NBA Playoff Update 4.25. 2007 [David Stefanini]

Three games were on the schedule for the 25th of April. The Mavs looked to fend off an 0-2 deficit, to a clearly inferior team. LeBron James and the Cavs looked to take care of their home court advantage; and the Nuggets looked to keep the upsets coming by beating the Spurs.

The Nuggets did not get their wish tonight. Tim Duncan and Manu Ganobli made crucial baskets late in the game and at key moments when Denver was making a run. In the 3rd quarter it looked as if this game was going to get out of hand and the Spurs were going to run away with it. However, the fire power of the two headed monster that is the Denver Nuggets would not let that happen. Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony took the Nuggets on a run to bring them within striking distance late in the 4th quarter. The Spurs then answered by going to their big guy, Tim Duncan, who made a turn around hook with under a minute to go to really put the game out of reach. If you are a Nuggets fan you should still be very happy. The team showed great heart in making this a contest even though they already accomplished their goal of winning a game at San Antonio. The Nuggets have proved they can play with the Spurs.

Even though LeBron James had trouble putting his entire weight on his bad ankle, the Cavs still had enough to beat the lonely Wizards. The Cavs should have no problem closing this series out in the next two games.

Lastly, the immature Golden State cry-babies, I mean Warriors, could not keep their cool and lost the game. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter they had some calls that weren't going in their favor, but instead of playing the game and forgetting about the calls they let the refs, get inside their heads. This would later prove to be their downfall. Baron Davis was mocking a referee for a good 30 seconds before the ref kicked him out of the game. My question is this, why did Don Nelson allow that? If my star player is on the verge of getting ejected in a game where I have a good chance at winning, I run over to him and pull him away. But that didn't happen. Once B-Diddy was kicked out the Warriors had no chance of staying with the Mavs. If the Warriors can keep their cool and show a little more maturity, they can make this a very competitive series. They will not win it, but if they act like adults they have a shot at pulling off another win.