NBA Playoffs: Friday Night Reaction

Well I hope you didn’t take my predictions from last night to the bank as I went 0-2 in very surprising fashion.

Philadelphia 76ers  92            Boston Celtics  83  

(Series Tied 2-2)

Well I did get one thing right, this Celtics team is Jekyll and Hyde.  We don’t know what we will get from them in each game.  This series has actually been up and down as well.  Looking at this game, Boston stormed out to 14-0.  And even finished the quarter 24-12.  The second quarter Boston still was leading and even built up a lead of 18 points.  But Philly wasn’t going away, and they put up 28 points in the third quarter and 33 points in the fourth quarter.  Talk about a resilient team.  I would almost compare this Sixers team to the Pacers team, where people don’t really know them.  But they have guys who know how to play and can do all the little things to help your team win.  The Sixers even shot worse than the Celtic in this game, and end up winning.  Andre Iguodola leads the way for the Sixers with 16 points, and now this series goes back to the drawing board.  Who knows what will come Monday for game five?

Los Angeles Lakers  99            Oklahoma City Thunder  96  

(Thunder Lead 2-1)

May 18, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) shoots a basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of game three of the Western Conference semifinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Well the Lakers look to make this a series now as Kevin Durant misses a three pointer that would have tied the game up and sent it to overtime.  Kobe Bryant was Kobe Bryant as he got 36 points on 9-25 shooting, but did go 18-18 from the free throw line.  Andrew Bynum had a horrible shooting night as well with his 2-13, but went to the free throw line himself 12 times and made 11 there.  Each quarter was won by each team.  The Lakers were up 23-15 after the first quarter.  Thunder come storming back after putting up 32 points in the second quarter.  They win the third quarter scoring battle as well, but the Lakers take care of business in the final quarter when it mattered most. Now we have a series on our hands as only the first game has been a blowout.  The Thunder hit a game winner in game two to win by two, and now last night’s three point win by the Lakers show these teams are going to be battling for the next couple of games.