Daily Sports Roundup: May 1st
Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Celts and Cavs meet on the hardwood, the Sprint Cup Series hits Richmond, and the Kentucky Derby runs for the roses.
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2009 NBA Finals Game 4 LA Lakers at Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic needed some motivation from the home crowd to get their swagger back and that is exactly what happened in Game 3 Tuesday night. The Magic down 2 games answered back with a strong offensive performance and was able to post 108 points to beat the Lakers by 4 points. Orlando impressively knocked down 62% as a team from the field marking their best all around effort thus far throughout the playoffs. Los Angeles played a solid game, but just didn’t have the spark they needed to capture the victory. The Lakers also were very strong from the floor knocking down 51% as a team. Neither team had over 30 rebounds in the game just to put on emphasis on how well both teams were shooting Tuesday night. However, now Orlando has some confidence back on their side and is hunger to grab another victory this Thursday night at home to even up the series.
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Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando Magic Game 3 Finals Pick
The Orlando Magic had a chance in the NBA Finals to make the Los Angeles Lakers sweat and it remains to be seen if they get another one. Courtney Lee missed a layup with less than a second remaining in Game 2 and the Magic ended up losing Game 2 in overtime. Now the series shifts to Orlando where the Magic face a must-win Game 3 on Tuesday.
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Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets Game 6 Pick
The Los Angeles Lakers will try and close out the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday. The Nuggets have outplayed the Lakers for the most part in this series but at critical times they have made mistakes and they trail three games to two. “For most of the series, we outplayed them for most stretches of the game,” Denver’s Chauncey Billups said. “We just couldn’t get over the hump in the fourth quarter in a few different situations.”
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Denver Nuggets at Dallas Mavericks Game 4
The Dallas Mavericks will try and avoid elimination on Monday night as they host the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinal series. The Mavericks probably should only be down 2-1 in this series but a bad call by the referees allowed Denver’s Carmelo Anthony to get away a 3-point shot that he hit to win Game 3 by a score of 106-105 on Saturday.
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Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers Game 2
The Cleveland Cavaliers will try and take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday. The Cavaliers are heavily favored to win Game 2 considering they have only lost two games at home all season. Cleveland has been rolling throughout the playoffs so far, winning all five of their games by double-digits.
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Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics have put together possibly one of the best opening round playoff series in history. Tuesday night’s game was just another example of how exciting the last 5 games have been. The Celtics and the Bulls went into overtime for the 3rd time in 5 games and it was the 4th game that the margin of victory has been 3 points or less. The basketball slugfest has become the first series in postseason history to have 3 overtimes. Late in the 4th quarter in Tuesday night’s game the Bulls were faced with an inbounds play with less than 10 seconds remaining. Chicago Coach Vinny Del Negro drew up a perfect play which allowed Brad Miller to roll towards the basket wide open and seemed to have an easy two point lay-up. However, Miller was fouled rather hard by Boston guard Rajon Rondo. After review of the play, the foul could have easily been called intentional as Rondo’s hand came across Miller’s face leaving him with a mouth full of blood. Miller went on to miss both free throws even though the 2nd miss was on purpose and Boston got the rebound which gave them a 3-2 lead in the series. The Bulls now have their back against the wall, but judging how well they have played it would be surprising if this series does not see a Game 7.
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Philadelphia at Orlando
The Philadelphia 76ers overcame a 18 point deficit in the opening game of their postseason playoff appearance against the Orlando Magic to score a dramatic upset victory. The 76ers were 10 point underdogs heading into the event and it quickly looked like Orlando may have been a bit too powerful. However, Andre Iguodala and company led a fierce comeback in the 4th quarter with Iguodala draining the game winning bucket with just less than 3 seconds to play in the game. The victory was the first for the 76ers over the Magic this season considering Orlando won the previous 3 regular season match-ups. Orlando will look to rebound on Wednesday night as they get Game 2 at home as well as they seek to even up the series. Similar to the first game Orlando will be again 10 point favorites in the contest, but hopefully it will be another hard fought exciting grudge match.
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NBA Playoff Outlook
The Utah Jazz will step up to the plate to give their best effort at taking down the huge favorites in the Los Angeles Lakers in game 1 this Sunday. The Lakers handled the Jazz fairly convincingly in their 125-112 victory in the last game of the regular season. Andrew Bynum scored 22 points in his biggest game back since the knee injury. The Lakers have been more than dominant all season against Western Conference Teams and it will be interesting to see if the trend continues. Utah has been anything but stellar down the stretch losing 7 of their last 9 games to carry them into the post season. The Jazz did beat the Lakers back in February and will attempt to find a way to get the job done again. Deron Williams has carried the team all season with 20 points per game while star Carlos Boozer has been unexpectedly inconsistent in recent weeks.
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Miami Heat at Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat currently hold down the number 4 and 5 positions in the Eastern Conference with only two more days left in the regular season. The two teams will also finish in their respected places in the East meaning only one thing; they will meet in the playoffs in the opening round for a best of 5 series. Atlanta has gotten the best of Miami so far this season winning two of the three previous meetings. The Hawks have also won their last 3 games heading into the showdown with the Heat. The question is with this being nearly the final game of the season will these two teams throw down for all its worth or take it rather lightly giving their best shot when it matters the most in the playoffs. Miami has slid in the wrong direction over the past few weeks. The Heat have now lost 9 of their last 15 games to close out the season and desperately need to get things back on track in time for the post-season.
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