NBA Playoffs Day 4 Round Up - April 24th, 2013.

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Miami Heat 98 - Milwaukee 86

Insane, hectic, chaotic, and weird were a few words you can come up with when watching the reigning champs struggle in one of their worst games of the season. The pace was wild to start, and Miami just looked rush. They were trying to take care of business early and it did more bad than good. The Bucks are not a bad team and when you turn the ball over at the rate the Heat was in the first half, they can make it a game. Milwaukee played them close through all 3 quarters, holding LeBron to one of his worse shooting nights, with only 19 points on 6 of 14 shooting, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Of course with one superstar down, another one steps up. Dwyane Wade had 21 on 8 of 14 and 7 boards, you can't stop them all. The momentum shifted in the 4th quarter, and the Heat, in a blink of an eye, went on a 12-0 run in the opening minutes, creating margin that the Bucks never recovered from. It also helped that the back court of the Bucks combined for 5 of 21 from the field for 15 points. They were just throwing prayers up mid way through the 4th. Only three Milwaukee players were in double digits. Ersan Ilyasova led the way with 21 (9 of 14) and 6 boards. This series is done. Let's move on.

ROAR. Via: SB Nation

Same category as Dwyane Wade? HAVE ALL OF THIS, MONTA.

New York Knicks 87 - Boston Celtics 71

The Celtics looked old. Their age has always been an area of concern, but they have fought back from way too many battles for us to merely dismiss them. Last night, however, told a different narrative. Boston was absolutely gassed by the 4th quarter. The defense that heavily relied on Kevin Garnett crumbled when he got in foul trouble. It took them nearly 24 seconds to get a shot up in every possession and nothing went in. Everything they worked for in the first half went to waste. The sad part was that, they had the Knicks. They outworked them, forced turnovers, caught them sleeping in transition, and got actual bench contribution. An upset was seemingly possible in the second half, and then this happened.

SO. MUCH. BLOOD. Via: @TheKnicksWall

23 points on 19.4 percent shooting from the floor, the lowest field goal percentage in any half over the last 15 seasons. Make no mistake, the Knicks did up their defense in the second half, but it was in no way that effective. The Celtics just couldn't hit anything. Their offensive sets were a mess. The Knicks' sets weren't much better, relying on large doses of ISO. But they have Carmelo Anthony, who is capable of going off for 34 points (11 of 24) and 4 rebounds. The Celtics, have a shell of Paul Pierce, 18 points (8 of 19), 6 rebounds and 6 assists on a minute restriction. The next game will be played at the TD Garden in Boston, hopefully things will turn around as the Celtics pray to even the series at home.

Golden State Warriors 131 - Denver Nuggets 117

I know the final score suggests a high scoring game, but that's not all the case..SIKE. It was a shootout in mile high city and there was something special about watching the Warriors shoot OVER 9000% (sorry, I had to) from the field to tie the series up at 1 game a piece.

Game notes: Andre Iguodala went off early, with 12 points in the first quarter, and then he completely disappeared on both ends of the floor, finishing with a total 18 points, and 7 assists.

With the injury to David Lee, the Warriors went super small, starting Jarrett Jack, who seemed more content to draw fouls then passing it to the hot hand (Stephen Curry). Jack is great for this team, but he has to show control. Tunnel vision is not going to help you advance to the next round.

Also Harrison Barnes looked great at the 4. 24 points (9 of 14), and 6 boards is a pretty good indicator of his abilities. His speed and athleticism absolutely destroyed his opposition.

Kenneth Faried's return lacked the usual motor. Dude is definitely hurt and should have sat this one out.

After a slow first quarter, Stephen Curry went NOVA for the next three quarters, hitting everything in sight. Especially shots off of those nasty Andrew Bogut screens. He finished with 30 points (13 of 23), 5 rebounds, 13 dimes, 3 steals and one turnover. His back court partner, Klay Thompson, had 21 on 8 of 11 shooting.

This Warriors' win snaps Denver's 24 game home winning streak. The Nuggets have not lost in the Pepsi Center for 3 months until yesterday.

Final note - Golden State shot 65 percent from the field, and 56 from three, something that has never been done in a NBA playoff history. Cool.

Via: @jphanned

Wilson Chandler don't do emotions.

The Round Up - March 19th, 2013.

Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images

Gold Rush: The Denver Nuggets dominated the paint in the win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, outscoring the Western Conference Champions 72 to 50. It was an unusual night for the Thunder as the third best 3 point shooting team in the NBA go 4 of 25 (16 percent) from beyond the arc. Kevin Durant led the way with 34 points (10 of 23), 7 rebounds and 5 assists. His partner, Russell Westbrook had 25 points on 10 of 21 shooting and 6 dimes in the loss. For Denver, it was Ty Lawson that comes up big again, going off for 25 points on 8 of 13 shooting. The first half of his season might not have been pretty, but he is blooming at the right time for the Nuggets. On his 37th birthday, Andre Miller did not break a knee, he instead came off the bench for 20 points (6 of 11), 7 boards and 9 assists. Fun fact, Denver, including this win, have now won season series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies, and Los Angeles Clippers. Of course this doesn't mean anything in the playoffs, but you never know. They might just be primed for a deep run if they can get home court before the end of the regular season.

Retina Damage: In this display of how not to play basketball, well, at least fun basketball, the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic began the game with a combined 26 field goal percentage and held each other to 19 and 12 points respectively in the first quarter. From then on things would get worst, mostly for the Magic, as they finish with a point total of 73 points on 32 percent shooting and had only two players in double figures. Indiana out-rebounded Orlando by 21 for the 22 point win. Paul George had a game-high 19 points (7 of 14) and 5 boards.

California Love: The Sacramento Kings outscored the Los Angeles Clippers 38 to 18 in the final quarter to comeback for the win at home. Marcus Thornton came off the bench for 25 points on 7 of 14 shooting. DeMarcus Cousins chipped in for 17 points (6 of 10) and 11 rebounds. With this loss, the Clippers drop from the 3rd in the West to fifth, giving way to the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets in the battle for home court advantage. Blake Griffin had 26 points (11 of 14) and 5 boards.

Fear the Deer: Back court duo of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings have picked up their play since the signing of J.J. Redick and the results don't lie. Ever since they acquired the former Duke product, the Milwaukee Bucks have only lost 5 games of their last 13, while they were 26-27 prior to the signing. Monta Ellis did a little bit of everything last night, going for 21 points (8 of 18), 9 boards, 8 dimes, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. Brandon Jennings added 24 points on 20 shots and 7 assists in the win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite hitting 13 threes at 50 percent, the Blazers just could get any contribution from other players not named LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews. Matthews led all scorers with 28 points on 10 of 20 shooting (7 of 11 from three). LaMarcus Aldridge (21 points 15 boards) joins David Lee and LeBron James as one of the three players with five straight 20 point, 10 rebound games this year.

Kenneth Faried connects with Ty Lawson for the 65 foot alley-oop finish.

The Manimal, known for it's powerful motor, keen eyesight and sense of touch, tracked down it's airborne prey from 65 foot away and feasted on the results. It was almost as good as Javale and Andre's 70 foot oop.

The Round Up - March 7th, 2013.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

High Altitude: In the Dunkapalooza between the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, the Nuggets came out on top to extend their winning to streak to 7 games. Ty Lawson led the way with 21 points (9 of 15) including huge shots down the stretch to put the Clippers way, he also had 6 boards and 11 assists. Danilo Gallinari added 20 points (8 of 15), 5 rebounds and 6 dimes, while Kenneth Faried went for his 27th double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Clippers without Jamal Crawford (ankle), couldn't find the basket, shooting 42 percent from the field. Chris Paul tried to take this one over late, but his 16 points and 11 assists weren't enough to make a comeback. Matt Barnes came off the bench, to cut his way to 19 points on 8 of 20 shooting. With this win, the Nuggets improves to 27-3 at home, which ties with the Heat for the best in the league.

Watch for JaVale's reaction.

Repeat.

Close Out: The New York Knicks, without Carmelo Anthony (knee) for the second straight time, placed their fate in the hands of J.R. Smith in the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Smith exploded off the bench for a season-high 36 points on 14 of 29 shooting and 6 of 13 from threes. Down 1 with less than 7 seconds to play, Mike Woodson, rode with hot hands of J.R. Smith, who was cold for much of the 4th, shooting 2 of 9, including the miss at the buzzer that would have won the game for the Knicks. Kevin Durant went off for 34 points (9 of 20), 8 boards and 6 assists. His partner, Russell Westbrook, started the game well with 19 points at the first half, but completely disappeared in the second, to finish with 21 points on 8 of 22 shooting, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

Signature Move x 100.

