Game 4 of the NBA Finals had quite a number of memorable moments, from Russell Westbrook’s incredible scoring outburst (overshadowed by late blunder) to LeBron James’ “Wills Reed” moment (kind of). Our Moke Hamilton explains why the duel was so great but the ending wasn’t. Find all the coverage below, plus updated news about the Magic, Wizards and Hornets. Berry Tramel explains why the officiating of Game 4 wasn’t as bad as people claim: “Game 4: Really good. Scott Foster, Mike
csprtContainer(); MIAMI — They defied the odds and fooled the world. After dropping the first two games of their conference final showdown against the number one seed—a battle- tested team who had been there and done that—they won four straight games and shockingly won the right to play for the NBA’s crown. They tricked us into believing they had a fighting chance to win the whole thing, but after four games, it became obvious that the NBA Finals was a bit of
SOUTH BEACH — “Harden at the end of game three – a bad foul,” said Jeff Van Gundy, former Knicks head coach and current ABC analyst. “Two bad fouls in the third quarter of Game 3. The game is turning based on these small things that turn out to be huge in their amount of consequence going into winning and losing. “These last three games have been so close.” You can say that again, Jeff. To give you an idea of just how
// MIAMI — Did the basketball gods just play a cruel joke on us? Tuesday night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals has come and gone, and although the game was competitive and entertaining, I feel cheated. I wanted LeBron James and Russell Westbrook to go at each other over the final two minutes of the game, continuing their epic showdown. Instead, neither walked proudly off the court as the game ended. In the game’s final minute, the Miami Heat should have needed James—the
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is in the books, and the Thunder looked like a “young team” perhaps for the first time in the postseason. There was plenty to be discussed on why they fell short, from Kevin Durant’s foul trouble, Harden’s poor play and Westbrook’s limited minutes. David Aldridge on Kevin Durant and Westbrook’s growth since last season: “We don’t know what the Thunder will ultimately do with this group. But whatever they’re going to become, it’s happening now,
Every year, Jimmy Kimmel on ABC provides entertaining segments on his show (Jimmy Kimmel Live!) with coverage of the NBA Finals, and this year has been no different. Check out Guillermo hysterically butcher the name of every player, call Derek Fisher a 65-year-old and most importantly, his notable interview with LeBron James. For Metta World Peace calling out James Harden, click here. For Jeremy Lin and Roy Hibbert on Jimmy Kimmel, click here. For all blog items, click here. Follow @NBATupark //
(via NBAClipz) James Harden had a rough time in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, scoring just 9 points on two-of-10 shooting – his second single-digit scoring performance in the last three games. Check out Moke Hamilton’s thoughts here. His worst moment came in the final 30 seconds of the game with the Thunder trailing by three points. The Heat had possession and Scott Brooks had clearly elected not to foul, hoping to get a stop and the last shot to tie the
// MIAMI — The old cliché says that you’ve gotta have your heart broken before you can become a champion, and after their 91-85 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder may have just proven that they’re no exception to the rule. LeBron James’ Heat are attempting to do what Kobe Bryant’s Lakers did back in 2009—win the NBA Finals the very next year after losing them. Kevin Durant’s Thunder just