I’m going to get Cs/Knicks game three out of the way first because it was severely lacking in the competetiveness department, unlike most games of the first roung thus far. Doc Rivers emphasized that he wanted his Celtics to go into MSG with the intent to take care of business rather than put on a show, and take care of business they did… and they ended up putting on a decent show in the process. Paul Pierce, who scored 38 on the night, came out and dropped seven in the first three minutes as Bean Town took a 9-0 lead. That lead ballooned to 22-5, but Shawne Williams and former Celtic Bill Walker came off the bench and combined for nine points in the final three minutes of the first to help the Knicks cut the lead down to seven. Williams and Walker continued to help the Knicks stay close with eight more points in the second, but meanwhile, Ray Allen was goin’ bonkers with a trio of triples that helped Boston go into the lockerroom with a 52-44 advantage. The Knicks were fortunate to be in it at that points with such little production from Melo and Amare, but they wouldn’t be so fortunate in the second half. Dudes like Williams and Walker cooled off, and Boston continued to heat up as they stretched their lead to 10, and eventually as many as 23. It was never again close–Boston took it 113-96–but the numbers kept on piling up for a few Bostonians. Rajon Rondo has put together two good games in a row for the first time in what seems like forever… he f@cked around and got a triple double with his 15 points, 11 boards, and 20, count ‘em, TWENTY assists. That’s what happens when Ray Allen is matching his own playoff record with eight triples, and PP is going 14 for 19 on his way to 38 big ones. For those of you who are wondering, 20 dimes is not the playoff record. Surprisingly, it’s not even close. Magic Johnson and John Stockton both dished 24 (and 23 on seperate occasions), Steve Nash did 23, hell, even Rondo’s coach out-dished him once… that’s right, Doc Rivers once had 22 assists as a member of the Hawks. Coincidentally, he did so against the Celtics. Surely Rajon was getting a lot of props for his gaudy numbers after the game… I wonder if Doc talked a little trash?
As for the Knicks, well, they just aren’t healthy, and I figure they’re about to get swept. Chauncey Billups missed this one, and Melo/Amare combined for just 22 points on 6-24. I can honestly say that I’ve been impressed with New York’s overall effort in this series, though. I figured they’d gun their way to a few victories, but I didn’t expect to give them any props for staying competetive in a few grind-it-out games. So, even though they got killed last night and they’re down 0-3, I’ve been more impressed with them than I expected to be. I think they probably would’ve won a game by now if they weren’t all banged up. Notorious excuse maker Amare Stoudemire only kinda sorta played the injury card: “I felt good enough to play but I wasn’t 100 percent. I just wanted to show some courage out there for the fans of New York. They deserved it and my teammates, also.”
Drop the “but I wasn’t 100 percent” part and that would’ve been perfect, STAT. Melo knows what to say: “It’s tough knowing that Amare’s not 100 percent, Chauncey’s not 100 percent and we’re just trying to find our way on the fly right now. That’s a tough situation but I think that would be making excuses if I sit here and say that they beat us because we’re not at full strength. We’ve still got guys that have to go out there and play … so I don’t want to use that as an excuse.”
Dwight Howard finished game three 19 points and four boards under his series averages… which means he still put up 21 and 15 (and three swats on 8-14). Orlando missed 20 of 28 three-pointers, though, so you pretty much know it didn’t end well for them. Jamal Crawford was hitting his threes (3-5), and he played hero for ATL in the 88-84 W with 12 fourth-quarter points. Those 12 points included a four-point play (Jamal has more of those than anyone in NBA history… it amazes me how he can focus on putting a 25-foot shot in the basket while looking to create body/leg contact at the same time), and this banker in the grill of Jameer Nelson…
I repeat, in the grill of Jameer Nelson. Yes, Jamal Crawford got lucky on the play, but that’s not the point. He had 25 in the game to that point, and he has been known to be an ice-cold clutch shot maker since his days with the Knicks. The point is that Jameer Nelson, who could practically serve as a stunt double for a dude from Little People Big World, shouldn’t be trying to guard Jamal Crawford in that situation. Orlando didn’t have much for options because there was no dead ball to make substitutions before the play, but sh!t, I think they may have been smart to switch on the Josh Smith pick. That would’ve left Nelson on the much larger Smith with about six seconds left on the shot clock, and the 6’9 Turkeyglue on Jamal Crawford. I’m no advocate of Turk’s defense, or any other aspect of his game (dude is plain lazy, negates his talent), but at least he’s tall. I feel like Jamal Crawford had his mind made up on that play… he was going to pull out some of his signature moves to create space, and fire that long jumper. I think ORL would’ve been better off with a taller guy in his face, even if the taller guy is the laziest SOB in the league. As for Nelson having to check Josh Smith for six seconds? Jamal wasn’t going to pass that ball, and even if he had, what the hell is Josh Smith gonna do with it with six seconds to score from the three-point line? Brick a jumper, most likely.
