WRITTEN BY KASSEM ADOURE
They were a lot of game 5s in the NBA, it was the turning point for many but for some their season was over or it was coming down to it's last pieces.
Here is all the action from each game along with some complementary statistical overview.
Milwaukee Bucks 94-88 Chicago Bulls
The Windy City needs a wake up call, the Bucks are only one game away from tying the series and played a poor game at home in a elimination game. Middleton started off hot as he dropped 13 points in the first quarter, the Bucks were up by one after one as they were pushing the ball down the floor hard and were attacking Chicago. Rose had two turnovers in the first was playing horrible as he needed to step up if they wanted to win this game.
The second quarter had a lot of action, both teams traded baskets and MCW shined in the second quarter. He scored 8 and helped his team gain momentum going into the locker room.
The third quarter was slow for both teams as they couldn't but the ball in the rim for 3 minutes, it was then the Bucks gaining advantage as the period went on and they felt comfortable with their lead because they weren't falling apart and the Bulls couldn't go on a huge run. 76-70 after three.
MCW took over in the fourth quarter, he scored 8 and his baskets were pivotal late in the game. The Bulls had no answer for him, and couldn't score as the Bucks played phenomenal on the defensive side of the ball.
Notable Stats: MCW- 22 PTS, 9 AST. Pachulia- 10 REB. Gasol- 25 PTS. Noah- 13 REB, 6 AST.
Atlanta Hawks 107-97 Brooklyn Nets
All the pressure was on the Hawks, they let the series push to game 5 as they were expected to handle the 8 seed Nets easily. A quick start for Atlanta was led by Carrolls 10 first quarter points, he was driving and shooting the ball well in the early going as his team was up by 14 after one.
Every time the Nets would go on a little run, Atlanta stopped them from cutting the deficit to even a lower number, the Nets kept it at a single digit deficit behind Andersons 14 point second quarter. His 3 point shot was just deadly and he couldn't be stopped. They were down by 9 at half.
The Hawks extended their lead to 12 by the end of the third, as a group they all scored and shared the basketball well. Their passing was just beautiful and their decision making was on the spot, they were such fluent passes and they looked fantastic on the court. Anderson again had a big 3rd as he scored 7 and it seemed like he's the only one who wanted to play basketball for Brooklyn.
The Nets went on a 12-2 run midway through the last quarter, they were down by two and were putting up a fight with Atlanta. Jarrett Jack played terrific in the fourth, he scored 12 and they kept attacking. The Hawks would just pull away at the end though, Jeff Teague scored 9 in the fourth and he closed the game for the Hawks in this one.
Notable Stats: Carroll- 24 PTS. Horford- 15 REB. Teague- 8 AST. Anderson- 23 PTS. Johnson- 9 REB. Jack- 6 AST.
Houston Rockets 103-94 Dallas Mavericks
The Rockets looked to seal this series up in 5 games. Harden and Smith started off hot in the first as they combined for 17. They were up by 9 as the Mavs couldn't get their offense going.
Dallas went on a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 6, Dirk went off as he scored 8 in the fourth, Monte scored the final four after a hot first period.
Ellis and Dirk combined for 13 in the third, they both did most of the work in terms of putting ball in the rim to start the second half. They had a run that cut the deficit to 2, but then was answered by basically Howard as he scored 4 straight points and the Rockets scored on from there. They had a 7 point lead going into the fourth.
A 6-0 run midway through the fourth found the Mavs down by 3. Houston answered by going on a 6-0 run of their own and then put the game out of reach for the Mavericks. It was a tough fourth as really only Ellis and Dirk did everything for Dallas.
Notable Stats: Harden- 28 PTS, 8 AST. Howard- 19 REB. Ellis- 25 PTS. Barea- 9 AST. Nowitzki- 15 REB.
San Antonio Spurs 111-107 Los Angles Clippers
San Antonio looked to steal one in Los Angles, coming off a tough loss it would be a huge accomplishment if they won game 5 on the road. Griffin scored 13 points in the first, he was playing great on both sides of the floor and it helped the Clips jump out to an early 27-22 lead. But, the Spurs bench closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run and had momentum on their side entering the second.
