The 2013 NBA Playoffs are still in the first round. Here's the update on how every series looks as of Friday morning, plus, the schedule for today as four of the five remaining series see action Friday evening.
The Brooklyn Nets are making history for their borough. Thursday night they defeated the Chicago Bulls, 95-92, to push the series to Game 7. It's just the Nets first season in Brooklyn and they are already making their people feel their presence by bringing the first Game 7 to Brooklyn in over 50 years when the Brooklyn Dodgers faced the New York Yankees in the 1956 World Series.
The victory, the Nets' second in a row after falling behind 3-1, tied the series at 3-3. The Nets' big three, Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson, scored 17 points each giving way to Andre Blatche who scored 10 points, three of which came within the last minute of the game and were the Nets final points. Blatche's three free throws were the difference in the game.
There was a shocker in the standings as the Denver Nuggets were eliminated from contention after the Golden State Warriors handed them the fourth loss of the best of seven series. The Warriors were up big and were destroying the Nuggets. However, whether because of mental errors, fatigue or nerves, they allowed the Nuggets to almost tie the game after having an 18-point lead with less than nine minutes to play in the game.
Stephen Curry caught fire at the right time (as usual) scoring 22 points, 14 of which came in the third quarter as Curry knocked down four huge threes to increase the Warriors lead. Andrew Bogut was ferocious on the boards grabbing 21 rebounds as the Warriors bullied the Nuggets in the rebound category.
The victory pushes the Warriors to a meeting with the San Antonio Spurs. This matchup will feature the No. 2 & 6 seeds in the Western Conference.
The four games that could possibly make a world of a difference in the standings features the New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks vs. Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies vs. Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder.
All these series are 3-2. Who is leading? Here's what the standings look like as of Friday afternoon:
Western Conference:
Oklahoma City Thunder 3-2 Houston Rockets
Memphis Grizzles 3-2 Los Angeles Clippers
Eastern Conference:
New York Knicks 3-2 Boston Celtics
Indiana Pacers 3-2 Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets vs. Chicago Bulls Series Tied 3-3
Already in Second Round:
Miami Heat wins series 4-0 vs. Milwaukee Bucks
San Antonio Spurs win series 4-0 vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Golden State Warriors win series 4-2 vs. Denver Nuggets
