Tweeting the NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals, Game Three

Missed game two because I watched it at a bar. Didn't trust myself with computers and beer.

Anyway, here's three Hours of pure, hardcore NBA, 140 characters at a time.

Pregame

–No surprises yet, still talking about LeBron’s shot

–I lied, Craig Sager’s shiny, pink suit is a surprise

–Can I even describe his suit in 140 words?  I don’t think so

–Wow, just learned that Rashard is straight out of High School

–SVG is a “sensitive guy.”  Sensitive to pressure, panic attacks, random bouts of Redickness, etc.

–Anyone who’s read the first two tweeticles, Over/under on 8 SVG panic alerts/ JJ Redick bashes tonight?

–I realize both SVG and JJ did well in game two, but they’re not Mickey Rourke.  One good performance can’t override the bad

–Hedo Turkoglu is the MJ of Turkey. Craig Sager is the Rodman of uppity white people.

First Quarter

11:07– Cavs get 3 shots, miss them all

11:00– 3 bounces off the rim and in. 1 for Howard, and we’re off!

10:44– ultra late whistle on Howard.  “What’s that, LeBron shot it and missed? FOUL!” –Signed, refs

10:30– Dwight doin’ work down low tonight. 3–2 Dwight vs LeBron

9:53– Alston 3.  No longer the Orlando Dwights

9:21– Does Howard have a Clark Kent alter ego? It seems like he shows up every other game (He’s Superman tonight)

8:53– Superman dunk!  Magic 9– Lebrons 2

7:53– Ben Wallace out of nowhere for 2.  Can’t call them the LeBrons anymore

7:05– The Magic didn’t start slow tonight. If they stay hot for a quarter, the Cavs are in trouble

6:41– Dwight’s second foul. Too soon.

6:09– The rims are rigged toward the Magic. All kinds of things are falling in right now. 16–6 Magic

6:09– Howard, Alston and Lewis have all 16 Magic points.  Hedo’s taken the only other shot. Magic 6/7 from the field

6:09– Sager reporting on Vander Weide’s lucky, scorpion socks

5:16– Vintage LeBron drive.  Gortat ran out of the way scared.

4:44– ‘Bron with a 3. 18–13 Magic

3:32– Magic missed Dwight down low on that inbound. Lewis under the rim, but he wasn’t big enough to barrel through Big Z

2:48– James with a HUGE, chase–down block on the fast break. Lee will dunk that next time.

2:35– Alston’s 5/5 with 11 points

1:30– Courtney Lee joins the Magic’s scoring club.

1:07– Alston forgot Gortat is not Howard. Went for an alley–oop, Gortat didn’t know what to do and he let it fly over

:28.4– Gortat with a manly block on James.  LeBron knew it too.

:00.0– LeBron does not hit the buzzer beater.

Second Quarter

12:00– Sager’s interviewing Mike Brown.  His suit is literally reflecting pink onto Brown’s head and shirt. Only in HD

11:34– Pietrus with a travel.  He had the fast break too.

11:02– Howard and Gortat on the floor. Interesting, huge lineup

10:06– SVG timeout. Hopefully he’ll think of something outside of giving LeBron rest. 24–21 Magic

10:06– SVG looks like an oompa–loompa when he’s crouched down in a huddle.

9:32– Sticking with the Gortat–Howard combo. So far, no points.

8:44– Pietrus ends 4 minutes of Magic silence with a 3.

8:29– Magic were –6 with LeBron on the bench.  Not good

8:17– Magic are +2 with him in during the second quarter. Good

7:27– Dwight picks up foul No. 3.  All 3 have been LeBron caused

7:27– Gortat back in.  He’s going to finish the quarter unless something bad happens

6:31– Mo Williams with a 3. Cavs within 1.

6:02– Pietrus doesn’t have the hot hand tonight

5:54– Cavs lead after a LeBron layup

5:44– Commercials so I can look at stats. Right now, 17 of the Magic’s 29 points are on the bench (Alston and Howard)

5:44– TNT’s holding in–season milestones. This is the 40th, telecast playoff game, this year. Color me apathetic.

5:44– Didn’t catch that Anthony Johnson went Lyoto Machida on Mo Williams with that elbow

5:44– Playoffs: Where cage fighting happens!

