Lakers even series while Clippers fall to 0-2
With one-third of the slate comprising teams from Los Angeles on Tuesday night, you knew it would be a good one. One of these LA teams was victorious, while the other may be in panic-mode, and the Nets are just too good to fathom right now. A winner will be crowned before you know it, so let’s hop in to some Game 2s.
Nets 130, Celtics 108 (Nets 2-0)
The Nets dismantled the Celtics from the start and didn’t give them the glimmer of hope they had in Game 1, which they won by “only” 11. Brooklyn dropped 40 points in the first quarter, marking a new franchise record for points in a first quarter, and the third time they’ve reached 40+ in any quarter of postseason variety.
Lakers 109, Suns 102 (tied 1-1)
This game was arguably one of the best games of the year thus far but had an incredibly odd start, with both teams picking up four fouls each in the first five minutes of the first quarter. Luckily, the refs swallowed their whistles for the most part after that, as the final 43 minutes saw just 38 more fouls for a total of 46 (23 each) for the game – they were on pace for a combined 76.8, for what it’s worth.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers to a win behind his game-high 34 points (7-of-15 FG, 18-of-21 FT), 10 rebounds, seven assists, one steal and three big blocks, and he looked significantly better tonight than he did in Game 1.
Mavericks 127, Clippers 121 (Mavericks 2-0)
The Dallas Mavericks have now taken care of business twice at Staples Center, and will go back home with a 2-0 lead against one of the favorites to win the NBA championship this season. It’s the Mavericks’ fist 2-0 lead since sweeping the Lakers in the 2011 WCF, so this must feel good for Luka and company. Yes, Kawhi has come back from 0-2 before, but the odds are not with him – on the 38 occasions that a higher seed has trailed 0-2 (since playoff expansion in 1983-1984), only six of the 38 series (15.8%) saw the higher seed coming back and actually winning the series. Game 3 will be very important to the present and future of the Clippers, to say the least.
