Just as I post the two blogs about how noncompetitive the playoffs were, multiple teams that were in danger of getting eliminated stepped up and gave themselves a chance. It started on Friday with the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets getting some much needed wins at home. The Celtics dropped the first two games in Atlanta, and they really needed a win. Isaiah Thomas scored 42 points to propel his team to a 111-103 victory, which means Atlanta now leads to series 2-1. The Celtics have a good roster full of players who can defend, and do their role. The one thing they are missing is a couple of true stars to take on the bulk of the scoring, and that's what Isaiah Thomas did on Friday night.
The Rockets looked to take advantage of an opportunity, with Steph Curry sitting for the second game in a row. The Rockets took an early lead in the first quarter, but the Warriors slowly chipped away throughout the game. I actually thought the Rockets looked much better in this game, but they could improve defensively, and the role players need to step up more. James Harden played very well, he dished out well placed passes, and scored in volume, although he could definitely be more efficient. I believe that the Rockets have a strong veteran bench, highlighted by Michael Beasley, Josh Smith, Corey Brewer, and Jason Terry. They need these players to make the most out of their limited time, and come in and knock down the shots that Harden creates for them. It is looking like Steph Curry will be back for game four, so the Rockets will have to play at an extremely high level in order to pull an upset.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs used Friday night to extend their series leads to 3-0 each, and will look to sweep their respective series' today.
On Saturday the Indiana Pacers tied up their series with the Toronto Raptors 2-2, behind another strong defensive and offensive performance from Paul George. George had 19 points which is good, not great, but he also shut down Toronto star Demar Derozan, holding him to just 8 points. It's not hard to see why Toronto lost this game, they only got 12 points from Kyle Lowry, 8 from Derozan, 16 from Valanciunas, 12 from Carroll, and 1 from Scola. They need to have much more production from their starters if they want to win this series. I believe Toronto needs to tell Derozan to stop shooting so much, because he hasn't been able to do much of anything on offense the whole series, and he's letting Paul George score in volume against him. So Derozan needs to put most of his effort into defense and try to create plays for his teammates on offense.
Also on Saturday, the Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trailblazers each won their first game of their respective series, but I doubt either will do much more from here on out. Meanwhile the Oklahoma City Thunder handled the Dallas Mavericks to take a 3-1 series lead, which means they have a chance to close out the series at home on Monday.
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