Road teams are the new home teams. I apologize for my use of that terrible phrase, but I’m running out of ways to express just how ridiculous the 2014 NBA Playoffs have been.
Plain and simple, it’s been ridiculous. Every single day of it.
On Saturday, April 26, the madness continued. Two more road teams lost and an 8-seed took a 2-1 series lead over a 1-seed.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. In one of the most improbable postseason victories imaginable, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 92-89. Kevin Durant was just 5-of-21 from the field with five turnovers and Russell Westbrook shot 6-of-24 with seven cough-ups, but OKC found a way to win.
So how did OKC win? Reggie Jackson scored a career-high 32 points and Serge Ibaka posted 12 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
2. Oklahoma City versus Memphis is the second postseason series in NBA history to have three consecutive games go to overtime.
3. Vince Carter beat the buzzer and Monta Ellis was close to unstoppable as the Dallas Mavericks stunned the San Antonio Spurs 109-108. Ellis finished with a postseason career-high 29 points, while Carter hit the game-winning buzzer-beater after Manu Ginobili sank a shot with 1.7 seconds on the clock.
This was the third game in the past 15 postseasons with two go-ahead shots with under 2.0 seconds on the clock. The Spurs have been the losing team in two of the three instances.
4. LeBron James posted 30 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals to lead the Miami Heat to a 98-85 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. Al Jefferson had 20 points and three blocks for the Bobcats, but Miami used a dominant second quarter to pull away and take a 3-0 series lead.
The Heat improve to 18-0 against the Bobcats during the Big 3 era. Charlotte falls to 0-7 all-time in the playoffs.
5. Paul George went off for 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks as the Indiana Pacers stormed back to take down the Atlanta Hawks 91-88. Paul Millsap scored 29 points and Kyle Korver added 15, but George, George Hill and David West all hit big shots to close out the win for the Pacers.
George has a double-double in a career-best four straight games.
Bonus Facts
- Last night marked Derek Fisher’s 244th career postseason game. That ties Robert Horry for the most all-time.
- This was the first time that both Durant and Westbrook have shot below 30.0% percent from the field in the same postseason game.
- San Antonio’s Tiago Splitter put up his first career postseason double-double.