At 8:30 last night, this was The Colosseum. The Celtics [team stats] and the crowd were the lions. The Magic - led by Dwight Howard, who came to the NBA directly from Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy - were the main course. One quarter and several bites later, the Celtics had a 27-12 lead and people were trying to hack into Paul Pierce [stats]’s Twitter account to order toe tags for the dinner guests.
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Of all our concerns heading into the 2009-2010 NBA playoffs (and let's be honest, there were plenty: KG's peg leg, Fat Boy Sheed, lack of chemistry, tuning out of the coach, old age, and finishing the last 34 games 17-17), my biggest concern was our home-court DISadvantage. I had no doubt that we would win a big game or two on the road.
But as soon as I got excited about that possibility, I quickly remembered the flip side of the equation: We stink at home. Crap, I would say to myself. We're screwed. But the "stink" has become "stunk," clearly a past tense, as I'm pretty sure we've put that demon to bed. Saturday night's utter destruction at the jungle is only the latest sign that the team playing basketball in the Hub over the last two weeks bears no resemblance to the one that roamed the hardwood from the day after Christmas until season's end.
So the excitement has returned.
And then some.
If we close out the Magic tonight, I will literally be drooling for the Finals to start against the Fakers, because that series will begin on the road. We never stopped being a good team on the road at any point during this year's campaign.
The Fakers and their fans certainly have to be a little worried about that.
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PHOENIX -- Amare Stoudemire had been criticized for just about everything: his defense, his rebounding, even his desire.
The Phoenix forward listened calmly all week, then responded with a monster game. Stoudemire attacked the Los Angeles Lakers relentlessly, matching his career playoff high with 42 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to power the Suns to a 118-109 victory Sunday night. The win sliced the Lakers' lead in the Western Conference finals to 2-1.
Adande: Gentry's Zone Delivers
After two games where the Suns' defense seemed non-existent, it was time to break out the zone, writes J.A. Adande. Story
• Daily Dime
• McMenamin: Lack of execution for L.A.
• Markazi: Dose of reality for L.A.
• Shelburne: Lopez surprising Suns
All that talk about a Lakers-Boston final has been put on hold. The Suns can pull even in the series with a victory at home in Game 4 on Tuesday night.
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