2014 NBA Playoffs Saturday: Pacers and Thunder even series, Mavericks lead Spurs after Carter's buzzer beater
A blockbuster weekend was set up by the league for fans with all 16 teams in the Playoffs playing. However as the games tipped off on Saturday, there were more things off the court making noise than the plays on the court. The owner of the Los Angeles Clippers got himself into big trouble after he was heard making racist comments about black people coming to his games.
Meanwhile, Washington Wizards big man Nene Hilario was suspended for Game 4 of the series with the Chicago Bulls after his altercation with Bulls guard Jimmy Butler in the final quarter of Game 3.
Four games were played on Saturday. Here’s a wrap of the action:
Indiana Pacers vs Atlanta Hawks (Indiana won 91-88, tie up series 2-2)
Paul George #24 and Evan Turner #12 of the Indiana Pacers slap hands during a game against the Atlanta Hawks during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on April 26, 2014 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Once again the Pacers restricted Jeff Teague’s activity on offense and they came away with the win. With the series tied, the Pacers find themselves in a better position than they would have been had they gone 1-3 down. And they wouldn’t have achieved it f it wasn’t for their late game 11-2 run. They weren’t at their best, but there did seem something different about them, more like a positive attitude change. On crucial plays and big shots, Roy Hibbert was seen jumping off the bench and being the first one to greet his teammates; fans would love to see more off that Hibbert on the floor who did have a better and more motivating outing this game.
Paul George has led the Pacers so far and he didn’t back down in this game either, playing every minute of the second half en route to recording his fourth consecutive double-double of the Playoffs, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Hibbert looked good early with 6 points on 3 of 5 shooting to go with 3 rebounds and 2 blocks, something the Pacers expect from him.
Despite a miserable second quarter, the Pacers were more competitive in this game than anytime before. They not only blocked 11 shots, but kept the Hawks to just 36% shooting from the field. Larry Bird, President of Basketball Operation for the Pacers would surely like to see this sort of performance more often from the team.
Here are the highlights of George’s performance in Game 4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnPyjnneV_M
San Antonio Spurs vs Dallas Mavericks ( Dallas won 109-108, lead series 2-1)
The Dallas Mavericks’ Vince Carter (25) watches his game-winning 3-point shot fall against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of of a Western Conference quarterfinal at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Carter’s 3-pointer as time expired lifted the Mavs to a 109-108 win and a 2-1 series lead.
Dallas stole one game at San Antonio and kept that home court advantage by winning Game 3 courtesy of a clutch game winning 3-point shot from veteran Vince Carter with only 1.6 seconds left on the clock. The Mavericks hold a huge advantage in the series now leading 2-1 against a team that had the best regular season record in the league.
So far in this series, the Spurs have played nothing like the top seeds. The Mavericks have outplayed them on both ends of the floor and this series has become much tougher than what anybody had expected.
The Mavericks offense has been all about balance this series with 5 players scoring in double digits, led by Monta Ellis who had 29, while their defense has been centered around Samuel Damlembert stepping up his defense. He recorded a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with his 4 blocks. He has been impressive by not letting Tony Parker penetrate into the paint when guarding him on switches and on his help defense in the post.
Here’s Vince Carter’s game winning 3 from Game 3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSVzjUP8dVs
Miami Heat vs Charlotte Bobcats (Miami won 98-85, lead series 3-0)
LeBron James has been dominant the entire series against the Bobcats
The defending champions cruised to a 3-0 lead to be the only team unbeaten in the first round of the Playoffs after three games. LeBron James put on a show in front of Bobcats owner Michael Jordan as he registered his first double-double of this year’s Playoffs with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.
Despite the close scoreline at the end, the Heat dominated much of the game including at one stage leading by 23 after being outscored in the first quarter of play 23-27. Dwyane Wade (17) and Chris Anderson (12) were the only other Heat players to score in double figures.
The Heat hold a commanding lead in the series and are widely expected to sweep off the Bobcats on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Memphis Grizzlies (Oklahoma City won 92-89, series tied 2-2)
The Grizzlies defense has been the talking point of this series so far, but Reggie Jackson, the OKC Thunder’s back up point guard, added much needed fuel to the Thunder offense by scoring a career high 32 points in Game 4, the third consecutive overtime game of the series. The duo of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have been aggressive offensively in all three games so far, but on a night when they were struggling, Jackson stepped up off the bench shooting 11 of 16 including 2 of 4 from long range.
The Thunder led through most of the game entering the fourth quarter, but found themselves trailing by 5 with a minute and five seconds to go, but Jackson scored all five of his shots to send the game into overtime.
Marc Gasol (23 and 11) and Tony Allen( 14 and 10), both had double-doubles in points and rebounds, while Mike Conley (14 points and 10 assists) recorded one too. This evenly matched series going to seven games would be a treat for the viewers.
Reggie Jackson’s highlights from the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJP67LT544Q
To soak in all the best action, here are the top 5 plays from last night:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4ToflO9yGM