LeBron Closes Out The Knicks; The Clippers Get Destroyed

Say what you want about Carmelo Anthony, but at least he competed. At the end of five games, he finished with the same number of point as LeBron James. The only problem was ‘Bron had four wins and he only had one. The Heat are moving on and the Knicks are going home after Miami put out the flames rather easily, 106-94. Miami and New York went the way we predicted: the Heat and LeBron James were just too good while Carmelo Anthony could do nothing outside of compete hard. Early on, neither team could get it down, and at one point in the first quarter, Mike Miller and Mike Bibby lead both teams in scoring. That should never happen. Carmelo played point forward quite a bit early on, and eventually it led to a 7-5 New York lead. Everyone was flopping and sliding like a Survivor Challenge and yet it didn’t matter because Bibby (at the end of the first quarter, Bibby was on pace 32 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Too bad it was the quarter of his life.) hit a couple of long shots, and then a triple after ‘Bron had a crazy block on Tyson Chandler at the rim … LeBron had five dimes in the first quarter as the Heat staked themselves to an early lead, but by the end of the game he had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists … The Heat went on a 14-2 run in the first half to give themselves some breathing room, and then Miller hit back-to-back threes in the second quarter as the first half closed. All of this was on Mike Woodson‘s defense, who probably could’ve been both the defensive coach of the year of the first half of the season, and then coach of the year the second half. Dwyane Wade hit back-to-back crazy shots in the second quarter to open it up, hitting a fallaway on the baseline and then a wild three-point play in the lane. From there it was never close … Anthony had 35 points and eight rebounds, but it was never enough because J.R. Smith once again couldn’t make a shot (3-for-15 overall… he was 11-48 over the series last three games) … Keep reading to hear how Memphis made the Clippers bleed …

Chris Paul and the Clippers might still be up in the series, but don’t tell that to the Grizzlies. They feel like they’re in the driver’s seat, especially after giving away a few games at the start of the series. Memphis destroyed L.A. inside during their 12-point Game 5 win last night, and now are sending the series back to Los Angeles at 3-2. CP3 was hobbling by the end of the night; Blake Griffin was limping to the bench twice, including once where he grabbed the knee that cost him his rookie season. Everyone outside of the Grizzlies’ crowd was shocked; They just booed the man. But with both expected to play in Game 6, Memphis needs a better game plan than just staking out a lead and praying they can hold on (It didn’t work in Game 1, and almost didn’t happen last night.). Last night, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol brought the Grind back to Memphis in the first quarter, and eventually the two of them finished with 42 points and 17 rebounds. Gasol was especially effective. Earlier in the series, he seemed happy with just getting a touch in the second half. Last night, he destroyed L.A.’s frontline. Memphis played like the more desperate team, and if it wasn’t for 20 from Mo Williams, this might’ve been a blowout. Friday night’s Game 6 should be rather interesting. The Clippers say it’s their Game 7. Memphis’ O.J. Mayo adds: “There’s no point leaving home if we don’t know our way back. We can’t look at Sunday because we have to make sure we get back home after Friday night.” … The Clips have been called for 12 technicals in this series alone, and Chris Webber put it best last night: “I’m not sure if it’s a good strategy … But it is a strategy.” Either that or they are purposely trying to fall behind (they were down 24 in this one) before rallying … We’re out like the Knicks.

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