Haters, It’s Time To Unite; Oklahoma City And Memphis Are Still Playing

Before y’all start going in on Russell Westbrook, let’s take a step back. First, the average age of the Thunder starters is younger than the starters from Pitt. Second, Russ and Kevin Durant combined for 75 freakin’ points in a playoff game. And third, they won. There’s only so much hate Russ should get, and no, he’s not Stephon Marbury. But just as their point guard has, Oklahoma City is taking a lot of hits this postseason from critics. They took a big step toward answering them in an epic 133-123 three-overtime win against Memphis to even the series at two games each. Where to start? Where to end? The Thunder trailed by 18 in the second quarter as Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins couldn’t contain Zach Randolph (34 points, 16 boards) and Marc Gasol (26 points, 21 boards). Eventually, they came charging back to go up 10 with less than five minutes left in regulation. But as they did all night, OKC struggled to close it out, and Mike Conley‘s (16 points) three-point heave sent the game to overtime. Greivis Vasquez‘s (14 points) shot-put three forced a second overtime. Once there, OKC went up seven with two minutes left before the Grizz rallied again. Finally in the third OT, the Thunder’s stars put it away. Durant (35 points, 13 rebounds) scored twice in isos against Shane Battier to end the drama, and before that Westbrook (40 points) was a terror … Russ has been getting killed lately for his freeze outs of KD. But it’s more about execution than anything else. The Thunder were starting their possessions way too late in the shot clock, and were constantly left with just one option: the dude with the ball. Still, for Durant to go nine minutes in a close game without a shot like he did last night is crazy. As a point, that’s on Russ. He’s still growing. But he definitely isn’t trying to avoid Durant … Oklahoma’s bench deserves credit. James Harden (19 points, seven boards, seven assists, three blocks) was the third playmaker the team needed and Nick Collison‘s extended minutes forced some key stops and hustle boards … KD had a dunk that nearly decapitated Z-Bo … Want to know what NBA players say to earn techs? Check out what Perkins said to earn his in the second quarter, courtesy of a John Hollinger tweet: Ref: “Stop.” Perk: “YOU stop.” Boom … If the Mississippi River was flooding like this during the Memphis/San Antonio series, how hyped would Tim Duncan have been? … Continue reading to hear about LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh taking a big step…
Haters, unite. Miami finally won a close game, and LeBron James stepped up in a way most figured he couldn’t. The Big Three finally beat Boston in the Garden 98-90 in overtime behind 83 points from Chris Bosh (20 points, 12 rebounds), LeBron (35 points, 14 rebounds) and Dwyane Wade (28 points, nine rebounds). Say what you want about LeBron not being clutch, but if Sam Cassell had hit some of these shots LeBron hit down the stretch, Sam would’ve racked up about $50,000 in “obscene gesture” fines. A back-and-forth game came down to the final moments. James hit two straight huge shots (and looked completely relieved once the second one went down), but then his dribble fumble nearly lost it for the Heat (those pesky Garden dead spots). That set up Paul Pierce (27 points), who was off at the buzzer on a play that was terribly executed to send it to overtime. James started the scoring in the extra frame with a ridiculous fadeaway before Bosh and Wade took it from there, kicking OT off aggressively. A huge J by Wade served as the dagger in Boston’s heart. The Celtics scored just once in OT while the Heat learned plenty, especially Bosh, who helped seal the deal after a rough first half. He’s often criticized for being soft and prone to crack under pressure, but made a couple of huge plays last night … Craziest stat of the night: Miami’s Big Three out-rebounded the entire Celtic team by seven. Those three were so dominant, they scored the Heat’s final 31 points, and took the team’s final 20 shots … Did y’all see Big Baby lose his man with that spin move but then airball the jumper earlier in the game? That reminded us of the And1 tour when Hot Sauce would bring the crowd off its feet by breaking a guy’s ankles, then miss the layup … You’d think Kevin Garnett (seven points, 10 boards, three steals) would keep playing well after dropping 28 and 18 in Game 3. But he seemed tired and drained, especially in the second half, and made just one basket all night. You have to give Rajon Rondo (10 points, five assists) credit. He still attacked the paint, got his teammates involved and played the passing lanes despite his elbow injury. But, here’s a reality check on this Rondo one-armed business. When he came out of the locker room to galvanize Boston in their Game 3 win, we were slightly sarcastic. What Rondo is doing is selfless and awesome. But to sit here and ask “We want to see if Rondo will dribble with his left hand” is ridiculous. Kenny Smith said Rondo is “putting his life on the line” by playing hurt. No one, no matter how good they are, could be out there in a make-or-break playoff game and play with just one arm. Rondo is hurt, but he’s not hurt that bad. If he was, he would not be playing. Don’t confuse a nasty-looking injury with a completely debilitating one. Don’t give Pierce a reason to think he needs to one-up Rondo on the drama scale … Joel Anthony has to be the least offensively-skilled player in the NBA. He’s great at all of the hustle things, but Miami probably wishes they could sub on the fly and get him out before every offensive trip. On NBA 2K12, his Offensive Awareness should be like six out of 100. He catches, passes, handles and shoots the basketball like it’s a bowling ball … If you told Jermaine O’Neal in 2003 that in 2011, (1) he’d be the fifth-best starter on a third-seeded Eastern Conference playoff team, (2) he’d have the same hairline as Jerry Rice, and (3) when he got stuffed on a dunk attempt by an undersized Canadian center that nobody would be surprised, would the NBA’s Mr. Potato Head just take his millions at that point and retire to a tropical island? … We’re out like D-Wade’s tailor.

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