From good, to bad, to best—the 2014 NBA playoffs continued Monday with another three-game showcase.
Day 10 of this extended campaign included Game 5 between the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers, sandwiched between two Game 4s featuring the Miami Heat vs. Charlotte Bobcats and San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks.
Miami swept Charlotte in relatively compelling fashion, while the Spurs needed every last second in their series-tying win against the Mavericks. Atlanta, meanwhile, simply embarrassed Indiana on its home court.
On that note, let’s recap the Association’s latest three postseason matchups.
Miami 109, Charlotte 98
Don’t let the score fool you—this game was much closer that what an 11-point win would otherwise indicate.
Minus team MVP Al Jefferson, the Bobcats gutted out hard-fought leads after each of the first two quarters. One of floor leader Kemba Walker’s four three-pointers also put the home club back ahead at the 7:00 minute mark of the third.
A hobbled, but intensely focused LeBron James then shot and assisted the Heat to an 84-71 advantage at the end of three. He powered through an ostensible Charlie horse with two makes from distance, a driving dunk and multiple highlight-worthy dimes.
After a steady back-and-forth for much of the fourth quarter, two Walker free throws resurrected the Bobcats with 2:34 remaining. They were down just seven points at 101-94, with a legitimate chance to at least play temporary spoiler to the defending champs’ latest title run.
Unfortunately for Charlotte, the Big 3 put the kibosh on any upset possibilities in the final two minutes. Their superiority clearly showed against an undermanned Bobcats squad.
James led the Heat with 31 PTS, 7 REB and 9 AST. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade combined for 32 PTS and 11 REB, while Norris Cole added 13 timely points off the bench.
A fantastic 29 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST and 3 BLK by Walker paced Charlotte. Power forward Josh McRoberts contributed a 10-PTS, 10-REB double-double and Gary Neal led the secondary unit with 16 PTS.
Miami will now await the winner of the Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets series.
Atlanta 107, Indiana 97
Again, don’t let the final score mislead you—this game became a full-fledged blowout after the start of the second quarter.
Following an offensively challenged, but still evenly matched opening frame, Indiana lost any semblance of momentum by the 11:07 mark.
Backup power forward Mike Scott unleashed with four consecutive threes for Atlanta. The Hawks enjoyed a 12-point advantage less than two minutes after taking the lead for good.
Secondary point guard Shelvin Mack and team sharpshooter Kyle Korver each unloaded two threes of their own. Mack’s second erased George Hill’s make from distance and gave the supposed underdogs a 21-point lead at halftime.
DeMarre Carroll’s three at five minutes into the third provided Atlanta with an absurd 30-point cushion. The Pacers cut the deficit to 18 behind the accurate shooting of Paul George and David West. But it went back to 20 following another Mack three-pointer with 10:35 left in the game.
Four baskets by backup point man C.J. Watson helped bring Indiana back to within nine at the 4:03 mark. Yet, like Monday’s previous matchup, a crunch-time upset didn’t materialize. The Hawks might as well have won by 50.
George’s 26 PTS, 12 REB, 6 AST and 6 STL and West’s 16 PTS, 7 REB and 7 AST amounted to tremendous production on the surface. The same goes for the combined 47 points by the backcourt threesome of Hill, Watson and Lance Stephenson.
Sadly, much of those stat-friendly numbers came when the game was already out of reach. Korver and Scott’s 10 threes, Paul Millsap’s 18 PTS, 8 REB and 4 BLK and Mack’s team high 20 PTS fueled a balanced and dominant Hawks attack.
The Pacers hope the mentally destroyed Roy Hibbert can overcome his first scoreless playoff output. Otherwise, they’ll surely go down in six games when the series resumes Thursday in Atlanta.
San Antonio 93, Dallas 89
Finally—a score that actually reflected the close and exciting nature of a NBA playoff matchup.
The home-team Mavericks jumped out to an early 12-2 advantage and eventually settled with a five-point upper hand after the first quarter. Seven different players, including bench asset Brandan Wright, contributed to the modest lead.
The Spurs came out swinging in the second. They tied it at 25 behind Manu Ginobili’s driving layup and boasted a 10-point lead when veteran Boris Diaw drained a 25-footer with 3:00 remaining in the first half.
After Monta Ellis’ runner brought Dallas to within eight, Ginobili and future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan pushed the cushion back to 14 points for San Antonio. The Mavs shot a miserable 22 percent in the quarter.
Momentum undoubtedly belonged to the visiting Texas-based squad.
However, things shifted rather quickly by the end of three. Dallas’ own HOF standout Dirk Nowitzki nailed two jumpers and narrowed the margin to 73-65 entering the fourth quarter.
Then, before the Spurs really knew what hit them, the home-powered Mavs tied the game at 77 behind Jae Crowder’s layup. It remained deadlocked when the starting corps of Ellis, Nowitzki and Jose Calderon returned to the floor with 5:48 remaining.
Former Spurs big-man DeJuan Blair then gave Dallas its first lead since the 10:59 point in the second quarter. American Airlines Center erupted into a deserved and obvious frenzy—could the Mavs really go up 3-1 on the top-seeded Spurs?
Regrettably, a controversial technical foul forced Blair from the game with 3:08 left. San Antonio exploited the opportunity and climbed back to a three-point advantage behind Tony Parker’s 17-foot jumper with 1:37 remaining.
But above all else, this playoff showcase came to a head during the Mavericks’ final possession. Down 91-89, Ellis deftly maneuvered toward the rim for a driving layup. It did everything but go in, and center Samuel Dalembert did everything but tip it back in the hoop with two seconds left in this epic battle.
Credit Duncan for his defensive presence inside and altering Ellis’ shot just enough before hauling in the game-sealing rebound.
Ginobili scored a team-high 23 PTS, Diaw added 17 and Duncan and Tiago Splitter each contributed a double-double in the Spurs win. Ellis and Nowitzki were highly inaccurate from the field, but led the Mavs with 20 and 19 PTS, respectively. And Blair produced a 12-PTS, 11-REB double-double off the bench before being ejected.
This Lone Star rivalry continues Wednesday in San Antonio with the series knotted up at 2-2.
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