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Things are starting to heat up in the playoffs, as the teams that got punched in game 1, now come back swinging.
The Clippers blew away the Mavs in game 1 even without Kawhi, and with him back on the court for game 2 the hopes were high in LA. However Luka and Kyrie came ready to to play last night, especially Doncic as he scored 12 points in the first quarter including some tough shots.
On the other side, the Clippers who were scorching hot from downtown in the previous game, struggled a lot in this one.
James Harden was desperate shooting 0/5 from 3 point range in the 1st half, but he made sure to still get his points, as he was attacking the basket and working the defenders for some easy mid-range shots.
It was a tight game however as Dallas led by only 4 points at halftime.
And after being quiet for 24 minutes, Kawhi Leonard started the 3Q with a bang! (3Q 11:50)
He was doing the little things, hustle plays like this offensive rebound and putback layup.
The Clippers even took the lead at the end of the 3Q and continued building the momentum in the 4th as well.
And with this layup by Zubac LA went up by 6, and Kidd was forced to call a timeout as the home crowd erupted.
Facing a possible 2-0 series deficit, the Mavs knew that they had to respond, and they did it in the best possible way, going guns blazing on a 14-0 run to regain control of this game.
And in crunch time, unlike the first game, the role players of the Mavs responded to the call by hitting some huge timely shots, keeping the two possession lead. (filer - PJ Washington)
But with a minute and a half remaining, Luka shuts down the arena because..
Then he made sure to let them know that he’s got this one in the bag.
It wouldn’t be so easy tho because…
This would then turn into a free throw shootout and Dallas were able to do just enough to put the Clippers away in this game and even the series going back home.
On rategame, the app that I’m a part of- I gave this one an 8.2 for the interesting finish and back and forth battle.
Moving on to the Bucks and Pacers where Indi wanted to forget that horrific start of 3 for 18 from downton in the first half of game 1 where they fired away a bunch of bricks. And boy, they were blazing hot in this one.
Indiana shot 10 for 21 from downtown in the first half a blistering 47 and a half percent.
Despite the hot start, you definitely notice that it’s Siakam who’s got the most playoff experience as he once again carried the scoring load by getting to his spots for some easy points.
A superb 21 point half on 57% from the field, for him, but thing is, on the other end, Dame picked up exactly where he left off in game 1.
Lillard once again had a monster first half with 6 laser threes for 26 points.
But the all around effort from Indiana, gave them a 5 point lead at the break, as it was clear that they’ve shaken off the game 1 jitters.
This would set up a back and forth battle in the third where it was clear that the Pacers would not back down. In fact, they built onto their lead entering the 4th quarter at +8
This leads us to the 4th quarter where I was prepared to watch a dog fight till the final buzzer. But it seems like the Pacers disagreed, and they came out ready to put an end to this game early in the 4th.
The Pacers absolutely blitzed Milwaukee with a 23 to 9 run to start the 4th, building out a 23 point lead and pretty much sealing the deal by the 6 minute mark.
A phenomenal response to the game 1 debacle once again led by Siakam with another electric performance of 37 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists.
They could care less that this game didn’t have a dramatic ending and that I only rated it a 6.3 on rategame. A huge win for Indiana to steal home court advantage.
Now, nobody could have imagined that the Timberwolves vs Suns game would start with this…
Rudy Gobert on the highway going coast to coast with a eurostep, barreling into Nurkic then throwing a wild shot at the rim and hitting it plus the foul. My goodness.
He was a perfect 5 for 5 in the first half, and along with Mike Conley and Jaden Mcdainels kept the team afloat while the top guns Edwards and Towns combined for only 7 points till the break.
Thing is, Phoenix didn’t capitalize on that as they shot a miserable 3 for 11 from downtown during that time, and were up by only 1 at halftime.
Both teams knew what’s at stake here, and the temperature started reaching the boiling point, so…
And we saw a similar scenario playing out in the third, as Minnesota once again jumped on Phoenix to get out to a double digit lead.
And similar to Indiana, they stepped on the gas pedal in the fourth quarter, to put and end to this game as early as possible.
The fans explode as they can feel this game opening up and a second win being within reach.