NBA Playoffs: Celtics, Rockets surprise, fight on to Game 6

“Try again,” LaLa says to Jordan Crawford on Instagram. “You on the bench for a reason.”

1. Good for LaLa addressing this ridiculousness head on.

Melo’s lack of playoff success is well known at this point.

But it’s been up and down for Anthony through five games, particularly in both Knicks losses. In Game 4 Melo finished with 36 points, but did so on just 10-of-35 shooting from the field, and Game 5 Wednesday wasn’t much better. Anthony scored 22 points on 8-of-24 shooting, with more than half his points (12) coming in the first quarter.

Garnett finished with 16 points and 18 rebounds, in the process reminding everyone that it wasn’t too long ago that he was one of the elite players in all the NBA. Garnett led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in both 2008 and 2010, both times just one game short of winning the title.

Things are different in 2013 and the 17-year veteran isn’t quite the player he once was. However, this series has proven that at his best, Garnett is still one of the best power forwards in the game.

“Hack-Asik” (that’s hak-uh-sheek), as it was termed, ended up hurting the Thunder as much as it helped them, and Asik’s final numbers from the line of 13-for-18 showed poise down the stretch necessary to close out a tight game.

When teams lose in the manner the Thunder did -- by slowing the game down to a snail’s pace and making a close contest nearly unwatchable for fans -- all eyes typically shift toward the head coach for an explanation. Obviously, he’s well within his rights to do whatever it takes to win at all costs, but the questions pile up when the result doesn’t go as planned.

The opening round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs is suddenly filled with 3-2 series drama after the Rockets and Celtics pulled out upset wins on Wednesday night. The Thunder tried a hack-Asik approach, but it backfired. The Knicks couldn’t shoot straight, while Boston’s offense came alive. Things just got interesting, as both of the underdogs forced a Game 6 scenario on their home courts. Meanwhile, the Pacers dispatched the Hawks with ease to go up 3-2 in that series.

Harden drained seven of his nine three-point attempts to keep the Houston offense humming, but Asik came up with the real heroics. OKC got a bit desperate and started to employ a hack-Asik (hack-a-Turk?) strategy in the fourth quarter. Despite a few misses, Omer came through with some big free throws down the stretch (13-18 FTs for the game) and the Thunder never quite made a run to scare the Rockets.

Melo has been better, but it’s hard to make the case it’s because of Smith. Anthony finished the first half with a solid 14 points, on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. Smith has been limited to just three points, while missing all five shots from the field in his first game back from suspension.

After an impressive 14-point outing to help Boston survive elimination in Game 4, Terry has come back to Earth Wednesday night. He shot just 2-for-7 from the field in the first half, however one of those shots was a late three-pointer which gave Boston its six-point halftime lead.

And in GIF form!

CALM DOWN, WOODSY.

Returning to Indianapolis for Game 5, the Hawks have found their rhythm, dominated the Pacers in back-to-back games and tied up the series at two games apiece. After losing the first two games by an average of 16 points, Atlanta has asserted itself as the team to beat in this series.

With a third straight win Wednesday, the Hawks would head back to Atlanta capable of ending the series in front of their home fans. Considering how they played in the first two games of at the series at Philips Arena, one has to imagine the Pacers will come out firing in Game 5 to avoid that fate.