NBA Playoffs 2015: Top Scores and Highlights from Round 1 Bracket
Tuesday night featured two big-time clashes.
First up was the Houston Rockets visiting the Dallas Mavericks, and as expected, James Harden’s bunch closed out Big D in Game 5. The Mavs got their token win in Game 4, but that’s all they were ever really going to get.
Following the in-state clash was the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs duking it out for control of the series. The reigning champs came out on top in an absolute thriller.
Let’s look at some of the top numbers and highlights from Tuesday night.
Scores
| Houston def. Dallas 103-94 | 4-1 HOU |
| San Antonio def. Los Angeles 111-107 | 3-2 SAS |
Highlight: Chris Paul Lobs to DeAndre Jordan
Late in the third quarter, Clippers guard Chris Paul came up with a loose ball and darted down the floor when he realized that his big man was chugging along, too.
So, as he often does, CP3 lobbed up a treat for DeAndre Jordan, who took great pleasure in powering it home.
Clippers owner Steve Balmer was loving it. TNT’s Rachel Nichols had the tweet:
Paul went on to finish with 19 points and 10 dimes while DJ wound up with 21 points, 14 rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Despite his strong statistical showing, Jordan cost his team the lead with under five seconds to go. The center touched a Blake Griffin layup attempt while it was still on the tin, which wiped away the bucket and gave the ball back to San Antonio.
"It was a d*****s play,” Jordan said after the game, per Ben Bolch of the LA Times. “I hit the ball. ... You can't blame anybody for that but me."
Ouch.
Number: 16
Significance: Dallas’ bench points in Game 5
Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis showed up. What happen to the rest of the Mavs, though?
Devin Harris was the only non-starter to provide any semblance of a spark off of the bench, and as Grantland’s Zach Lowe pointed out, Dallas had no answer for Houston inside:
In Game 5, Dallas’ offense was far from “a beast.” The Mavericks hit just 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) from downtown and shot 38 percent from the field.
The Rockets were the better team on both ends entering this series, and it’s no surprise that they won as quickly as they did.
Stat: 85.3
Significance: Percentage of teams that win Game 5 and win the series
According to numberFire, history is on San Antonio’s side. Throughout history, teams that win Game 5 have gone 232-40 in seven-game series. That’s an 85.3 percent chance that San Antonio moves on.
The toughest part about this particular loss for Los Angeles is that, essentially, the game was won. Jordan’s interference wiped it away. Had he waited just an extra millisecond, the ball likely would’ve been away from the cylinder and in play.
This puts all of the pressure on LAC as the Spurs look to close out the series in Los Angeles Saturday.
Should the Clippers even the odds, we will get a Game 7, and then, we will all win.
According to ESPN.com’s Arash Markazi, the potential rubber match would take place Saturday at 9 p.m. ET if the Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks go the seven-game distance. If not, it will be at 8 p.m. ET:
Yes, that’s the same night as the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight, which is set to start at 11 p.m. ET. So there could be some overlap.
Choose wisely. Translation: Choose basketball.
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