It was a battle in the second, no team really had the upper hand in the second as they both kept trading baskets back and forth, for the Clips Griffin again shined and scored 8. The Spurs bench played tremendous, Patty Mills was a stud when he hit two threes in the second and one of them being an and one. Duncan picked his slack up by being so aggressive in the paint and was just dominating Jordan, he scored 9 while Parker scored 5 when he really needed to.
There was a ton of scoring in the third, so many players made big shots for the Spurs here as they took a 6 point lead once midway through the quarter. It was everyone scoring for San Antonio, they're so experienced and their chemistry is just phenomenal that it's so hard to beat them, the Clips hunt in there after being down 6 and ended up tying it going into the fourth.
Down by one with 6 seconds to go was the situation for San Antonio, Griffin got the ball put up a floater and it was tipping off the cylinder and Jordan touched it while it was still on it and therefore they called offensive interference. Green made the first free throw afterwards, but he missed the second and got his own rebound and tipped it to Lenoard who sealed the deal at the free throw line. It was a incredible game to watch, the way both teams played were extremely hard and it came down to really the last seconds.
Notable Stats: Duncan- 21 PTS, 11 REB. Ginobili- 6 AST. Griffin- 30 PTS, 14 REB. Paul- 10 AST.
Memphis Grizzles 99-93 Portland Trail Blazers
Down 3-1 and not having to guard Conley was an advantage for Portland, but they were on the road and it would be tough to steal one in Memphis. It was a close game after one as McCollum scored 7 of his 33 there and was leading the Blazers on offense.
Memphis pulled away from Portland late in the second, Carter and Lee stepped up big time as they combined for 13 second quarter points. Memphis found themselves with a comfortable 7 point lead.
McCollum was heating up in the third as he scored 16 and was feeling it to begin the second half, his team was only down 2 after three but they couldn't stop Courtney Lee & Marc Gasol as they scored 16 combined points in the period and had momentum near the end of the third.
Portland didn't have anymore gas in the tank to cut the lead lower than 5, they all around played decent and McCollum is really the one who played great and mostly did everything for them as well as Lillard since he scored 22. Gasol was to powerful and unguardable during this whole game, he really played a big part in why they won.
Notable Stats: Gasol- 24 PTS, 13 REB. Allen- 4 AST. McCollum- 33 PTS. Batum- 10 REB, 7 AST.
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| Image: James Nielsen / Houston Chronicle |
They were a lot of game 5s in the NBA, it was the turning point for many but for some their season was over or it was coming down to it's last pieces.
Here is all the action from each game along with some complementary statistical overview.
Milwaukee Bucks 94-88 Chicago Bulls
The Windy City needs a wake up call, the Bucks are only one game away from tying the series and played a poor game at home in a elimination game. Middleton started off hot as he dropped 13 points in the first quarter, the Bucks were up by one after one as they were pushing the ball down the floor hard and were attacking Chicago. Rose had two turnovers in the first was playing horrible as he needed to step up if they wanted to win this game.
The second quarter had a lot of action, both teams traded baskets and MCW shined in the second quarter. He scored 8 and helped his team gain momentum going into the locker room.
The third quarter was slow for both teams as they couldn't but the ball in the rim for 3 minutes, it was then the Bucks gaining advantage as the period went on and they felt comfortable with their lead because they weren't falling apart and the Bulls couldn't go on a huge run. 76-70 after three.
MCW took over in the fourth quarter, he scored 8 and his baskets were pivotal late in the game. The Bulls had no answer for him, and couldn't score as the Bucks played phenomenal on the defensive side of the ball.
Notable Stats: MCW- 22 PTS, 9 AST. Pachulia- 10 REB. Gasol- 25 PTS. Noah- 13 REB, 6 AST.
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| Image: Kamil Krzaczynski / USA TODAY Sports |
All the pressure was on the Hawks, they let the series push to game 5 as they were expected to handle the 8 seed Nets easily. A quick start for Atlanta was led by Carrolls 10 first quarter points, he was driving and shooting the ball well in the early going as his team was up by 14 after one.
Every time the Nets would go on a little run, Atlanta stopped them from cutting the deficit to even a lower number, the Nets kept it at a single digit deficit behind Andersons 14 point second quarter. His 3 point shot was just deadly and he couldn't be stopped. They were down by 9 at half.
The Hawks extended their lead to 12 by the end of the third, as a group they all scored and shared the basketball well. Their passing was just beautiful and their decision making was on the spot, they were such fluent passes and they looked fantastic on the court. Anderson again had a big 3rd as he scored 7 and it seemed like he's the only one who wanted to play basketball for Brooklyn.