5:30– After some free throws and a Mo Williams swollen face, James turned this back into a basketball game with a quick drive

5:22– Magic are –14 with Howard on the bench

4:43– Gortat with his 2nd foul.  Big Z shooting. Cavs by 3.

3:52– James got back down–court in 2 seconds following a Pietrus layup and forced a foul. Cavs by 3 after his FTs.

3:09– Ilgauskas misses his one 3pt’er of the game. I’m not sure why he takes them

3:00– Orlando back on top with a Lewis dunk!

2:04– Hedo’s ice cold right now.

1:41– Bad pass No. 235 for the Magic tonight. Where did the ridiculously long lob pass come from? Who drew that up?

1:27– A Boobie sighting! Daniel Gibson’s in for the first time since ’07! Sorry, I had to do it

1:14– Gortat blocks James again!

:30.7– James tries to get revenge on Gortat, but he goal–tends. Magic by 1

:7.5– James with a rare air–ball

:2.8– Gortat to the line on a Mo Williams foul. If he makes both, free tacos?

:2.8– It’s a safe bet, Taco Bell, you should take it (he missed both).

:0.0– No buzzer beaters tonight. 42–41, Magic.

Halftime

–Ridiculous stat of the half. Hedo’s 0/5 with 5 points. He’s hit 5 FTs but can’t hit a shot?

–What the hell is that awful, space music playing the NBA on TNT theme? Craig Sager’s 2009: A Playoff Odyssey?

–Reggie Miller saving TNT a fine? Barkley says the refs suck, and I agree.

–Miller’s commentary isn’t very good, maybe he doesn’t want to open the door to a Joey Crawford blog bashing

–Chuck’s secret pre–game ritual? Minibar M&Ms. What’s worse the gambling or shelling out $2.50 a pack for 12 M&Ms?

–Chuck got kicked off air mid–sentence. TNT switched to a T-Mobile halftime screen then to commercial. What’d he say?

Third Quarter

12:00– Alston, Lee, Turkoglu, Howard, Lewis on the floor to start

11:17– Howard making the most of his limited minutes tonight. And 1 opportunity

10:20– Turkoglu with a stupid foul.  Tapped LeBron on the head. Barely a touch foul, but he should have known better

10:19– Cavs get the ball after a deflection out of bounds on the missed FT

10:07– Bron with the layup, Magic by 1.

9:16– When Howard gets the ball inside of the restricted area, its over. He rebounds on either side, and he’ll draw a foul

9:15– Howard ties it with a layup (missed an update) and goes up with the second

8:51– Dwight with 2 more. When he’s in, the Magic are a different, tougher team

8:21– Courtney Lee for 3! Magic by 6

7:52– Lee dunks on this fast break. LeBron tried to block it but couldn’t.

7:22– Dwight draws another foul. He’s terrorizing the Cavs down low

6:52– Dwight on the alley–oop! Gortat, take notes

6:14– Howard throws a late elbow.  Didn’t connect with anyone, luckily

6:08– Karma police call 3 seconds on Howard. Cavs ball

5:50– Alston with a nice steal. Varejao’s 4th foul, and he’s coming out. 60–53, Magic

5:28– Alston cracking up after trying to save out of bounds off of Lewis’ foot. He thought it was Ben Wallace

5:05– LeBron huge alley–oop! He’s got a quiet 25 points (is that even possible?)

4:46– Turkoglu continues his FTs only streak. Can he get 10 before making his first jumper?

4:27– Foul on Wallace, Howard to the line again (he’s hitting them). Team’s +18 with Howard on the floor 63–55, Magic.

3:52– Ben Wallace with another foul. He’s got 3. Magic by 8 after FTs

3:41– West is heating up. Cavs still looking cold

3:01– Pietrus block on West

2:49– Howard with his 4th foul. He’ll sit

2:50– Put a second back on the clock, I guess. Howard got a tech

1:49– James stole the ball out of Lewis’ hands. Not a dribble, just holding on to it, and James gets it.