Alright, back to real life… rather than being the guy who got a hand in Crawford’s face in my hypothetical switch, Hedo is currently playing the role of goat. Turk has made only 9 of 36 shots in this series, yet he still decided to fire what Stan Van Gundy has described as a “horrible shot” on the possession that preceeded Crawford’s dagger. Stan is absolutely correct, it was horrible. With Orlando down one with about 35 seconds left, Turk dribbled, stepped back, and launched a contested three. It was kinda like this…
…except it was out on the wing further, he didn’t need to shoot it, he didn’t make it, and his team lost. Said SVG: “…his decision making just hasn’t been very good. We’ve got to find a way to get him going.” Hah! Good luck with that.
We may have a few suspensions to deal with for Magic/Hawks game four. Guess who was in the middle of it? That’s right, Zaza Pachulia was at it again!
Dwight got a T for his flailing elbow, Zaza then came with the signature headbutt, which earned him an ejection, and J-Rich responded with the Rick James, which earned him an ejection as well. First of all, Jason, take a lesson from Rafer Alston. That slap was weak sauce. Secondly, way to go get yourself suspended. While I think it’s lame that a little smack gets a dude not only the boot from a game, but a suspension these days… you’ve got to be smarter than that. You can’t be hitting people with your hands in any way; might as well turn in your game four paycheck right now, because you aren’t playing. I don’t think Zaza will be suiting up either. Howard should be good to go, but he’s got to be careful, that’s his second T of the series. Following the game, he was asked about Pachulia’s antics. Skip to the 4:00 mark…
Goddammit, Dwight… say what the f@ck you really wanted to say. It seems to me that you’ve always wanted to be like Shaq. How do you think the Diesel would’ve answered that question? He certainly would’ve come with something better than your sarcastic “he’s a good defender” answer. So, Dwight, next time you’re in a press conference, I want you to think to yourself, WWSD. Put it on a bracelet, and stop givin’ a sh!t.
Speaking of Snaq, he’s listed as probable for Boston’s upcoming game four in NY. I’ll believe it when I see it.
For the first time in the series, the Lakers came out and took an early lead over Hornets, trailing for a total of just five seconds in the entire game, and that was very early on (6-4). Kobe came out and made a bit of a statement with this number-8-like slam…
…he was on his way to the 80th 30-point game of his playoff career (second most all-time behind you know who), and the Lakers were on their way to a double-digit lead (they had it up to 11 with about 10 minutes to go in the second). LA’s advantage teetered around 10 throughout the second and third quarters, and then finally, Pau Gasol decided to put in a little work. Pau dropped seven points (including the second three-pointer of his postseason life) between the 11 and 8 minute marks of the fourth, putting LA up 14. He finished up with 17/10. It’s about damn time you showed up, Pau! As Phil Jackson pointed out late in game two, you had played like ass in the first two contests.
The Hornets would never again get within single digits, and the Lakers took it 100-86. Once again, New Orleans gave it a great effort and put up a solid fight, but they are simply overmatched in this series. If you look at the stat sheet, the only major difference in game three was the three-point shooting: LA made ‘em (7-16) , NO didn’t (2-13). The long-ball can be a great equalizer for an overmatched, undersized team like New Orleans, but they haven’t been knocking them down (only hit eight total in games one and two). They were middle of the pack in three-point shooting this season (14th), but if they’re going to win any more games in this series, these three things will probably have to happen: Hornets get hot, CP goes bonkers, Lakers have one of those “WTF?” games.
Had to fit that in somewhere. Carl finished with 23 points and the crunkest moment of the 2011 playoffs thus far.
Photo of the Day: A photo showing the crowd during the fourth quarter of Magic @ Hawks game three…
Just f@ckin’ with you, there were quite a few people there. This was pretty much what your average regular season Hawks game looked like about five years ago, though.
