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First Round Snapshots: Jazz Stymie Kobe; Mavs Beatdown Spurs; Celtics Cruise With New Big 3

Apr 24, 2009, 1:40 PM UTC

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â†µDo We Have a Series, Part One: Everyone saw how close the Jazz crept up on the Lakers toward the end of games one and two. Salt Lake City is notorious for its home court advantage, and the Jazz’s record is appropriately off-center. So maybe it should come as no surprise that the Jazz took the third game of their first-round series with the Lakers, 88-86. Deron Williams hit a floater with 2.2 seconds to take the lead, and Carlos Boozer was absolutely monstrous with 23 points and 22 boards.â†µâ†µBut for all of the Jazz’s heroics, the explanation might be a simple one: Kobe finished with 18 points on 5-for-24 shooting, which was his lowest single-game playoff total since 2004-05. Yes, you’ve got to give some credit to Utah’s defense on that one, but chances are he’ll bounce back with a vengeance on Saturday. â†µ

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â†µDo We Have a Series, Part Two: San Antonio appeared to get back on track after dropping game one at home. I mean, like, really back on track. But last night, as the series switched to Dallas, the Mavs flipped the script and made the Spurs the victim of the same kind of beatdown they suffered earlier in the week.â†µ

â†µâ†µSpeaking of beatdown, Erick Dampier didn’t physically assault Tony Parker, but he and the rest of the Mavs were extra-aggressive protecting the paint. How bad was it? Only Parker and reserve Fabricio Oberto managed to crack double figures, with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The bench ended up logging nearly twice as many minutes as Parker, Duncan, and the other living legends. â†µ

â†µâ†µMeanwhile, the Mavs defied all logic and started short, speedy PG Jose Juan Barea alongside Kidd, which gave the Spurs fits. With Dallas up 2-1, and a good chance of taking a 3-1 lead, this series could soon be over -- not the answer to the question you were probably expecting. â†µ

â†µâ†µWe Do Not Have a Series: It was nice while it lasted. Honest. But when the Bulls are getting ravaged on their home court to the tune of 107-86, it’s hard to keep that dream alive. Plus, Paul Pierce has finally woken up; he finished with 24 points, and Rajon Rondo put together another ridiculous stat line of 20 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals. We even had a Stephon Marbury sighting, as the great prodigal PG scored 13 and added 5 dimes of his own. Throw in Ray Allen’s 18 points, and you’ve got a new Big Three on your hands. Pretty much nothing good happened for Chicago, and since teams are supposed to play better, not worse, on their own floors, it stands to reason that the aberration in the cosmos has been corrected and this series is as good as done.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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