:48.0– Pietrus and one off of a fast break. Orlando by 6. FT pending

:48– Orlando by 7

:25– Pietrus with his second travel of the night. He picks the ball up way too early

:0.5– Bron’s buzzer beater layup! Magic by 5. He’s now got a buzzer beater for every quarter in the playoffs

Fourth Quarter

–Panic Van Gundy hasn’t surfaced since Game one's postgame conference. Hopefully he can stay hidden far away

12:00– Gortat, Pietrus, Turkoglu, Alston, Lee

11:03– Pietrus with an unbelievable rebound. He snuck in over everyone’s head and quick passed, then maneuvered his way around a very stationary Joe Smith

10:05– Turkoglu 0/7

9:30– Both teams are counting down. LeBron’s sitting to get rest, howard’s sitting to save fouls.

9:27– And they’re both back in. Good move by SVG, negating the LeBron morale boost by sending Howard in

9:11– Pietrus mauled by West.

8:32– Rashard Lewis with a huge 3. Magic by 9. Good, inside out offense.

7:38– Pietrus is having a hard time from beyond the arc.

7:14– West with his 5th foul. Pavlovich coming in. This is bigger than everyone may realize.

7:01– Pietrus with a nice drive. Magic by 7

6:41– LeBron barrels through Howard. Howard’s lucky he didn’t pick up a foul

6:08– Howard’s having a quietly dominant night. He just picked up his 7th rebound

6:03– Hedo’s got 9 and is 0/7 from the field. One more driving foul!

5:31– Hedo drives! Ahhh, he missed, no foul

5:28– LeBron fouls Howard, TO. Magic by 5. FTs pending

5:28– Howard hits them both! Magic by 7

5:19– Howard lucks out of another foul. That’s the third time this quarter that he’s been in the middle of a call and come away clean.

4:57– Howard’s performance tonight, on both ends, has been dominant. Won’t be the biggest game, but it matters the most

4:57– Howard just ruined an 8 FT streak, 9/13 tonight, and 19 points. Not sexy, but he’s affecting the game.

4:40– Howard keeps his cool and avoids his second tech. Varejao’s 5th PF as a result.

4:40– If you told me over half of Dwight’s points would come from the line and he’d shoot 73% I’d have laughed

4:14– James and Alston trade 3s. 87–79, Magic

3:38– Turkoglu breaks his FG–less streak. Hedo Drinking game over. Magic by 8.

3:03– James is keeping this interesting. He’s not having a good game, but 35 points is enough to keep it close

2:43– Varejao fouls out. Howard to the line again

2:43– If Kobe and LeBron get knocked out, can we create a muppet curse?

2:43– Howard’s shooting 70.6% from the line. If he shoots 50% or worse, the Cavs are up right now.

2:33– Dwight picks up No. 5, Cavs down 4. He can't foul out right now, he's the offense!

2:17– Make that 73.7%. Clutch performance of his life

2:10– LeBron misses a wide open 3. How does LeBron get a wide open 3 with 2 minutes to go?

2:00– LeBron misses both FTs. He’s now shooting a lower % than Howard. Bizarro playoffs: where all kinds of **** happens

1:08– Ilgauskas fouls out. A tie means LeBron’s the only Cav left?

1:08– Rashard misses his Tech FT. Should have given it to the hot hand, Howard?

1:08– Pietrus not missing his FTs, Magic by 8

:36.1– Howard fouls out. Terrible call. That was a textbook block. Playoffs: Where the officials suck… happens

:36.1– James gets 3 FTs. 41 points on 11/26 shooting

:34.8– Rashard rebounds, then redeems his tech FT but misses the second.

:18.8– A collection of Cavs misses and Turkoglu ends up on the line following a rebound. He’s 92% FTs and 9% from the field.

:18.8– TO, Cavs. 97– 89, Magic.

:14.4– Pietrus stepping up on defense. Huge block on LeBron. Now he gets FTs.

:14.4– Story of this game: LeBron’s 41 point game that didn’t feel like a 41 point game. He’s 11/28.

:14.4– He also nearly had a triple double. What a crazy, upsidedownface night.

:09– A Gortat rebound seals the game. Magic up 2–1, and keeping the home court!

:00– And it’s official 99–89 Magic. Howard with 24 points, 14 from the line. Bron gets 41/7/9 to put his PER around 1 billion