When the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder went up 3-0 in their respective series, it just seemed inevitable before they would close out the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets respectively.
However times have changed. In the Thunder/Rockets series, Oklahoma City just seems completely out of sync without point guard Russell Westbrook, and it is clear that James Harden is feeling more and more comfortable knocking down three-pointers, as he did last night when he recorded seven shots from beyond the arc in a 107-100 win over Oklahoma City.
All of a sudden, the Rockets are only down 3-2 in the series and have the momentum heading into Houston for game six.
Meanwhile in the New York/Boston series, the Celtics beat the Knicks 92-86 last night to pull within one game in that series (3-2 Knicks). The Celtics are showing great experience at the moment. Kevin Garnett does not seem like a player who is about to retire. Garnett delivered a double double last night (16 points and 18 rebounds).
Once again this weekend I’ll be watching four kinds of football from both side of the border.
Th most interesting matchup will be the Western Final on Sunday afternoon between the Calgary Stampeders (12-6) and the British Columbia Lions (13-5) (2:30pm, TSN). This week there has been more drama in the Stampeders’ dressing room than an entire week of the Young and the Restless, and for that I give the Lions the advantage.
Travis Lulay is expected to be at the top of his game and the Lions are well rested. My only concern however is that it has been a while since they played a very meaningful game, so it will be interesting to see how they come out mentally.
The Oklahoma City Thunder head into tonight’s game against the Toronto Raptors with the same 1-2 record.
The mere fact that they’re below the .500 mark should be a bit of a surprise to some because they represented the Western Conference in the 2012 NBA Finals before losing to the Miami Heat.
However a trade right before the regular season began, has many people who follow the sport of basketball questioning Thunder management.
James Harden, the Thunder’s star shooting guard from last season was traded from Oklahoma City to Houston on October 27 in a blockbuster deal after the Thunder couldn’t come to terms on a contract extension with their star player.
Harden, who won the sixth man of the year award, has played great in Houston so far. He recorded a double double against the Detroit Pistons (37 points, 12 assists) in Houston’s season opener and then scored a career high 45 points in a 109-102 win last Friday in Atlanta.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are advancing to the NBA Finals after defeating the San Antonio Spurs 107-99 in game six of the Western Conference Finals.
Kevin Durant scored 34 points and recorded 14 rebounds.
The Thunder, like the Boston Celtics were once down 2-0 in the conference finals, but have roared back since. The Celtics can close out the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
The Spurs dominated the first half and the Thunder dominated the second half, outscoring the Spurs 59-36. The Thunder had four different players recording a key second half three point shot. Durant, Derek Fisher, Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden all scored key baskets from beyond the arc.
The Spurs meanwhile lost four consecutive games after winning twenty consecutive games. The Thunder meanwhile were 2-0 against the Celtics this year and 1-1 against the Heat.
This will be the fourth time in the history of the Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder that the franchise has advanced to the NBA Finals. Their only championship came in 1979 when they beat the Washington Bullets.
A team playing away from home has finally won in the third round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
Last night in San Antonio, Kevin Durant scored 27 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 108-103 to take a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.
Even though Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 50 points, I felt the best player on the Thunder in game five was James Harden. Playing with his hockey beard, Harden scored 20 points and was a +24 on the court.
So far in the conference finals, the home team had won the first eight games. In the Eastern Conference Final, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics have each won their first two home games heading into game five in south Florida tonight.
Sunday night in Boston, the Celtics beat the Heat 93-91 in overtime as point guard Rajon Rondo scored 15 points and 15 assists for a double double. As Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are all getting up in age, this is becoming more and more Rondo’s team. Still for the Heat to win the series, they will need to do a better job defending Allen who had four three pointers in game four.
It’s been a while since we’ve delved into the world of fantastic sports videos on the internet, but don’t worry – When Sports Go Viral is back!
This time around we’ve got some hilarious stuff from the NBA, a pretty funny blooper from some NCAA track and field action, and an instructional video about how to get fired from your post as the manager of a professional soccer club!
Let’s start out with the NBA, where model Kate Upton has teamed up with the Oklahoma City Thunder for “Take a Supermodel to Work” day.
As we approach the NBA playoffs, the talk of the league is about Metta World Peace, a.k.a. Ron Artest, who in actuality delivers no peace on the basketball court whatsoever.
Should the basketball world be surprised of Peace’s elbow of James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder while he was celebrating a dunk last week? No, remembering the fact he was suspended 86 games for being the focal point of the brawl in the stands in one of the darkest nights in basketball history in 2004 during a game between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers.
Since then Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace. It seemed to have helped a little bit for the now Los Angeles Laker until Sunday. Peace was changing his image, being active in the Los Angeles community, donating a portion of his salary to mental health advocacy groups and raising the awareness of ethical treatment toward animals.
The Dallas Mavericks might have just won their most impressive game in franchise history.
Trailing 99-84 with under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks went on a 17-2 run to tie the game at 101.
Then in overtime, Jason Kidd recorded a key three pointer to help the Mavericks win 112-105 to take a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Final.
Kidd, who opened his career with Dallas, before playing several seasons with the Phoenix Suns and New Jersey Nets, scored 17 points.
But once again, it was the offensive prowess of Dirk Nowitzki that should receive the majority of the credit. Nowitzki scored 40 points, the second time in the series he has recorded the forty point plateau.
Dallas won despite getting hammered in rebounding. The Thunder outrebounded the Mavericks 55-33.
However turnovers were the key, as Dallas had twelve fewer (13) than Oklahoma City (25).
The Vancouver Canucks are only six wins away from becoming the first Canadian based team since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup.
So far in the Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks, Henrik Sedin, the 2010 Hart Trophy Winner, has been the best Canuck, as he has scored one goal and four assists.
Henrik, is a +1 against San Jose, after going a combined -8 against the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators in the first two rounds.
Another Canuck that has stepped up in the Western Conference Final is Kevin Bieksa, who has two goals and an assist. In game two, he had the Gordie Howe hat trick, as he also surprisingly fought Patrick Marleau in the second period.
For the Sharks to get back in the series, they may have to get a little less physical. They took too many undisciplined penalties in game two that cost them. Game three is tonight at 7pm in San Jose (CBC) and game four is also in San Jose on Sunday at 1pm (NBC).
A lot of times when people analyze the NHL or NBA, they start with the East. But www.anysportanytime.ca is founded in the West, so I’m going to start with the West!
Grizzlies Top Three– Zach Randolph 20.1 PPG, 12.2 RPG; Mike Conley 13.7 PPG, 6.5 APG; Marc Gasol 11.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG.
Analysis: The Spurs come into the series as the hands on favourite, having won four NBA titles since 1999. The fact that 2011 is an odd year as well will help San Antonio because their four previous Championships came in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Gregg Popovich is as good of a coach as any in the entire NBA and has maximized the performance out of his players. The question in San Antonio is the health of Manu Ginobili, who injured his elbow in a meaningless game last night in Phoenix and is doubtful for Game One. This will be the fourth playoff appearance in franchise history for Memphis since moving from Vancouver in 2001. They have yet to win a playoff game, going 0-12 in the process. The X factor in the series is Randolph. The tenth year power forward has a criminal past dating back to his days in Portland, but seems to have everything under control now. Still the Spurs have the three best players and will win in six.
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