Eastern Conference:

Cleveland 97 - Atlanta 82

Cleveland leads series 3-0

• I wondered in my last post if LeBron James would crack 40 minutes, or if they would even be challenged by the Atlanta Hawks. And guess what? Both did happen in this game. And the Cavs still won convincingly. James had 47 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists, along with 5 three pointers, in steering Cleveland to a commanding 3-0 series lead. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 14 points and 8 rebounds for the Cavs.
• Atlanta had been keeping this game relatively close, until breaking apart in the second half. Hawks’ big man Zaza Pachulia got ejected for arguing with an official in the third quarter, and that seemed to deflate the Hawks a bit. In the fourth, Joe Johnson had seemed to spring alive after getting tangled with the Cavs’ Delonte West. They exchanged words, and after they were separated and play resumed, Johnson promptly scored the next 7 points. But it was a case of “too little, too late.” After that short outburst, the Hawks reverted back to their Game 1 and 2 selves, and were demolished.
• It’s a mild surprise LeBron didn’t score 50 on them in this game, considering he was in a zone. The Cavs set an NBA record with their 7th consecutive playoff double-digit victory. Could this Cavs team be able to go fo’ fo’ fo’ this postseason? From the looks of it, they just might.

*****

Western Conference:

Denver 106 - Dallas 105

Denver leads series 3-0

• A controversial non-call allowed the Denver Nuggets to walk away with a win in Dallas on a three pointer by Carmelo Anthony with a second left. With only a few seconds left and with the Mavs having a foul to give, Dallas’ Antoine Wright tried to foul Anthony, only it wasn’t called by the refs. Given a little space, Anthony was able to drain a three pointer, sending the Mavs to a heartbreaking loss. The league admitted a couple of hours after the game that the non-call was a ref’s error, and had cost the Mavs the game.
• ‘Melo had 31 points (on 9-24 shooting) and 8 rebounds for the Nuggets, and Chauncey Billups added 32 points. The rest of the Nuggets weren’t really feeling it, with Nene and Chris Andersen mired by foul trouble for most of the game. Kenyon Martin had 12 points and 4 rebounds, and J.R. Smith added 10 points (3-10 shooting) and 6 rebounds off the bench.
• Dallas played better than in their previous two losses, keeping the game close and seemingly poised to win before Anthony’s last shot. Dirk Nowitzki had another monster game with 33 points (9-19 shooting) and 16 rebounds, while Jason Kidd had 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Josh Howard was still slowed by his gimpy ankles, but he managed to add 14 points (on 5-15 shooting) and 7 rebounds. Jason Terry had 17 points on 5-12 shooting off the bench, and Brandon Bass added 16 points (12 of which came on free throws).
• This had to be a heartbreaking loss for the Mavericks. Look for them to come out wanting payback for this game, and fighting to survive in the next game. However, Denver has proven that they can dominate this team, winning both games at Denver by double digits, so they might be unfazed after escaping this one.
• The Nuggets and Cavaliers are the two teams who seem to have been having it easiest in these playoffs, and I am kind of hoping for a Finals match up between those two. This Nuggets team kind of reminds me of the 2004 Pistons title team, also led by Chauncey Billups, and I’m gonna be rooting for them as a relative underdog (compared to the dominating Cavs and star-studded Lakers, or the defending champs the Celtics), along with Dwight Howard’s Magic.

*****

Notes:

• Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets is out of the postseason after injuring his left foot. This is a blow to the Rockets’ playoff hopes, but we’ll have to wait and see if they regroup and put up a fight versus the Lakers. I’m pretty sure Ron Artest isn’t ready to call it a day just yet.
• Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly passed away at 78. Daly is best known for coaching the Detroit Pistons to their back-to-back titles in ‘89 and ‘90, and leading the Dream Team to an Olympic gold in ‘92.