When Kobe Bryant high-fived Justin Timberlake after nailing a coffin-closing dagger of a 3-pointer in the final minute Saturday night, it was all but official.
The Oklahoma City Thunder finally got their answer as to who they will face in the Western Conference semifinals: The Los Angeles Lakers.
The two teams will face off on Monday night in the playoffs for the first time since the Thunder were knocked out of the first round in six games back in the 2009-2010 season, when James Harden was a rookie and the Lakers eventually became champions.
Things have changed since then, with Oklahoma City now having homecourt advantage and considered the favorite in the series.
But first, let’s give some props to the Denver Nuggets.
They suffered their final defeat of the season against the Lakers after fighting back to tie the series after being down 3-1.
Make no mistake, the Nuggets absolutely pushed the Lakers to their limits and were on the brink of causing a huge upset (check out the predictions here).
They showed poise, grit, execution, cohesion and the type of fight that many did not expect from them heading into the first round.
All those qualities showed up again in Game 7. Just when the Lakers looked to blow them out of Staples Center with a seemingly insurmountable 16-point lead in the third quarter, Denver fought back with a small lineup and clawed their way back to tie the game.
It’s somewhat of a shame, because at the end of the day, they will not be remembered for their heart-throbbing seven-game performance. It will simply go down in history as yet another first round exit, something the team has done in eight of the past nine seasons.
Still, the series proved to be a coming out party for a variety of Nuggets players.
Ty Lawson averaged 19 points on 51.4 percent shooting and six assists, proving that he is on the brink of becoming a star player and a starting point guard that does not need to be overshadowed by a player of Andre Miller’s ilk.
Rookie Kenneth Faried showed the type of toughness and composure you don’t normally see out of a rookie and often arguably outplayed the veteran Pau Gasol in the series, averaging 10.4 points and 10 rebounds.
And of course, there was the enigmatic JaVale McGee, who may have shown the team just enough of his athletic-yet-unrefined game to want to re-sign the restricted free agent.
“Their heart is bigger than people think it is,” said George Karl after his team’s loss.
Certainly, no one can argue that notion at this point.
In the end, though, size and home court advantage turned out to be the difference in the elimination game.
From Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: “It was a fun ride, to be sure, but the Nuggets are once again sitting at home after round one, while the Lakers are heading to Oklahoma City for a second-round series. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant hit an impossible 3, with Arron Afflalo seemingly up inside his gold jersey, giving L.A. an eight-point cushion in the final minute that put the seal on the victory. “The game was so physical — bang, push, shove, grab, hold — I think their size won over our speed,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. The Lakers’ two big men, 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, took over when it mattered most down the stretch Saturday night. Bynum had 18 rebounds and Gasol 17. They combined for 20 offensive rebounds. “This game was extremely, extremely physical, way more physical than any of the other games,” said Denver rookie forward Kenneth Faried, who had six points and 10 rebounds. “I think it’s because Kobe stepped up and challenged the (L.A.) bigs (in the media) and they responded. That’s how much respect they have for him.”
Perhaps a bit of a miscue in fourth quarter game plan also played a role in the loss, as the team ran a double-team against Kobe Bryant every time he touched the ball, despite the fact that he was shooting only six-of-14 heading into the fourth quarter.
He took full advantage, constantly finding open teammates and finishing the game with eight assists.
Hitting a bunch of those shots was Steve Blake, who scored a playoff career-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers.
“I hate Steve Blake tonight”, said Karl, “But I love him as a player. I loved him when we had him.”
The biggest x-factor in the game was Metta World Peace, who returned from his six-game suspension and didn’t skip a beat. Despite shooting just 5-of-15, he was aggressive and hit four key 3-pointers. He also completely shut down Danilo Gallinari, who scored three points on just 1-of-9 shooting, including four turnovers. He also helped shut down Andre Miller, who was also limited to just three points on 1-of-10 shooting.
Karl seemed nervous about the return of World Peace before the game, with good reason.
After completely vanishing in Game 6, Pau Gasol had one of the finest statistical games in Lakers history in Game 7.
From Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles: “If there was a trade rumor connected with the Lakers this season, chances are Gasol was in it. And while the Lakers ultimately decided to keep him at the trade deadline, it felt more like a stay of execution rather than a cheery endorsement. He’d been given one more chance to prove his value, to win, to stay. And after his awful three-point, three-rebound performance in the Lakers’ Game 6 loss to the Nuggets, he was falling short and he knew it. “Just the way I played, the lack of contribution I made,” Gasol said. “I know things didn’t go my way, but I can’t finish with three points and three rebounds, the kind of player I am. It just can’t happen.” As he spoke, he was shaking his head like it just happened. Like what he did to help the Lakers win Game 7 was just a footnote. His phone had been ringing off the hook for 48 hours with friends trying to offer advice and support. He’s too polite to simply turn it off. But he didn’t need advice and he didn’t need support. He needed to go out and play like he did in Game 7. Gasol wasn’t just good on Saturday night, he was ferocious. His stat line is ridiculous — 23 points, 17 rebounds (11 of them offensive rebounds), six assists and four blocked shots — and it doesn’t even capture how good a night he had and how much energy he brought to the game.”
