Three Ball: LA Pounded, 76ers Top C’s, Flop City?

May 15, 2012 9:21 am 0 comments

OKC Destroy Lakers behind Durant and Westbrook:

Backdoor cuts, downtown daggers, alley-oops. The Thunder took anything they wanted against the Lakers in a game that has to concern fans of the Purple and Gold. After falling into a hole during the 3rd quarter LA looked disenchanted, allowing easy buckets on every OKC trip down the floor. Westbrook had 27pts and Durant added 25pts as the Thunder combined to shoot 53% on the game. Four Lakers scored in double figures (led by Kobe and Bynum who had 20pts each) but they couldn’t get any production from their bench and their overall lacklustre effort will have Mike Brown scratching his head before Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Boston can’t execute, drop one at home to Philly:

For the second time in this series, it looked like Philadelphia was going to throw away a 10pt 4th quarter lead to the experienced Celtics. But some clutch shots from Evan Turner and a strong game from Jrue Holiday (18pts) ensured Philly returned home with the series tied.

”We just found a way. All season long we couldn’t win these games and now our guys are believing they can do it. And it is pretty special to watch.”

- Doug Collins

One of the Sixers’ biggest worries coming into the post-season was their inability to get the line (they ranked dead last in the regular season in FTA) however it was the Celtics who couldn’t get any home cooking in this one. Philly knocked down 15 of their 21 charity shots but Boston only made 9 trips to the line all game and couldn’t close the Sixers out.

Stern in a flap over flops:

In the wake of criticism from Lionel Hollins and Frank Vogel about perceived ‘flopping’ by NBA stars and teams, commissioner David Stern has gone on record to condemn the practise, saying:

“I think it’s time to look at (flopping) in a more serious way because it’s only designed to fool the referee. It’s not a legitimate play in my judgment. I recognize if there’s contact (you) move a little bit, but some of this is acting. We should give out Oscars rather than MVP trophies.”

It will be interesting to see if officials start clamping down on ‘flopping’ as it’s never been a problem in basketball as it has been recently in football.

Surprised by the Lakers’ downfall? Think Boston can still get it done? Ever been whistled for a flop?? Hit us up in the comments!