The Eastern Conference playoffs are underway, with six games having been played as of last night. Entering the postseason, it seemed either the Miami Heat or Philadelphia 76ers would advance to the finals. But with both teams experiencing some early trouble, nothing remains certain in the East.
Miami has taken a nosedive against the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets, who do not have an all-star on their roster, have manhandled the star-studded Heat so far, taking a commanding 2-0 series lead after consecutive 26-point victories.
Jamal Mashburn, traded from the Heat to the Hornets in the off-season, has been the catalyst for Charlotte, averaging a team-leading 25 points per game in the two contests.
Much like it did in Game One, Charlotte had a dominating third quarter in the second game, outscoring Miami 24-7. The Hornets have embarrassed the Heat by defeating them twice at Miami's American Airlines Arena and by handing the Heat their two largest defeats of the season.
Still, Alonzo Mourning, who recently returned to the Miami lineup after spending much of the season on the sideline with a kidney ailment, has said his team can win the final three games.
The story for the Philadelphia 76ers isn't quite as bleak, but Philly has to be concerned that it let a 16-point halftime lead slip through its fingers against an Indiana Pacers team that just barely slipped into the playoffs as the eighth seed. Reggie Miller, the Pacers' future hall of fame shooting guard, added another chapter to his book of playoff heroics on Saturday when he connected on a three pointer with 2.9 seconds remaining to give the Pacers a 79-78 win.
After Miller's shot, the 76ers had one last chance to win the game, but Miller managed to prevent Allen Iverson from getting a shot off. Before his game-winning basket, Miller had been suffering through a dismal shooting game, going 4-20 from the field prior to his last-second trey.
In a losing effort, 76ers center Dikembe Mutumbo scored 12 points while controlling the paint and nabbing 22 rebounds. Iverson had one of his worst games of the season, scoring a paltry 16 points on 7-19 shooting, with only three free throw attempts. Philadelphia is a one-dimensional team, as Iverson goes so go the 76ers. Philly simply has to get Iverson more open looks and to the foul line more often in game two.
The other two Eastern Conference playoff series have played out as expected so far with the higher-seeded New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks defeating the Toronto Raptors and the Orlando Magic, respectively. New York received strong performances from guard Allan Houston and forward Kurt Thomas. Houston led the Knicks with 23 points, while Thomas added 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Marcus Camby, the Knicks' undersized center, also had an outstanding game, grabbing 18 rebounds and contributing eight points in the Knicks' 92-85 Game One victory over Toronto.
The story of the game, however, was the grounding of "Air Canada" Vince Carter, who had another playoff contest he would like to forget. Carter shot only 5-22 and appeared rattled all game long.
Milwaukee, like the Knicks, held onto its home court advantage by defeating the Magic 103-90 in Game One.
The Bucks were able to win despite a horrid 17-52 shooting performance from their big three, Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, and Glenn Robinson.
Milwaukee's win can be attributed to the timely performance of forward Scott Williams, who scored 19 points and amassed a career-high 16 rebounds. The Bucks had their way with the Magic on the glass the whole night, winning the battle of the boards 59-42.
The Bucks won despite allowing the Magic's Tracy McGrady to explode for 33 points.
