Day 4 of the NBA playoffs met expectations coming into the playoffs. On Day 2, both 1st seed teams suffered an upset, but today the Lakers and Bucks struck back with a vengeance. The Miami Heat and the Houston rockets came out ready to crush any notions the Pacers or the Magic had of moving on to round two.
Miami Heat v Indiana Pacers (Heat lead 1-0)
Game two of this series was a chance for the Pacers to even up this series, and they looked primed and ready. The Pacers jumped out to an early lead of 22-24 by the end of the first quarter. But after the Heat woke up at the start of the 2nd quarter, they dominated the Pacers would never trail again in this game.
After watching two games from this series, it is evident the Pacers do not have the players or the mindset to challenge the Heat in any facet of the game. I thought this was going to be a “grind it out” series, but nope, this is going to be a blowout.
The Heat won 109-100 to take a huge 2-0 series lead, and they did not even break a sweat. The Heat were led by one of the best, lesser-known three-point shooters, Duncan Robinson (7-8FG 7-8 3PT 24PTS 2REB 2AST 1STL 2TO 25MIN). The only other player who had a good game for the Heat was Goran Dragic (20PTS 6AST). Otherwise, the stars of this team, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler had pretty pedestrian games.
The Pacers only had one player who had a decent game, C Myles Turner (17PTS 8REB 5BLK). Unfortunately, his game did not matter because the rest of the team showed zero fight after the 1st quarter. This team, much like the 76ers, looks outmatched in this series.
Houston Rockets v Oklahoma City Thunder (Rockets lead 1-0)
The Thunder needed a huge bounce-back game after getting run out of the gym by the Rockets.
They were able to run with the Rockets in the first quarter but were lacking on defense. The Thunder were trailing 30-35, heading into the second quarter. Thunder’s Head Coach Billy Donavan imparted some words of motivation to get his team focused and ready to play. And for the first time in this series, that is just what the Thunder did.
The Thunder’s defense was able to shut down the high powered Rockets offense, holding them to 19 points, while scoring 29 to take the lead at half 59-53. The third quarter looked like an ugly old school 90s basketball game with neither team scoring 25 points. The Rockets did manage to cut into the Thunder’s lead heading into the fourth, 78-77.
It was a much better performance overall for the Thunder, but in the fourth quarter, the Rockets had a 17-0 run that killed the Thunder. The Rockets won, 111-98, to go up 2-0 in this series.
That fourth-quarter collapse is something that should never happen in a playoff game. The Thunder may have come as far as they can go with this series. Shai Gilgeous Alexander (9-17FG 3-7 3PT 10-11 31PTS 6REB 2AST 1STL 1TO 37MIN) made up for his awful game one, but it was not enough to stop the Rockets. Alexander did not get much help from anybody else on the Thunder.
The Rockets, usually led by James Harden (5-16FG 2-11 3PT 9-9FT 21PTS 5REB 9AST 3STL 1BLK), had seven out of eight players in their rotation score in the double digits on Thursday. They also shot an NBA record 56 three-point field goals, hitting 19 of them to help knock down the Thunder.
There is not much the Thunder can do because they fought throughout this game, but their endurance petered out in the fourth quarter. If they can find a way to play a complete game, the Thunder might have a chance to win a game…might.
Milwaukee Bucks v Orlando Magic (Magic lead 1-0)
The Bucks, who had the best record in the NBA, were caught off guard by the playoff team with the worst record, the Magic. The Magic were feeling good, and rightfully so. They had taken down the mighty Bucks, but Bucks made sure to drain the Magic of any aspirations they may have had.
The Bucks returned with a vengeance after losing game one. Milwaukee grabbed the lead with the first bucket of the game and clutched the lead for the rest of the game. The Bucks number one defense was on full display as they shut down the Magic. The Magic were held to 31-89 34.8%FG and 7-33 21.2%3PT for the game and against a team like the Bucks as soon they make you miss it feeds into their transition offense. Nikola Vucevic (13-23FG 2-8 3PT 4-4FT 32PTS 10REB 2AST 1BLK 3TO 35MIN) was the lone member of the Magic to have himself a day in this contest.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (10-23FG 1-5 3PT 7-8FT 28PTS 20REB 5AST 7TO 32MIN) was his usual MVP self, but it was the Bucks’ bench that really made the difference for them. They destroyed the Magic’s bench and allowed for an easy win, 111-96. The Bucks were not perfect in this game, but it was apparent why they are among the best teams in the NBA. The Magic may have one more win in them, two more than anybody gave them before this series started.
Los Angeles Lakers v Portland Trailblazers (Blazers up 1-0)
The Lakers, like the Bucks, were blitzkrieged by the Blazers, the 8th seed.
The Trailblazers’ win felt different from the Magic’s win. The Blazers are the underdog everyone is rooting for. After the crazy run that got them into the playoffs, the Blazers could not help but get noticed. The Lakers were not ready to face that level of competitiveness in the first game. They knew they had to test the Blazers and see if this team is for real.
The Lakers came out looking more like a number one seed. They jumped out to a 27-19 lead in the first quarter and kept that same energy level going into the second quarter. Anthony Davis, who was awful in game one, was the best player when halftime hit. Davis was dominant with 21PTS 8REB shooting well over 60%.
All the players were chipping in for the Lakers on Thursday compared to all of them just being utterly useless in game one. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5-8FG 4-6 3PT 2-2FT 16PTS 2REB) was the biggest revelation, in the first game Pope could not buy a bucket, he missed all 9 of his field-goal attempts. The Lakers jumped out to a 30 point lead, and Damian Lilliard sat out with a finger injury. The other most significant difference in this game compared to game one was the absolute lockdown defense the Lakers played on the Blazers.
The Blazers look like they have finally tired out after playing ten straight playoff games in a row. They did not make any noise in the third quarter, and the Lakers just kept rolling. The Blazers decided to get ready for game three after the third quarter because this game was officially over. They sat all starters in the fourth quarter, and no one on the Blazers played well enough to be talked about. Maybe the much-needed rest will be enough for the Blazers to fight back on game three. Otherwise, the Lakers have been awoken and will wipe the floor with them.