As expected, the NBA Playoff Standings found two teams as the front runners in their conference semifinals series. The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs posses 2-1 leads after victories Friday evening, taking the advantage in their respective series.
The Heat game was physical, but they found a way to put the charging Chicago Bulls at bay. LeBron James iced the games and was even the reason for the Bulls' bench to be thinner than usual, but the true heroes in this game were Chris Bosh and Norris Coles who gave the Heat a lead and kept Miami ahead in the scoreboard. Bosh had 20 points while Cole dropped 18 points. Bosh not only scored, but he also grabbed 19 rebounds in Game 3. Before James turned it up in the final minutes of the game, it was Bosh and Cole exchange shots, grabbing rebounds and popping threes. Cole finished 3-3 from beyond the arc.
Everybody knows the Bulls are injured, they are without three starters (Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich), but on Friday evening, Chicago lost Nazr Mohammed after his push on James following a brief altercation at half court. The Bulls looked fatigue as Tom Thibodeau was forced to rotate seven players. Joakim Noah did a great job keeping the Bulls in the game as the beginning of the 4th quarter took off with the score tied at 70.
The Heat eventually closed it up in the final minutes of the game taking back home court advantage with a chance to wrap the series up at home.
Over in Golden State, a lot of people were disappointed. After the Warriors looked capable of taking the series lead, they couldn't beat the Spurs in Game 3. This game was over in the first quarter as the Spurs were able to finish the first 12 minutes up 32-23. It's not the most insurmountable lead, but the Spurs and Warriors went blow for blow in the next three quarters.
12-37 and 35 points, those were Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson's totals after the game was over. The rest is history. Control the Warriors front court and then have Tony Parker score 32 points and the pretty much wraps it up. Victory Spurs. The final score was 104-94 as the Spurs never lost a quarter. They won the first and third then tied with the Warriors in the second and the fourth.
Suddenly, the Spurs don't look so old and look capable of putting the Warriors away like many expected when this series began.
Here's what the 2013 NBA Playoff Standings look like in the second round of the postseason:
Miami Heat 2-1 Chicago Bulls
San Antonio Spurs 2-1 Golden State Warriors
These two series are yet to play Game 3's:
Oklahoma City Thunders 1-1 Memphis Grizzles
New York Knicks 1-1 Indiana Pacers
