NBA Playoffs 2010: LA Lakers vs. Boston Celtics
The much anticipated NBA playoffs of 2010 have begun with Cleveland Cavaliers grasping on to the top seed in the Eastern Conference and as always, the notorious Los Angeles Lakers have been seeded at the top in the Western Conference followed by the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns. In the first round, the Los Angeles Lakers beat Oklahoma City with a score of 4-2. The game ended by Pau Gasol’s layup by grabbing the rebound that Kobe missed.
Taking Los Angeles Lakers to the Conference Semi-finals against Utah Jazz, who beat Denver nuggets by 4-2, was a great disappointment for the Denver Nuggets as their star player Carmelo Anthony worked hard and kept an astounding 28 PPG (Points per Game). It was a shining moment for Deron Williams from Utah Jazz, who made a record in these playoff’s series by scoring 30 points and 10 or more assists in five straight games in NBA history.
The Conference semi-final between L.A. Lakers and Jazz was over even before it started; Lakers beat Jazz without any problem with the final score of 4-0. The L.A Lakers have made it to the Conference final and will play against the Phoenix Suns.
Meanwhile, the first round between San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks was quite enticing. Although the Dallas team came into the tournament strongly, but with each passing game, the Spurs took the first series without any problems.
Conference semi-final between San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns which turned into a breathtaking match as the Spurs were massacred by Phoenix Suns; resulting in 4-0 with Steve Nash assisting Jason Richardson throughout the end of the series, taking Phoenix Suns into Conference Finals Against L.A Lakers.
From the Eastern conference side Cleveland Cavaliers started this year’s playoffs strongly and won from Chicago Bulls with a score of 4-1. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah were key players for the Chicago Bulls who gave Cleveland a hard time.
In the first round between Boston Celtics and Miami Heat kept everyone of the seat as Dwyane Walde from Miami Heat gave the performance of his life by 33.4 PPG but sadly Boston Celtics won from Miami Heat by 4-1 in the first round, taking them to Conference semi-finals which they played against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cleveland deplorably lost to the Celtics and Lebron James was criticized for his poor performance especially in Game 5 of the series in which he only scored 15 points. Boston will now play against Orlando Magic’s in the Conference Finals. The Magic’s beating Charlotte Bobcats by 4-0 in the first round. They went ahead to beat Atlanta Hawks in the semi-finals by 4-0 – a team that had beaten the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round by 4-3.
In the Conference Finals, Boston beat Orlando by 4-2 which was quite a shock as Orlando had been very consistent throughout their previous matchups and was on a roll. They came into the match by beating Charlotte Bobcats by 4-0 and Atlanta Hawks by 4-0 as well. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns were eliminated by the L.A. Lakers with a final score of 4-2, which did not come as a surprise because Lakers obviously had the edge by winning the first game.
The NBA Finals was one of the most exciting finals between the two teams; L.A. Lakers vs. Boston Celtics, facing each other for the 12th time in the finals. Knowing the age-old rivalry between the two teams, the team kept the audience on the edge because anything could happen. For Celtic supporters, it was indeed a sad day as the current defending champions L.A Lakers swept Boston Celtics in game 7 by 4-3, winning their 16th title in NBA Championship. This is the 2nd time that the Lakers have won in a row and advanced for the 3rd time in the Finals. Kobe Bryant earned the MVP title again this year, which was no shocker as he insured the team remained consistent throughout the playoffs. The game ended classically; gold and purple confetti fell from the staple centre while Kobe circled the court in joy.
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