The NBA playoffs standings has the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls looking for a 3-2 series lead with Game 5 on Tuesday night and the Cavs will try and win on their home floor after LeBron James hit the winning shot at the buzzer over the weekend and this comes as the LA Clippers have a 3-1 advantage over the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles can clinch with a win in Houston.
--UPDATE: The Cavaliers have won over the Bulls to take the 3-2 series lead. UPDATE II: The Rockets won over the Clippers for a 3-2 series with LA in the lead.
The Cavaliers are looking to win two in a row in the series to take a 3-2 lead, while the Clippers come in after a big win against the Rockets at home. LeBron James has not been shooting all that great percentage wise in the playoffs, but he hit the biggest shot in Game 4, winning the game at the buzzer for the Cavs. That shot answered what Derrick Rose did in the previous game and now with the series tied 2-2, the matchup is the best of three games.
James scored 25 points and had a strong game against the Bulls, adding 14 rebounds and eight assists in the matchup. Derrick Rose played well and had 31 points and four assists and he has the chance to be the hero if he can lead his team to a win from 2-2 in the series. Joakim Noah stepped up with 15 rebounds with Pau Gasol out and he will be needed in the next three games for Chicago to pull through.
The Cavaliers won the game on a shot from the wing from James and that came after a couple bad plays from the Cavs to keep the game close. James committed a bad offensive foul down the stretch and that allowed the Bulls to tie the game and he went in for a final layup, but he was denied by the Bulls defense. The Bulls knocked the ball out of bounds and that allowed James to step in for the final play.
James revealed that he scratched the final play when David Blatt had him as the inbounds man, instead asking for the ball. That was not the only mistake by Blatt during the game, as he tried to call a timeout late when the team did not have any and that could have resulted in a technical. Luckily Blatt was restrained by Tyronne Lue and that kept the Cavs in the game and James finished things off with a winning shot.
The Clippers blew out the Rockets, getting 26 points and 12 rebounds from DeAndre Jordan and 12 assists from Chris Paul. James harden gave a strong effort, scoring 21 points, with eight rebounds and six assists. The Clips now can clinch with one more win.
Two of the final three matchups will be in Cleveland and that could be enough of an advantage for the Cavaliers. Both teams are dealing with injuries, as Kevin Love has been out all series, while Pau Gasol has missed time and Kyrie Irving is banged up. James is not 100 percent and he comes in looking to have another strong game after hitting the winning jump shot over Jimmy Butler, who has outplayed James at times in this series.
Check here for the NBA playoffs standings
