Thrilling NBA Conference championship playoffs on

By Al S. Mendoza

 

THE Finals of both the Western and Eastern Conference series of the National Basketball Association (NBA) are on.

It is Miami and Boston battling in the East and the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets tangling in the West in the so-called NBA Bubble unleashed on July 31 at the Walt Disney complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

The Celtics of Boston and the Heat of Miami meet in Game 3 today (Sept. 20) of their best-of-seven East championship.

As I write this, Game 2 was being played—with Miami hoping to duplicate its come-from-behind 117-114 Game 1 victory over Boston on Wednesday in an overtime thriller.

The Celtics blew a 14-point lead and then missed victory when Jason Tatum flubbed the second of his two free throws with mere ticks left for a 106-all score in regulation.

Tatum was blocked by Bam Adebayo in overtime while trying to forge a 116-116 deadlock before Adebayo ended scoring with a split at the line 117-114.

With 2.3 seconds left, Tatum missed a desperate three that would have sent the game to a second overtime.

In the West series, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets play their Game 2 on Monday (Sept. 21).

They were playing Game 1 as we went to press, with the Lakers tipped to win that one despite the Nuggets’ growing myth of invincibility.

Denver entered the Western Finals in grand style, if not in mythical fashion.

Down 1-3 against the Utah Jazz in the first-round playoffs, the Nuggets rallied to snatch an improbable 4-3 victory.

Down 1-3 again against the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers in the second round, the Nuggets rose from the grave to steal a 4-3 victory anew.

That made Denver the first team in NBA history to win back-to-back victories by rallying from 1-3 twice in the playoffs.

Denver scored a major upset of shocking proportions as the Clippers boasted of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, whose partnership is considered one of the most lethal in the current NBA season.

But Denver’s defense deflected almost every offensive launched by George and Leonard in Wednesday’s Game 7, resulting in the Nuggets’ unexpected 104-89 victory over the Clippers fancied to even win this year’s crown.

Typifying Denver’s chocking defense was the puny points recorded in Game 7 by George and Leonard, whose average points per game hovered between 25 and 30 points.

But this time, George only managed 10 points and Leonard 14, which tied their series low outputs in a playoff.

Credit is largely through Denver’s stifling defense, which challenged every shot the Clippers fired almost every step of the way.

Indeed, in almost every battle, defense is the best offense.

But can Denver’s defense defeat LeBron James and the Lakers?

I doubt.

James has been that dominant all-season that is why he has practically rewrote all records in the NBA.

He is the reason why the Lakers have snapped a playoffs drought for seven straight seasons, fired up basically also by his dream of winning his first championship ring in the West after winning three rings in the East—two with Miami and one with Cleveland.

And with Anthony Davis backing James, the Lakers beating Denver is almost a done deal.

Cross my heart.

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