By the time I got home from work the Bulls had already pulled way ahead of the Hawks, so I can’t tell you first hand how the game got to that point. What I can tell you is that based on the box score it looks like DERRICK ROSE happened… and happened in a MAJOR WAY… the majorest of ways so far in the 2011 NBA playoffs, as a matter of fact (Durant had the previous high game with 41). D-Rose became the third-youngest player in league history to go for 40+ in a playoff game as he busted his slump and put 44 on ATL (on just 27 shots). You may see for yourself:
I’ll just let the video do the talking. As you can see, he had his long-range J going (4-7 from three) for the first time since the regular season… he’s been catching a lot of sh!t lately for his shot selection, but the dude shot 33.3 percent from distance on the regular season, so you’ve got to figure he wasn’t gonna go 1-8 every night for the duration of the postseason. The Miami heat better hope he falls back into a slump before round three (yes, I’m already advancing MIA and CHI), because as you can see, Rose becomes completely unstoppable when he’s connecting from range. Hell, he’s hard enough to contain when he’s laying bricks.
As for the Hawks, they shot much better than they did in game two, but they struggled through many of the same issues. Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford didn’t give them nearly enough offense (17 points on 7-19), they were doubled on the offensive boards (18-9), and they couldn’t hit the three-ball (1-6). Once again, Jeff Teague was the only dude who really did anything offensively… he dropped another 21 points on 8-13 with just one turnover. Josh Smith’s 17/13 on 7-14 look alright on the stat sheet, but once again, he missed all five shots he took from outside the paint. The Bulls got a big boost from Taj Gibson and Kyle Korver, who dropped 24 off the bench. ATL was never going to win this series, but to compete they needed Jamal Crawford to style on CHI’s reserves. He hasn’t been able to get that done in games two or three, and you see the result… 99-82, Crawford’s old team.
The Lakers that we’ve been waiting for finally showed up last night (short Ron Artest due to his one-game suspension)… and they still lost, further backing my stance that Dallas is in fact the better basketball team right now. LA got off to a great start with 27 first-quarter points, Andrew Bynum was looking like the beast that we all know he can be (21/10), and Kobe Bryant finally scored a layup (his first of the second round) with just under a minute to go in the first half. So, at that point I was thinking ok, the Lakers have arrived, and they’ll announce their presence by taking this one. Dallas wasn’t playing poorly, but LA was in control of the tempo and pounding the ball into Andrew Bynum, who was delivering. I felt like Dallas was probably drained from those two emotional wins in LA, leaving them in a prime position to give one up on their home floor. Beating the Lakers three times in a row is no easy task, I don’t care what the logo at halfcourt reads. So, with the Lakers making shots and up four at the half, I figured they’d probably hold on. They had doubled that four-point lead by the six minute mark of the fourth, and I’d chalked it up as a 2-1 series. Silly me.
First of all, let me make one thing clear: LA didn’t choke their lead, or blow this game. Dirk Nowtizki, Jason Terry, and Peja Stojakovic simply took it from them. LA scored 20 in the fourth… not an incredible display of offense, but every time Dallas got within striking distance, they manufactured a bucket. Basically, for the first eight minutes of the fourth, it was a back and forth game featuring big shot after big shot… however, in the final four minutes, Dallas kept putting huge shots in the basket, and LA stalled. A Peja Stojakovic three-ball at the 3:48 mark made it a one-possession game, and Dallas finally snagged the lead on a pair of Dirk Nowitzki freethrows with 2:40 to play. Derek Fisher then connected on some sort of driving, floating BS, giving the Lakers a one-point lead back. It didn’t last long… Jason Terry clutched a corner triple, making it 91-89. Lamar Odom then took Peja in the post and got two, but LA would miss their final five shots from the field. Dirk hit the go-ahead bucket, and Derek Fisher did the same damn thing Pau Gasol did at the end of game one: he commited a reach in foul trying to crowd Jason Terry way out on the perimter. JET made it a four-point game, and that was all she wrote… 98-92 was the final.
Again, I want to emphasize that the Lakers didn’t choke this game away. I figure they made enough big shots down the stretch to win your average eight-point game with six minutes remaining. You’ve just got to give credit to Dallas… they were f@cking incredible. LA did seem to get caught ball watching a lot, allowing guys like Peja and JET to get wide open for triples, but sh!t… Dirk was in the process of lighting them up for 32 big ones, of course they’re gonna be keeping an eye on him. Basically, Dirk beasted, he got a ton of help from his role players (knocked down huge threes when LA’s D sagged to stop Dirk), and Dallas ripped victory from the hands of defeat. They’re the better basketball team, and that’s why they’ll win this series. I can’t believe I just typed that, but it’s true.
Throughout this series, the Mavs have held a huge edge in bench production as well as three-point shooting. Aside from the greatness of Dirk Nowitzki, guys like Jason Terry and JJ Berea (and the threes they’ve knocked down) have been the biggest reason why Dallas is up 3-0. Yeah, Tyson Chandler has been great in containing the frontcourt, but Bynum was a monster yesterday, and Dallas still won because they out-threed the Lakers 12-3 and held a 42-15 edge in bench scoring. If you had told me that Adrew Bynum would go for 21/10 in a Laker loss at any time during this series, I wouldn’t have believed you. That being said, I didn’t see Dallas playing so damn well. They’ve hit their stride at the optimal time, that’s for damn sure, and the Lakers can’t do a damn thing to stop them right now. Dirk is the best player in the series (damn sure hasn’t been Kobe), Kidd and Berea are exploiting the guards in P&R scenarios, and the role players are drilling shots. Role players like my main man DeShawn Stevenson…
That was the only bucket I recall him making last night, I just had to include the photo. Sh!t screams NBA247365.COM. Whatever that photo is about, that’s what the f@ck we’re about. We’re about sick dunks too, so even though LA lost, I’m going to give you this…
I know this post was shorter than usual, but I just didn’t have much to say today. I actually had a little more, but I backspaced it. I didn’t want to force it… that works out in writing about as well as it does in basketball.
