2016 NBA Playoffs: Pacers win Game 4 to tie series, Thunder take commanding 3-1 lead
[2] Toronto Raptors 83-100 [7] Indiana Pacers [Series tied 2-2]
Losing back to back in Game 2 and Game 3 made it clear that to win the Indiana Pacers needed their defense to show up every game and franchise superstar Paul George needed some help on offense. The Pacers did just that in Game 4, to bounce back from a disappointing blowout loss in Game 3.
Indiana forced as many turnovers in the first 20 minutes of the game as they did in all 48 minutes of Game 3. They scored close to 25 points off of Toronto’s 19 turnovers. On offense, starting point guard George Hill contributed 22 points on 9 of 11 shooting while the starting center had a career night with his 22 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
To make matters worse for the Raptors, their All-Star backcourt duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar Derozan are yet to find their mojo. The third leading backcourt duo in the league had another miserable night having just as many assists as they had turnovers (9) and shooting a combined 8 of 27 (29.6%).
With three not so good games from him, Lowry needed all the time on the court he could get to find his rhythm, but he was facing foul trouble and was eventually fouled out.
For players who were believed to be leaders of this Raptors team it’s been a forgettable four games for Lowry and Derozan:
Game 5 will be played on Tuesday at the Air Canada Center in Toronto.
[3] Miami Heat 80-96 [6] Charlotte Hornets [Miami leads series 2-1]
On the back of a 20-1 run in the third quarter, the Charlotte Hornets blew out the Miami Heat at home in Game 3. The win marks the franchise’s first Playoff win in 14 years, with the last one coming on the 9th of May 2002. It was not a pretty game but the Hornets outworked the Heat on Saturday night.
As many of six players scored in double figures for Charlotte led by Jeremy Lin’s team-high 18 points. With Nicolas Batum out for the series, Marvin Williams finally stepped up with 12 points and 14 rebounds on 5 of 9 shooting. Kemba Walker poured in 17 points along with his 7 dishes.
The biggest difference in playing style we saw was Charlotte telling rookie Frank Kaminsky to post up whenever the Heat went small. The 7-foot forward made it to the starting line-up and contributed 11 of his 15 points as part of the Hornets’ 18-0 run.
Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford later mentioned that the move to post him up was on the advice of franchise owner Michael Jordan, who was on the bench, and Assistant Head Coach Patrick Ewing.
For the Heat, the game was a complete opposite of Games 1 and 2. The team had only 13 assists and shot just 34.2% from the field and 31.8% from beyond the arc. Hassan Whiteside was the only big contributor in this game with his 13 points, 18 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.
Game 4 will be played on Monday at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.
[3] Oklahoma City Thunder 119-108 [6] Dallas Mavericks [Oklahoma City leads series 3-1]
In a testy game, Russell Westbrook (25 points, 15 assists) and backup forward Enes Kanter (28 points, 12-13 shots) lifted the Oklahoma City Thunder to another comfortable win in Game 4. The Thunder will now fly back to Oklahoma with a commanding 3-1 series lead and will be looking to ice this series in Game 5 on Monday.
Kevin Durant had a not so good shooting night (7 of 20), he even got ejected in the final minute of the game for a completely unnecessary whack on Justin Anderson’s head. His streak of scoring 20+ points was stopped in Game 4 at 67 games.
Other than the Flagrant 2 foul that got Durant ejected, the Thunder everything else right.
Dion Waiters dropped 19 to help the OKC bench outscore their counterparts 43-34. As many as six players scored in double figures for OKC. They outrebounded Dallas 42-33, shot 53% from the field and had just 9 turnovers. While Durant struggled in Game 4, Westbrook just logged two absolutely dominant Playoff games on the trot.
Game 5 will be played on Monday in Oklahoma City at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
[4] Los Angeles Clippers 88-96 [5] Portland Trailblazers [Los Angeles lead series 2-1]
After uncharacteristic and disappointing losses in Game 1 and 2 in Los Angeles, the Portland Trailblazers struck back in Game 3 to reduce the series deficit to 2-1. It was a complete team effort as the team’s leading scorers, their backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum rose to the occasion pouring down 59 points. Center Mason Plumlee pulled down 21 rebounds, dished out 9 dimes and had 6 points to show for.
This is how the well the Blazers’ backcourt bounced back:
Portland came out strong right from the tip off, leading most of the game. However, the experienced Clippers squad bounced back with an 85-81 lead with four minutes to play. That’s when the young Blazers team put together a 15-3 run to close the game and eventually win it.
For the Clippers, Chris Paul continued his good showing by scoring 26 points and dishing out 9 dimes. Blake Griffin had 12 points on a rough 5 of 16 shooting night.
Game 4 will be played on Monday in Portland at the Moda Center.