The Bulls got Derrick Rose back, but used their superior depth to handle the Heat. Meanwhile the Spurs rallied around Tim Duncan to knock off that old pest Memphis.
The Bulls And Heat Give Us A Taste Of What’s Next
Getty ImagesThe Heat and Bulls met again Thursday night, and like every other game these two play, it went down to the wire, with Chicago topping MIami on a last-second shot. It gave us some of the best basketball we’ll see all season. It’s one game, but because we can’t help but read too much into everything, and because the Bulls-Heat felt like a playoff game, let’s look back.
The first takeaway from Thursday night is very important.
Read Article >NBA Playoff Picture: Clippers, Mavericks Take Steps Toward Safety
Four games on Thursday’s small NBA slate had playoff implications. We break down the results after the jump.
Here’s a look at the brackets as of Friday morning. First the East:
Read Article >Mavericks Vs. Warriors: Dirk Nowitzki Scores 27 As Dallas Moves Up In West Playoff Picture
April 12, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) shoots the ball against Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee (10) during the second quarter at ORACLE Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE The Warriors saw some encouraging flashes from young shooting guard Klay Thompson, who came surprisingly close to a triple-double in a well-rounded effort. He hit just 8-17 shots, but also earned five free throws to bump his total to 24 points. He moved the ball very well on the perimeter and ended up with a team-high eight assists, but also mixed it up a bit down low and was able to collect seven rebounds. Veteran forward David Lee still did most of the damage, as he back-loaded a 30-point game with 18 points on 7-9 shooting in the second half to keep the Warriors close enough to make the Mavs squirm a bit.
Dirk made sure the team didn’t have to sweat it out too much, even though he grabbed just one rebound on the night. When the Warriors pulled within three points in the final period, he unleashed his arsenal of turnaround takeaways and just-fast-enough drives to the hoop for layups to push the lead back up.
Read Article >Grizzlies Vs. Spurs: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Rebounds Over Memphis
PresswireThe game featured a pretty even effort throughout for the home Spurs, and a pair of significant scoring runs for Memphis, the first of which gave them a four point halftime lead.
The Grizzlies used their post offense to score, as Randolph scored twice and Gay once, with a foul, during a 13-0 run that held the Spurs scoreless for five minutes and gave the Grizzlies an eight-point lead, one short of their biggest lead of the night.
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