GOGGLES.

The Round Up - March 5th, 2013.

Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE/Getty Images

If you are in a hurry to get out of the door, but still want a recap of last night's NBA schedule. Here are the GIFs that will sums up each game nicely.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder.

Via: Bleacher Report

Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers.

Via: SB Nation

Denver Nuggets vs. Sacramento Kings.

Via: SB Nation

Now, for those that would still like to read, just continue to scroll down.

Jerkyll and Hyde: Russell Westbrook might shoot you out of games in rare occasions, but sometimes, he can go off for 37 points (15 of 29), 10 rebounds and 5 assists, like he did against the Lakers last night. Russ had everything his way for the entire game. He pulled up when he wanted and never once had trouble getting into the paint for an array of dunks/lay-ups. His partner in crime, wasn't too shabby either. Kevin Durant added 26 points on 9 of 22 shooting, 9 boards and 5 dimes in the Thunder win. Besides scoring 71 points in the first half on the purple and gold, OKC also tied a NBA record for the least turnovers in a game, with only two on the night. Kobe Bryant did everything he could to get this much-needed win for the Lakers. He willed himself into 30 points (8 of 19), even after a brief exit in the first 2 minutes of the game for a ulnar nerve contusion in the right elbow, which is fancy talk for a bruise elbow. Steve Nash tried to help, but his measly 20 points on 7 of 15 shooting could not overcome the onslaught set out by the blood-thirsty Thunder.

Power Struggle: Despite turning the ball over 22 times and allowing 30 points on those slip ups, the Boston Celtics held off the Philadephia 76ers to survive for another day. The Celtics received quite a pleasant surprise when their defensive specialist, Avery Bradley erupts for a game-high 22 points on 10 of 15 shooting, 7 boards and 5 assists. Paul Pierce shot a perfect 4 for 4 from the three to chip in for 18 points to go with his 11 rebounds and 7 dimes. The Sixers didn't shoot too well in this game, hitting only 41 percent of their shots from the field. Jrue Holiday led his team with 18 points on 17 shots, 5 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals. While Arnett Moultire came off the bench for a flawless 5 of 5 shooting for 10 points in 20 minutes of play.

Camping Grounds: The Denver Nuggets dominated the paint again, outscoring the Sacramento Kings 60 to 44 to extend the Nugget's winning streak to six. Little Ty Lawson went off for 24 points (8 of 16) and 7 dimes. Danilo Gallinari scored an additional 23 points on 7 of 11 shooting and snagged 4 rebounds. The Kings with this loss drops to bottom of the West. DeMarcus Cousins was a non-factor in this contest, going 1 for 12 for only 8 points, but he did block a career high 5 shots. Sacramento's own short guy, Isiah Thomas also had a good game, he had 23 points (6 of 13) and 8 assists at the Sleep Train Arena (This name will never not be funny).

Ty Lawson stole Javale McGee's shoe during the Nuggets' game.

I guess there is an advantage being small after all. Oh, and Javale keep your shoes on, ain't nobody want to smell your nasty feet.

Via: Denver Stiffs

NBA Christmas Carols - Denver Nuggets Edition.

It is a good thing these guys can play basketball. Because I haven't heard anyone sing so off key, since some drunk dude took the mic in a bar on karaoke night. Seriously, if you are going buy this "Holiday Jam" for someone, don't expect any good reactions. No one, not even your mother will pretend to like your gift. There is one thing I can take away from this video, Julyan Stone is awesome, from the way his name is spelt to his old school dance moves.

Just because of Julyan Stone, the Nuggets get a place ahead of the Lakers in my NBA Christmas Carol Power Rankings. While the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves stay in front.

Jason Kidd played with a helmet on in the second half.

Via: @porsche4door

After deciding the headband was not a good look to cover the stitches he received from Lance Stephenson on November 18th, he went with a band-aid instead. Unfortunately, Ty Lawson elbowed him in the head last night and forced the New York Knicks medical staff to take precautionary measures. Jason Kidd was advised to wear the NY Rangers helmet that are currently not of use during the NHL lockout that nobody cares about it, if he was to play in the game again.

Okay, I lied. But he did wear it during the entire half time warm ups and it was hilarious.

Via: @netw3rk and @BeyondtheBuzzer