These playoffs were filled with story-lines as their start and are developing even more as they progress. Keep in mind we are less than one week in and the action will only heat up even more. Let’s take a look at who prevailed on Tuesday night.Miami Heat, 98 - Milwaukee Bucks, 86
Heat lead series, 2-0Led by the superstar tandem of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, the Miami Heat cruised past the Milwaukee Bucks to the tune of a 98-86 score. Wade had 21 points and James added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists on the way to another win. They have had no trouble neutralizing the Bucks’ threats.
Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks in scoring with 21 points, but the bigger story was the lack of contributions from Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis. It is a wonder they stayed in this game as long as they did without their two stars scoring in volume. This series is looking more and more like a sweep.
New York Knicks, 87 - Boston Celtics, 71
Knicks lead series, 2-0Carmelo Anthony did it again. This time he poured in 34 points, leading his team to a Game 2 victory, 87-71. J.R. Smith came off the bench and scored 19 while starting point guard Raymond Felton added 16 points. It was never a blowout, and for the second game in a row, one would have thought the Celtics were going to come away with the win.
Poor second halves have been the fatal downfall for the Celtics early on in the postseason. Tallying only 23 points in the second half is never going to cut it against a team like the Knicks, who can easily score 40 points in a single quarter. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett cannot do it alone.
As many people have already stated, the key for the C’s to get back into this series will be Jeff Green. If he can harness some of the greatness he showed against the Heat a few weeks ago, they could be right back in business.
Golden State Warriors, 131 - Denver Nuggets, 117
Series tied, 1-1Four starters scored 21 or more points for the Golden State Warriors en route to a 131-117 win over the Denver Nuggets. Stephen Curry led all scorers with 30 points and received plenty of support from his teammates. Newly-appointed starter Jarrett Jack had a nice outing with 26 points, Harrison Barnes scored 24 and Klay Thompson dropped 21 on 8-of-11 shooting.
When four of your opponents’ starters combine for 101 points between them, you don’t stand much of a chance in that game. Denver struggled to keep up in the second and third quarters and failed to ever climb back into it.
Ty Lawson had a solid 19 points and 12 assists in the losing effort. They will have to regroup and focus a lot more attention on perimeter defense if they want to avoid a 2-1 hole after Game 3.
