not able to capitalize on their extra free throws because they did not hit as many field goals as Boston and shot only 3 of 16 from down town.

Lebron James had a great first half, pouring in 23 points but he shot only 4 of 14 in the second half and finished with 35 points on 12 of 25 shooting. He only had 5 assists in this game as well, so he was not able to involve his teammates in the same way he did down the stretch in Game 4. Delonte West had 21 points but no other Cavs player played particularly well offensively.

LA Lakers 111 Utah 104: With the LA Lakers winning this game, the home team is now 19-1 in the second round of the playoffs. It is quite possible that a road team may not win another game in the second round, which would really be amazing. I feel that the Jazz will win at home in Game 6 and send this to Game 7. However, I fully expect the Lakers to win this series because I feel like Utah would have to win last night and Game 6 if they were going to win the series. I don't see them winning Game 7 in LA.

A big deal is being made out of Kobe Bryant only taking 10 shots in this game but he still shot 17 friggen' free throws, so it's not like he was all that passive on the offensive end. Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points and chipped in with 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Bryant did not seem to be bothered by the back injury he sustained in Game 4.

All 5 of the Lakers starters scored in double figures with Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol leading them down the stretch. Kobe did not take a shot in the 4th quarter and Odom and Gasol were big down the stretch. Odom finished with 22 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds and had a huge dunk to put the Lakers up 3 in the 4th quarter. After Memhet Okur scored and cut the lead to 1, Gasol scored 4 straight points to put the Lakers up by 5, which basically sealed the victory. Gasol finished with 21 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

Utah once again dominated the boards in this game 44 to 34. However, they went to the free throw line 14 less times than the Lakers and hit 10 less free throws. All 5 of their starters scored in double figures as well, with Deron Williams leading the way with 27 points. He also had 10 assists and 5 rebounds. Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur really controlled the boards in this game once again, combining for 25 rebounds. Boozer finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Okur had 13 points and 12 rebounds. I expect Utah to win Game 6 at home because they should control the boards again and the free throw disparity should not be as big when they are at home.