The Nets went on a 12-2 run midway through the last quarter, they were down by two and were putting up a fight with Atlanta. Jarrett Jack played terrific in the fourth, he scored 12 and they kept attacking. The Hawks would just pull away at the end though, Jeff Teague scored 9 in the fourth and he closed the game for the Hawks in this one.
Notable Stats: Carroll- 24 PTS. Horford- 15 REB. Teague- 8 AST. Anderson- 23 PTS. Johnson- 9 REB. Jack- 6 AST.
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| Image: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images |
The Rockets looked to seal this series up in 5 games. Harden and Smith started off hot in the first as they combined for 17. They were up by 9 as the Mavs couldn't get their offense going.
Dallas went on a 9-4 run to cut the deficit to 6, Dirk went off as he scored 8 in the fourth, Monte scored the final four after a hot first period.
Ellis and Dirk combined for 13 in the third, they both did most of the work in terms of putting ball in the rim to start the second half. They had a run that cut the deficit to 2, but then was answered by basically Howard as he scored 4 straight points and the Rockets scored on from there. They had a 7 point lead going into the fourth.
A 6-0 run midway through the fourth found the Mavs down by 3. Houston answered by going on a 6-0 run of their own and then put the game out of reach for the Mavericks. It was a tough fourth as really only Ellis and Dirk did everything for Dallas.
Notable Stats: Harden- 28 PTS, 8 AST. Howard- 19 REB. Ellis- 25 PTS. Barea- 9 AST. Nowitzki- 15 REB.
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| Image: Getty Images |
San Antonio looked to steal one in Los Angles, coming off a tough loss it would be a huge accomplishment if they won game 5 on the road. Griffin scored 13 points in the first, he was playing great on both sides of the floor and it helped the Clips jump out to an early 27-22 lead. But, the Spurs bench closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run and had momentum on their side entering the second.
It was a battle in the second, no team really had the upper hand in the second as they both kept trading baskets back and forth, for the Clips Griffin again shined and scored 8. The Spurs bench played tremendous, Patty Mills was a stud when he hit two threes in the second and one of them being an and one. Duncan picked his slack up by being so aggressive in the paint and was just dominating Jordan, he scored 9 while Parker scored 5 when he really needed to.
There was a ton of scoring in the third, so many players made big shots for the Spurs here as they took a 6 point lead once midway through the quarter. It was everyone scoring for San Antonio, they're so experienced and their chemistry is just phenomenal that it's so hard to beat them, the Clips hunt in there after being down 6 and ended up tying it going into the fourth.
Down by one with 6 seconds to go was the situation for San Antonio, Griffin got the ball put up a floater and it was tipping off the cylinder and Jordan touched it while it was still on it and therefore they called offensive interference. Green made the first free throw afterwards, but he missed the second and got his own rebound and tipped it to Lenoard who sealed the deal at the free throw line. It was a incredible game to watch, the way both teams played were extremely hard and it came down to really the last seconds.
Notable Stats: Duncan- 21 PTS, 11 REB. Ginobili- 6 AST. Griffin- 30 PTS, 14 REB. Paul- 10 AST.
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| Image: Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports |
Down 3-1 and not having to guard Conley was an advantage for Portland, but they were on the road and it would be tough to steal one in Memphis. It was a close game after one as McCollum scored 7 of his 33 there and was leading the Blazers on offense.
Memphis pulled away from Portland late in the second, Carter and Lee stepped up big time as they combined for 13 second quarter points. Memphis found themselves with a comfortable 7 point lead.
McCollum was heating up in the third as he scored 16 and was feeling it to begin the second half, his team was only down 2 after three but they couldn't stop Courtney Lee & Marc Gasol as they scored 16 combined points in the period and had momentum near the end of the third.
Portland didn't have anymore gas in the tank to cut the lead lower than 5, they all around played decent and McCollum is really the one who played great and mostly did everything for them as well as Lillard since he scored 22. Gasol was to powerful and unguardable during this whole game, he really played a big part in why they won.
Notable Stats: Gasol- 24 PTS, 13 REB. Allen- 4 AST. McCollum- 33 PTS. Batum- 10 REB, 7 AST.
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| Image: Joe Murphy / Getty Images |
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