The Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies are on their way to the conference finals after winning their series Wednesday evening. The Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls, while the Grizzlies put away the defending Western Conference Champion, Oklahoma City Thunder. With these eliminations, the NBA Playoff standings have taken a huge hit as two teams have been dropped from contention.
The Heat locked up their second round matchup after defeating the Chicago Bulls 94-91 in a game that was closer than many expected after what took place in the first few minutes of the game. The Heat took a huge 22-4 lead to start the game. The Bulls, tough as nails, gave the Heat a fight until the end.
Chicago had a chance to tie the game with 26 seconds left. Nate Robinson chugged up a three and missed. The Bulls grabbed the offensive board, looked for a great shot, but Jimmy Butler had to settle for a three, which he missed completely as the ball then landed in Richard Hamilton's hands, but he seemed bewildered as there were only two seconds left on the clock.
Rip Hamilton had 15 points, Robinson added 21 while Butler had 19. Carlos boozer led the way with 25, but Joakim Noah and Marco Belinelli only had three points each.
LeBron James finished with 23, Dwyane Wade, who supposedly had a bad knee, answered with 18 points and the Heat bench added 31 points.
Over in the West, the Grizzlies and Thunder were caught up in another close matchup though there were points where the score got out of hand. The Thunder began knocking down shots as the Grizzlies seemed to get lazy late in quarters after having big leads. The Grizzlies, however, buckled down and won Game 5, 88-84.
Kevin Durant missed the game-tying jumper with about six seconds remaining in the game. Tony Allen then went to the line and iced it hitting two shots. Reggie Jackson ran it up and couldn't hit the three and the Thunder's season came to an end.
For the Thunder, it seems a lot like last year's elimination. They won Game 1 in the Finals and then lost four in a row. The Grizzlies made this one look like their first round matchup as they won four in a row to advance to the following round. For the first time in their history, they will play in the Western Conference Finals
The Grizzlies took a 50-38 lead at halftime. Randolph was unstoppable in the first half, being the difference between the Thunder trailing early in the game. He scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the first 24 minutes of the game.
Another key early on for the Grizzlies, second chance points as they had six offensive rebounds and nine points off these second chance points. The Thunder had seven offensive rebounds, but they only scored six points off these opportunities.
The Thunder had trouble making shots and they were desperately looking for offense out of somebody else aside from Durant. So much so, they let Derek Fisher shoot whenever he was open. However, as the Grizzlies were within reach, Fisher took three open threes and missed them all. The Thunder lead early on in this game, but with 10:24 left in the second quarter, the Grizzlies tied the game and never looked back taking a 64-62 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Grizzlies seemed to have slacked off in the third quarter as they squandered a double-digit lead as the Thunder chipped away and closed it off on a 16-4 run. The Grizzlies made poor shooting decisions and the Thunder made them pay. However, in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies started things off on a 10-2 run to regain their comfortable lead.
Kevin Durant finished with 21 points as the Grizzlies consistently double teamed the Thunder's forward and once again, nobody stepped up to help.
Here's what the 2013 NBA Playoff Standings look following the elimination of the Thunder and Bulls:
Miami Heat Win Series 4-1 vs. Chicago Bulls
New York Knicks 1-3 Indiana Pacers
Memphis Grizzlies Win Series 4-1 vs. OKC Thunder
San Antonio Spurs 3-2 Golden State Warriors
