2014 NBA Playoffs: Wizards shock Bulls to take 2-0 lead, Pacers comeback to pound Hawks
Its day 4 of the NBA Playoffs and the level of competitiveness and intensity which we tend to expect at this time of the year in the league is quite clearly visible in all of the games played so far.
The third time in his career and the second time in the past three years Coach Gregg Popovich was named Coach of the Year 2013-14
As we go deeper into the post-season, the league begins the announcements of the players who were voted the best in a specific category. In the most recent news, a day after Joakim Noah won the KIA NBA Defensive Player of the year award Gregg Popovich, Head Coach of the San Antonio Spurs was named the Coach of the Year for the third time in his career and the second time in the past three seasons.
Shifting to the Playoffs, it was a three game night on Tuesday in the NBA:
Atlanta Hawks vs Indiana Pacers – Game 2 (Pacers won 101-85, series tied 1-1)
Paul George led the Pacers against the Hawks with a second consecutive MVP caliber performance.
The inconsistent run for the Indiana Pacers continued, only this time it resulted in a win in Game 2 of their series with the 8 seed Atlanta Hawks. Whether this game was a flash in the pan or a performance they will take motivation and inspiration from for the rest of the post-season can only be determined depending on where they finish at the end of this year’s Playoff run.
Paul George had a magnificent performance recording 6 assists and 4 steals to go along with his second consecutive double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds while Luis Scola contributed an impressive 20 points on 9-14 shooting off the bench. George and point guard George Hill combined for 15 points in a 19-0 run during the third quarter which saw the box score change from 65-68 in favour of the Hawks, to 87-65 in favour of the Pacers. During this third quarter run, the Pacers played a level of defense one normally associated with the Blue Collar franchise, as compared to the disappointing ones of late.
“We put our print on this game in the third quarter, which we’ve done in November, December and January. We got back to that. I thought we did a great job of really just locking in, coming out in the second half, on what we need to do,” said Indiana’s Paul George.
It was indeed their defense which won the game for the Pacers as they shut down opposition point guard Jeff Teague, who caused a lot of problems in Game 1, by allowing him to score only 2 points in the entire second half. I expect the Pacers to dominate the series from here on.
Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors – Game 2 (Raptors won 100-95, series tied 1-1)
It might have been nerves of the post-season that led to a young team losing Game 1 on their own floor, however the Raptors returned with a vengeance in Game 2 by winning a close battle, beating the Brooklyn Nets 100-95.
Jonas Valanciunas repeated his huge double-double performance from Game 1 with another, finishing with 15 points and 14 rebounds, but the turning point of this game was Demar Derozan’s performance. After a quiet outing in the first game with just 14 points, Derozan scored 17 of his game high 30 points in the fourth quarter to help the Raptors grab momentum as they head out on the road for games 3 and 4 of this series.
Derozan takes control of game 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdimBKvHyeo
The veteran squad of the Nets had a balanced outing with five players scoring in double figures, however as good as their bench normally is, it disappointed in Game 2.
This interesting battle between veteran experience and young talent could take the series longer than just 5 games. Expect an even see saw battle with every game going down to the wire.
Washington Wizards vs Chicago Bulls – Game 2 (Wizards won 101-99, Wizards lead 2-0)
In the games that have been played as of yet in the post-season, this is the only series so far where the road team leads the series 2-0.
The Washington Wizards went on a 14-4 run in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter to not only force overtime, but win the game 101-99 in the extra period to head home with the series well within their grasp. Bradley Beal led the Wizards recording 26 points and 7 rebounds on 4-7 shooting from long range on a night where prior to the game Joakim Noah was presented with the KIA NBA Defensive Player of the Year trophy in front of the crowd at the United Center.
Beal leading the Wizards past the Bulls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU0Feyno3Kg
Earlier in the game, the Bulls regrouped coming out of the locker room at halftime to first erase a 7 point lead before building a 5-point lead going into the final period, outscoring the Wizards 26-14 in the third quarter.
Despite the loss, Noah came away with yet another double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds and so did Taj Gibson, off the bench, with 22 points and 10 rebounds. An interesting feature of this match was that Bulls starting shooting guard, Jimmy Butler, played the entire 53 minutes of the game.
Top 5 plays from the three game night in the NBA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSjfGIZMQzA