This is the Hangover. We get basketball-wasted all the time. Yes, we recap the NBA every night in our own way.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images.)
#2 TORONTO RAPTORS 87 @ #3 MIAMI HEAT 94 (OT)
EAST Semifinals – Game 4- Series is TIED, 2-2
Both teams were without their big men; Hassan Whiteside is day-to-day and Jonas Valanciunas was out for the rest of the series. Bismack Biyombo capably filled in for Jonas; he knocked down a dirty dunk in Amar’e Stoudemire‘s mug.
The Raptors backcourt would once again struggle, which was the biggest fear of their fan base. The Heat, in the meantime, couldn’t make a three-pointer to save their lives (1 for 15!). But once again, they had the suddenly seemingly-ageless Dwyane Wade carrying them.
Toronto got a boost from Biyombo and Terrence Ross, who was making some timely threes. DeMar DeRozan was shooting so badly that he wasn’t in the game but Kyle Lowry ended up fouling out. They would go to Cory Joseph in the clutch. While he made a clutch jumper earlier, the Heat countered with Wade as he tied the game with 12 seconds left. Joseph would miss the game-winning jumper and the teams would once again play overtime.
Miami was up two with 42 seconds left and had the ball. The Raptors needed a stop but Goran Dragic was able to penetrate in, get fouled, and score the lay-up. The lead would go to five. Ross tried to hurry up court to get a quick score but he lost the ball to Wade, who got the steal, the game-sealing dunk, and the Clover from Bring It On.
We’re going back to Canada with a best-of-three looming!
BEHIND THE LINES
Dwyane Wade (MIA): 30 pts.
Bismack Biyombo (TOR): 13 pts, 13 rebs.
Cory Joseph (TOR): 14 pts.
Terrence Ross (TOR): 14 pts.
#1 GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS 132 @ #5 PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS 125 (OT)
WEST Semifinals – Game 4 – WARRIORS lead series, 3-1
We were hearing all the updates. And it was like a storm looming. Stephen Curry went from doubtful to questionable to active. Steve Kerr had set a minutes limit for Curry at 25. But the Blazers weren’t scared. They just had to weather this storm and survive.
And they were doing more than surviving; they were beating the Warriors in their own game. It got even murky for the Dubs when Shaun Livingston, who was starting for Curry, got ejected after arguing a foul call (it was a foul; Livingston got cracked in the head by Damian Lillard). The Warriors didn’t want to raise the minutes cap for Curry but they had to. In the meantime, Steph struggled mightily because of the rust. He didn’t make a single three in the first half. The fiery Blazers led by 10 at halftime.
But these are the Warriors. They snatched the lead in the third quarter as Klay Thompson got it going. Then it became a three-point battle as C.J. McCollum, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Lillard fired back with outside artillery of their own.
Curry finally made some threes in the fourth. And with the Blazers up three, Harrison Barnes tied it with a clutch trey with 51 seconds left. Lillard and Curry would miss their go-ahead shots and this game would also go the extra five.
That’s when the storm came crashing down on the Blazers. The MVP suddenly came alive. He scored the first 12 points for the Warriors in overtime. And when the Blazers were down five and needed a stop, he made a contested three that we became so familiar with over the past few years. He scored 27 points in the fourth and overtime (17 points in OT, which was an NBA record for most points in overtime for a player).
Stephen Curry came into the Rose Garden (I still refuse to call it in their current name) and took their souls. He left the Blazers in a puddle of sadness. As for us NBA fans (except the Portland fan base), watching this virtuoso performance had that satisfaction of eating the greatest sushi/steak/pizza ever. Or the satisfaction of playing the best Super Mario Bros. game ever. Or the orgasm of doing the dirty deed with the best-looking person in the bar. It was historic. And you should watch it, too, so you can get that feeling.
Let’s not forget: he hadn’t played in two weeks and was still very doubtful with that knee injury. And he came back, shook the rust off, and he got his superpowers back at the end of the night.
It’s not like the Blazers didn’t kick the Warriors while they were down. It was just that the Warriors monster was too powerful to stay down. When it got up, doom just seemed inevitable.
BEHIND THE LINES
Klay Thompson (GS): 23 pts.
Draymond Green (GS): 21 pts, 9 rebs, 5 assts, 7 blks, 4 stls.
Stephen Curry (GS): 40 pts, 9 rebs, 8 assts.
Mason Plumlee (POR): 12 pts, 15 rebs.
Al-Farouq Aminu (POR): 18 pts, 13 rebs.
C.J. McCollum (POR): 24 pts.
Damian Lillard (POR): 36 pts, 6 rebs, 10 assts.
WATCH THIS PLAY
Amar’e Stoudemire used to be the ones that put dudes in posters. This time, Bismack Biyombo did the postering on him.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
BISMACKIE. YOU. YOU GOT WHAT I NEEEEEEED.
Follow Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass for all tweets about the NBA and terrible pop music. Also, check out his podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental.
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