The NBA playoffs have gotten off to an exciting start and the weekend saw a number of good games and series, including the Miami Heat sweeping the Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs putting the Lakers out after four straight wins, while the Knicks and Celtics will battle into Game 5 in Boston.
The Celtics and Knicks went to overtime, while the Golden State Warriors took a commanding 3-1 lead over the Nuggets after an intense home win to put them in the driver's seat. The Lakers had no answers for the Spurs and without Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash the team had no chance. The rest of the playoffs gives the sweep teams some rest as the first round series continue to play out, including the Thunder and Rockets which is also heading for a sweep.
Ray Allen scored 16 points off the bench and Udonis Haslem added 13 as the reigning NBA champions rolled into the Eastern Conference semi-finals despite playing without All Star guard Dwyane Wade, who sat out with an ailing knee. LeBron James had 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and visiting Miami pulled away in the fourth quarter to complete a four-game series sweep of Milwaukee.
Allen buried a pair of three-pointers and Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier each connected from long range before James capped a 19-5 burst with a conventional three-point play to extend the lead to 86-72 with 4:54 remaining.
Paul Pierce scored 29 points and Jeff Green added 26 as the Celtics fought off a stirring comeback to force Game Five of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series on Wednesday at New York's Madison Square Garden.
The Spurs allowed the Lakers to hang around for the first quarter, leading by eight, but Gary Neal came off the bench and knocked down a pair of three-pointers in a personal 8-0 run to put San Antonio ahead by 14 en route to a 52-34 halftime edge.
