Boston 96, Miami 86 (Celtics win series 4-1)

There was a little scare in the second half, but Paul Pierce confirmed his next visit to Miami will be “on vacation”.

Pierce’s 21 points and excellent all-around play held off a furious attack led by Dwyane Wade and company to clinch the first round playoff series. They now await the winner of the Cleveland/Chicago (most likely Cleveland) series, whose game was currently at halftime as of press release.

Ray Allen also led the Celtics with 24 points, shooting 5-6 from beyond the arc. Rajon Rondo also played out of his mind with 16 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals.

The game appeared to be over with 6 minutes to go in the third quarter, with Boston up by 21. They appeared to be cruising and took the foot off the gas pedal. Dwayne Wade and Mario Chalmers had other ideas, both scoring 8 and 9 points apiece in the waning minutes of the 3rd. During the same duration, Boston only scored 4 points.

For Celtic fans, this looked all too familiar. How many times have they blown huge leads during the regular season, only to watch it dissipate in only a matter of minutes?

However, apart of Wade (31 pts /10 ast /8 reb) and Chalmers (who finished with 20 points off the bench), Miami failed to step up and steal one at the TD Garden. Jermaine O’Neal shot a series high 30% from the field – trust me, that is good for him. Michael Beasley was benched after 14 minutes of TRBL basketball.

In the end, Boston moves on. Do I take anything  away from this series? Other than this might have been the last game Dwyane Wade plays in a Miami uniform, nothing out of the ordinary. I think most people expected Boston to get out of the first round, and then succumb to the Cavs/Magic in the next round. We shall see…

-Commish

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Cavaliers 96, Bulls 94 (Cavs win series 4-1)

#LG!!

My expectations for this game were totally different than what actually happened. Up 3 to 1 in the series, I figured the Cavs would come out and destroy Chicago. I didn’t think this way because I thought that the Bulls would come out not trying. I thought this way because Cleveland was playing at home. Even though the Cavs were expected to win this series, any Cleveland fan will tell you they’re breathing a lot easier with this one over.

That being said, the Bulls came out ultra competitive, and through the third quarter kept the fans quiet and the game close. Down 2 points entering the fourth quarter, I wondered if Chicago could actually pull this off. Hinrich was ballin’, D-Rose was playing with heart, and the Cavs seemed somewhat uninterested.

<Insert Shaquille O’Neal>

In comes the Diesel, who immediately drew no less than four consecutive fouls from Brad Miller and Joakim Noah. With a thunderous dunk past Noah, the fans erupted, and the Cavs started to step it up a notch. Miller fouled out with minutes to spare, and Noah had to play with 5 fouls in the last minutes of this game. After Jamison hit a three to put the Cavs up nine, the Bulls made one last charge to prevent an early vacation. As impressive as this charge was, Chicago fell short, as plenty of golf and questions await them.

"God Please Bring Us Dwyane Wade!"

What this Win Means for Cleveland: They can rest easy winning a series they were supposed to win in the amount of games most saw them winning. The team had it’s ups and downs in this series, but it’s clear that LeBron is not joking around, as he triple-doubled his way through this series. I’m sure he’ll enjoy resting that right arm as well. What was up with that left handed free throw?? Shooter was rolling in his grave if he saw that.

What this Loss Means for Chicago: A LOT of questions. What will Chicago do with all of that cap space for next year? Who will be the coach next year? I think Chicago has a lot of potential to springboard into an Eastern Conference contender if they make the right moves.

-G