National Basketball Association Playoff Game Capsules
Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – LeBron James came within a missed foul shot of scoring 50 points in a playoff game for the first time in his career. It was a shot he didn’t take that proved to be the biggest for the Miami Heat. Boxed in by a double team, James gave the ball up and Chris Bosh knocked down a 3-pointer to give Miami the lead for good in a 102-96 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Heat took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Wednesday’s Game 5 in Miami. James scored 49 points, matching his career-high in the playoffs, and the Heat bounced back two days after having their eight-game postseason winning streak snapped on in a 104-90 loss on Saturday. The two-time defending champions led for most of the game, but never by more than nine points. It was tight down the stretch until Bosh’s 3-pointer with 57.3 seconds remaining broke a tie, sparking an 8-2 Miami run to end the game.
Final Score: Portland 103, San Antonio 92
Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) – The Portland Trail Blazers aren’t conceding anything yet. Damian Lillard had 25 points and five assists, LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 points and the Trail Blazers avoided elimination with a 103-92 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Lillard, who was 11-of-21, came in shooting just 37.5 percent in the series. After leading for just 33 seconds over the first three games, Portland used a big run during the middle stages of the third quarter to pull away in this one. The Blazers led throughout the second half. San Antonio had won the first three games of the set by a combined 56 points. Nicolas Batum tallied 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the Blazers, who built a lead as high as 20 in the fourth quarter. No NBA team has ever lost a best-of-seven playoff series after going up 3-0. The Blazers were the last team to take one to a seventh game, but lost to the Dallas Mavericks in a 2003 first-round series. Game 5 is Wednesday in San Antonio. Tony Parker was held to 14 points after going for at least 29 in three of his last four games. Tim Duncan had 12 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio, which is looking to head to the conference finals for a third consecutive season.
Categorized in: NBA