Believe it or not, home teams actually won every game. You know it’s a wild postseason when that’s surprising at all.
Wednesday, April 30 was more than just a display of home court advantage in the 2014 NBA Playoffs. There was a 21-point comeback with a wild ending, a contender fighting off elimination and a favorite earning a close statement win.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Tony Parker scored a series-high 23 points and Tiago Splitter posted 17 points and 12 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Dallas Mavericks 109-103. Manu Ginobili added 19 points, Tim Duncan posted 16, 12 rebounds and three blocks, and Kawhi Leonard scored 15 for the victorious Spurs.
Duncan has 151 career playoff double-doubles. Only Magic Johnson has more with 157.
2. Dirk Nowitzki, age 35, recorded 26 points and 15 rebounds for Dallas. It’s his first playoff game with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds since May 9, 2009.
Dirk is the first player age 35 or older to post those numbers in the playoffs since Duncan on June 18, 2013. Before that, it hadn’t been done since 1999.
Rise of the aging bigs?
3. The Toronto Raptors blew a 21-point fourth-quarter lead, but a late Andray Blatche turnover resulted in a 115-113 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Kyle Lowry scored a postseason career-high 36 points and DeMar DeRozan had 23 for Toronto, while Joe Johnson tallied 30 for Brooklyn.
With a 3-2 advantage, this is the first time the Raptors have led a playoff series since the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
4. DeRozan is the second player in franchise history to score at least 20 points in four straight playoff games. Vince Carter is the other.
5. Dwight Howard posted 22 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks to lead the Houston Rockets to a 108-98 survival win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Jeremy Lin was the spark for the Rockets with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while Wesley Matthews finished with 27 points for the Trail Blazers.
With its win, the Rockets stave off elimination and pull the series to 3-2 in Portland’s favor.
Bonus Fact: April 30 marked the first time in the entire 2014 NBA Playoffs that a home teams went undefeated.