over No. 15 Kentucky on Saturday night.Kennedy Leonard added 14 points wi | Forum

Topic location: Forum home » General » General Chat
LHX1990
LHX1990 Jul 17 '19
Parity has struck the NBA playoffs, where the conference semifinals are all fit to be tied. Quinnen Williams Womens Jersey . The four current series are all knotted at one game apiece -- the first time thats happened in the second round of the NBA playoffs since the league went to its current format more than a quarter-century ago. For favourites like Miami, New York, San Antonio and Oklahoma City, home-court advantage has disappeared, and now its the underdogs who can control their own fates simply by taking care of business on their home floors. A wild weekend is ahead, without question. The Heat, Knicks, Spurs and Thunder are four of the leagues top five winningest road teams this season. That probably isnt being received as great news for Chicago, Indiana, Golden State and Memphis, the lower-seeded clubs who will be hosting pivotal Game 3s when NBA playoff action resumes on Friday and Saturday. "Pretty cool. The NBAs loving it," Heat forward LeBron James said. "When it comes to the playoffs, I always continue to say no matter how many games you win or lose in the regular season, once you get to the playoffs everybodys record is 0-0. So I think its great. I think its great for our fans, I think its great for the competition that every series is tied 1-1." After a first round with only two sweeps -- by Miami and San Antonio, the top seeds in the Eastern and Western Conferences -- the tone for the second round was set pretty quickly around the league. Miami lost Game 1 at home to a wounded and weary team from Chicago. San Antonio needed a huge comeback to beat Golden State in Game 1 of their series, then saw the Warriors simply come back and take Game 2. The Knicks lost Game 1 to Indiana before evening up their matchup, and the Thunder are likely feeling lucky that theyre not in an 0-2 hole after Memphis had plenty of chances to take the opening game of their series. "When you get this deep into the playoffs, theyre all good teams, theyre all very good teams more than capable of winning at home or on the road," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. "So Im not surprised at all. Good coaching, good playing, you make adjustments and win games. Theyve all been great games." Big fourth-quarter comebacks, first by Oklahoma City and then by Memphis, decided the outcomes of the first two games of that series, where the cumulative score right now is Grizzlies 190, Thunder 186. The first two Spurs-Warriors games were pure theatre, with San Antonio winning a double-overtime thriller in Game 1 after rallying from 16 points down late in regulation. Road teams took Game 1s in the East semifinals, with Indiana and Chicago both winning by seven. And the home teams imposed their wills in Game 2 of both matchups, New York using a huge late run to beat the Pacers by 26, and the Heat outscoring the Bulls by an unbelievable 62-20 margin over a 19-minute stretch on the way to evening that matchup with a 115-78 romp. "Anybody can beat you on a given night and playoff basketball is no different," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "I mean, everybody at this particular time is hungry even more. Nobody wants to go home so it becomes crazy basketball. Everybody is pumped up and ready to play." Then again, if you checked out how these teams fared against each other in the regular season, maybe you could have seen something as uncanny as this coming. There wasnt any real separation between the clubs then, either. The Bulls and Heat split four games against one another, as did the Knicks and Pacers, and Spurs and Warriors. The only exception was Memphis beating Oklahoma City in two of the three games they played this year -- and if they met four times, there would figure to be a chance that it could have been a 2-2 split as well. "Each team is working hard, trying to get wins," said Memphis guard Tony Allen, who was part of Bostons title-winning team in 2008. "They got the trophy on their mind so I believe that each series is probably going to go all the way to the end. You look at the eight teams that are left, all the teams have a shot." The Heat entered the playoffs as the overwhelming favourites to win their second straight title, and they remain that way in the eyes of oddsmakers even though theyll need to win one game in Chicago to reclaim the home-court advantage. Heat coach Erik Spoelstras eyes widened a bit Thursday when told that no second round in the NBA playoffs had ever opened quite this way. "Is that right? First time ever? Really? Wow," Spoelstra said. "Makes for great theatre. I know Im enjoying the other games, probably like other fans are enjoying ours. It shows how much parity there is and how little margin for error with the teams that are left. ... We had always felt there was up to six or seven legitimate, title-contending teams." The way things look, maybe theres eight now. "It looks like its the best eight teams in the NBA right now," James said. "So well see what happens." ------ AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in New York, and AP Sports Writers Antonio Gonzalez in Oakland, Calif., and Teresa M. Walker in Memphis, Tenn., contributed to this report. Robby Anderson Youth Jersey . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Chuma Edoga Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. http://www.jetsrookiestore.com/Jets-Trevon-Wesco-Jersey/ . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said.BOULDER, Colo. -- Alexis Robinson scored 19 points, Haley Smith pumped in 18 more and Colorado rolled to a 79-69 win over No. 15 Kentucky on Saturday night.Kennedy Leonard added 14 points with 12 rebounds and Zoe Correal had 10 points for Colorado (3-0), which got 11 steals and 19 assists. Smith was 7 for 13 from the field, including 4 of 6 from long range.Colorado overtook Kentucky (3-1) for good with an 8-3 spurt that stretched across both sides of the break. Zoe Beard-Fails drained a jumper as time expired in the first half to put the Buffaloes up 37-35, then Smith got a layup to open the third quarter. Robby Anderson Womens Jersey. Robinson and Leonard also got buckets in the run and Colorado held on the rest of the way.Maci Morris, Taylor Murray and Makayla Epps scored 14 points apiece for Kentucky, while Evelyn Akhator had 12 points and 13 rebounds. ' ' '
Share: