WESTERN CONFERENCE — Spurs vs OKC

Spurs take commanding lead

The Spurs are up 2-0 after comprehensive victories over the Thunder who have been missing Serge Ibaka’s defensive presence, looking out of their depth in the face of San Antonio’s high basketball IQ, ball movement and bench contribution.

OKC supporters would have been mighty pleased to see Ibaka’s return status changed to day-to-day. In Game 1 Tim Duncan exploited the Ibaka-less paint, going for 27 points and seven rebounds as the Spurs claimed a 17-point 122-105 win. The Spurs came out quickly, starting the first quarter with a 18-7 lead, however the Thunder stormed back in the second, with their own 17-8 run.

From then on it was downhill for OKC though, as their smaller line-up was exploited by the Spurs. It was a similar story in Game 2 as the Spurs used a 22-8 run in the second quarter as well as a 18-6 third quarter spell to launch themselves to a 112-77 win.

Tony Parker led his team with 22 points and five assists as the bench contributed 42 points, uncharacteristically less than their opponents’ 43. This really was more of a testament to poor, uncoordinated showing from OKC’s starters however, including Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.

EASTERN CONFERENCE — Pacers vs Heat

Unstoppable force, immovable object in East

The Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat have so far cancelled each other out, going into Saturday’s Game 3 match-up with the series tied at 1-1.

Game 1 saw the Pacers having the supremacy, 107-96, on the back of an all-round effort that saw six players in double figures, led by Paul George who had 24.

Erik Spoelstra’s small starting line-up saw the Pacers bully their way to a 20-10 lead to start the game, before a 14-4 run in the third, which saw the score at 72-54 paving the way, for a reasonably comfortable victory.

The Heat were back in a much closer Game 2, however, as Dwayne Wade and LeBron James combined for 22 points in the fourth quarter alone to lead their team to an 87-83 leveller. This combination saw a Pacers lead wiped out in just the last five minutes as the Miami stars showed their quality.

Game 3 saw the Miami Heat take a 2-1 lead, as LeBron James recovered from a poor start to lead his team to a 99-87 win. Veteran Ray Allen was the star down the stretch as he scored all four of his three-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Heat pull away for a convincing win.