There were 4 different NBA playoff series that played their Game 6 on Thursday night. All 4 series ended tonight. In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated the Houston Rockets by a score of 103-94. The Thunder led by just 1 point going into the 4th quarter, before pulling away late in the game. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 27 points, but he had plenty of help, with Kevin Martin scoring 25, and 4 other teammates in double figures. Former teammate James Harden led the Rockets with 25, while Chandler Parsons added 24 points on only 14 shots.
In the other Western Conference Game 6, the Memphis Grizzlies finished off the Los Angeles Clippers 118-105. The Clippers won the first 2 games at home, then lost the next 4 games. The Grizzlies started their surge in the 3rd quarter. Zach Randolph and Mike Conley each scored 23 for the Grizzlies, while Matt Barnes led the Clippers with 30 points on 11 of 14 shooting from the field, and Chris Paul scored 28 points. Memphis will play Oklahoma City in the next round, while the Golden State Warriors will play the San Antonio Spurs.
In the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks made it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2000, by beating the Boston Celtics 88-80. The Knicks were cruising along in this game, leading 75-49 in the 4th quarter, before the Celtics staged a huge comeback. They came within 4 points, before the Knicks pulled away with some clutch shooting from Carmelo Anthony. Anthony led the Knicks with 21 points, but on 7 of 23 shooting. Jeff Green led the Celtics with 21 points also.
The Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks 81-73. This was the first game in the series where the road team won a game. David West and George Hill led the Pacers with 21 points each, while Al Horford led the Hawks with only 15 points. The Hawks shot 33% in the game, compared to 42% for the Pacers. A whole lot of sharpshooting in this game. The Pacers will play the Knicks in the next round, while the defending champion Miami Heat is still waiting on the Brooklyn Nets/Chicago Bulls winner. Their Game 7 is on Saturday. I think the Bulls will have trouble stopping their vomiting in time to beat the Nets. The Heat have been on a mini vacation since they swept the Milwaukee Bucks.
The second round of the playoffs should have 3 good series, but the Heat should win their series against the Nets/Bulls winner pretty easily. I think the Knicks will prevail against the Pacers, to meet the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Oklahoma City struggled badly against the Rockets, and it will be even more difficult against the strong defense of the Grizzlies. I think the Grizzlies will beat the Russell Westbrook-less Thunder, and play the San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Finals. The Warriors, who haven’t won in San Antonio in 16 years, will go down in 5 or 6 games. Stephen Curry will undoubtedly steal at least one of the games with a great shooting performance, like he did against the Warriors in the first round.
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