Despite shooting just four-of-15, Andrew Bynum’s presence was also felt as he scored 16 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked six shots. (Boxscore here).
The team will have just one day of rest before facing off against Kevin Durant and company, who have had more than a week of rest after sweeping Dallas.
Moving on to the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics came up with all the big shots down the stretch to beat the 76ers, 92-91.
The Sixers had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, but it quickly evaporated as they failed to execute down the stretch, getting a taste of their own medicine and playing against one of the stingiest defenses in the league.
With the combination of Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett’s brilliance along with the team’s shut down defense, the Celtics did just enough to win the game.
From Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer: “On Saturday, Rondo put on an MVP-type performance. He continuously went wherever he wanted on the court, and when shots were missed he was able to corral offensive rebounds, finishing with a game-high five. “I didn’t get a nap today, so I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I was struggling, so I tried to do the intangibles to help my team.”From the beginning of this playoff run, which surprisingly reached a second round after the Chicago series, 76ers coach Doug Collins has spoken of the importance of his young team seeing the ball go into the basket early and often. That is exactly what happened on Saturday as the Sixers, who averaged 22 points in the first quarter against the Bulls, dumped 28 on the Celtics and opened up leads as big as 13 in the first half… But the Sixers fell victim to the Celtics’ top-ranked defense in the fourth quarter. They produced four nothing-gained offensive possessions, and the Celtics sealed the win.”
Andre Iguodala led the team with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists, Evan Turner had 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, and Spencer Hawes added 15 points and eight rebounds.
Jrue Holiday struggled, scoring just eight points on three-of-13 shooting.
Thaddeus Young suffered a right ankle sprain in the loss, and his status for Game 2 is unknown.
Rondo was all over the place in this one, as he often is in the playoffs, achieving yet another postseason triple-double. The most eye-catching part about his game, though, was his ability to consistently knock down critical mid-range jump shots down the stretch. (Boxscore here).
From Mark Murphy of Boston Herald: “The C’s held on after taking a 92-87 lead on Rajon Rondo’s 18-footer with 56.3 seconds left, and the point guard produced his second triple-double of the postseason and eighth overall this year with 13 points, 17 assists and 12 rebounds. Kevin Garnett, though, provided the offensive muscle with 29 points and 11 rebounds in a game often devoid of flow. But the Celtics, as they often have this season, found themselves at precisely the right time. As Philadelphia coach Doug Collins proudly pointed out prior to the game, the Sixers were the only team in the entire playoff field to outscore their opponents in every fourth quarter — a feat they pulled off six times against the Bulls. The Celtics ended that run last night with a 25-20 fourth quarter. They limited Philadelphia to 38.1 percent shooting (8-for-21) over that stretch while springing for their best efficiency of the night at 47.6 percent.”
At the end of the day, it was Garnett who played the most consistently throughout the entire game.
The man that seemed to have lost about four steps over the past two seasons has somehow reverted back to the Garnett that first showed up as a Celtic back in the 2007-2008 season, when the team won a championship.
From Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston: “Garnett is dominating the playoffs thus far and he credits his lack of anything else to do. “I have no life at this point,” said Garnett. “I go home, get treatment, come back in here, study tape, film — no life at all. This is what it is.”… “Once we got down, I told him, I said, ‘We’re going to need him the whole fourth,'” admitted Rivers. “I said, ‘I don’t care how far we get down … but we’re saving minutes [for the fourth quarter].’ And so Kevin was so excited when he ran over to me and said he can play the rest of the game now. It’s still tough, though, honestly, because it’s the minutes in the row that I manage more than the cumulative minutes for him. And that was the risk, but he handled it pretty well.” Added Rivers: “He’s great. He really is. He’s making it so hard when he’s off the floor for those 12 minutes or 10 minutes, I mean you’re in a panic right now. And that’s an area we’re going to have to improve; he’s going to sit for 10 or 12 minutes a game. And we have to — our plus/minus with him off the floor right now is horrendous — so that’s an area we have to improve on. But when he’s on the floor, he’s doing everything for us. He had a great block late in the game, he’s making big shots, he’s posting, he’s getting to the foul line, he’s just playing fantastic.”
The biggest plays came down to the final seconds with Boston electing to foul with a three-point lead. After the Sixers converted the free throws, they needed an intentional foul, but Rondo caught the ball in the backcourt and ran past an unsuspecting Evan Turner to avoid the foul, running out the clock with 3.4 seconds remaining and ending the game.
The teams will go head to head again in Game 2 on Monday night, followed by the Lakers at Oklahoma City on TNT.
James Park is a regular contributor to Sheridanhoops.com. You can find him on twitter @nbatupark.
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