WESTERN CONFERENCE

IT was of little surprise to many. In fact, the only thing delaying the inevitable was time. But time is no longer a factor and LeBron ‘King’ James of the Miami Heat was officially crowned 2012-2013 league MVP. He has been in dominant mood all season, leading his team to a league best record that included a franchise-best run of 27 games unbeaten.

After ending their first-round match-up with the Milwaukee Bucks almost a week ahead of the rest of the conference, they were forced to wait for their second-round opponent but eventually it was decided that their opposition would be the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls pulled off a major upset against the Brooklyn Nets defeating them 4-3 in the best-of-seven series. Short-handed for much of the season and the play-offs with key and untimely injuries, Joakim Noah contributed 24 points and a career-best six blocks to give his team a 99-93 win in Brooklyn.

The Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks both got by their opponents 4-2 in the opening round of the play-offs, but it was Indiana who took the edge in the first game of the second round.

It was an overall team performance for the Pacers, evident in David West being their top scorer with 20 points, however, that did not matter much for the 102-95 victory.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Durant reign continues

RUSSELL Westbrook may be out injured for the rest of the season, but Kevin Durant continues to show the West and the league that the Oklahoma City Thunder is his team to lead.

After averaging over 30 points in the six-game series against James Harden and the Houston Rockets, Durant put together 35 points, 15 rebounds and six assists to lead the Thunder to a 93-91 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first game of their second-round match-up.

The Grizzlies fought their way past the Los Angeles Clippers 4-2, after trailing 2-0 in the series much through the efforts of their dominant trio Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley. Getting by CP3 was a tough obstacle, but getting by Kevin Durant in the form he is in may take a lot more willpower and effort.

The San Antonio Spurs easily brushed aside the LA Lakers 4-0 in their series and were sitting prettily waiting on their second-round opponents. Though many expected it to be the Denver Nuggets, Steph Curry and company had other ideas in mind and ran out 4-2 series winners. In the decider, the Golden State Warriors battled from a double-digit deficit to clinch the series with a 92-88 victory.

Curry led the charge with a huge third quarter that involved 14 points (four three-pointers) and three assists. He is rapidly becoming a superstar in the making and his exploits in his very first play-off series serve as proof.