The Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls in a Game 4 that marked franchise playoff lows for the team from the Windy City. The Western Conference saw the Memphis Grizzlies take Game 4 with a great comeback in the second half. Here is what the NBA Playoff Standings look like following Monday's games.
With LeBron James controlling the Heat offense along with a horrific shooting night for the Bulls, the Heat cruised to an 88-65 victory. James finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and eight assists leading the Heat to a comfortable 3-1 lead in the best of seven series.
The Bulls had one advantage in this game, they had four players finish in double-digits, but in reality, that didn't help much as they could only hit about a quarter of their shots. The Bulls finished with a 26 percent field goal percentage. Chicago was in such desperate need of scoring they called upon Richard Hamilton, who gave them 11 points in almost 22 minutes played. However, as a team, they only made 19-74 shots for their lowest shooting percentage in the playoffs and their 65 points in the game was also the franchise's playoff low.
The series now shifts to Miami where the Heat will look to put the series away in their home floor. With a win in Game 5, the Heat could advance to their third consecutive Eastern Conference Finals as the defending champs' plans are to repeat against whomever surfaces out of the Western Conference.
Over in the West, the second game of the evening, the Grizzlies gave the Thunder something to sweat about as they are leading the series 3-1 with Game 5 heading back to Oklahoma City.
It was close back and forth in the final quarter. In the final two possessions for the Grizzlies, they grabbed three offensive rebounds and milked the clock leaving only 10.9 seconds for the Thunder to operate as they had a two-point lead. Kevin Durant tied it in the fourth after going extremely quiet in the second half pushing the game to overtime where the Grizzlies did enough to win the game. Memphis won Game 4, 103-97.
The Thunder were unstoppable in the early stages of the game. Durant was picking and choosing where to shoot from and was setting up teammates all over the floor. With Oklahoma City dictating the pace of this game, the Grizzlies trailed by as many as 17 points. However, they were able to trim the lead to just eight at the half and the third quarter is where Marc Gasol turns it up. Game 4 was not an exception.
Gasol finished the third with 10 points hitting shots inside the paint and knocking jumpers from the top of the key. By the end of the first 12 minutes in the second half, the Grizzlies had tied the game at 76. The Grizzlies did a great job keeping the hands out of Durant's hand. Durant, Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin combined for 38 points in the first half. However, the second half was different as Ibaka and Martin only scored nine points combined, leaving Durant on his own.
Durant, like always, kept his guys in the game, but his 27 points scored weren't enough. Gasol finished with 23, Zach Randolph had 23 and Mike Conley had 24 points. This big three keeps doing it for the Grizzlies and will now have a chance to lock up the series in OKC.
Here's what the standings look like following these Game 4 matchups:
Miami Heat 3-1 Chicago Bulls
New York Knicks 1-2 Indiana Pacers
Oklahoma City Thunder - Memphis Grizzlies
San Antonio Spurs 2-2 Golden State Warriors
