Ballin': The 76ers Couldn't Stop Brandon Bass, Now Trail Boston 3-2

Oklahoma City 106, LA Lakers 90: OKC’s Big 3 of Westbrook, Durant and Harden totaled 70 points, and the Thunder advanced to face the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. It’s probably knee-jerk, but Westbrook’s circus flip in the 3rd quarter might be The Moment of the playoffs so far. That’s two straight trips to the WCF for the Thunder, and two straight 2nd round exits for the Lakers. Kobe was heroic with 42 points, but he had zero assists. Andrew Bynum looked out of it early and finished with just 10 points and four rebounds in 34 ineffective minutes. Kobe didn’t hammer him in the postgame, though, like he did Gasol after game four. If this was Gasol’s final game as a Laker, it wasn’t a bad performance: 14 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks.

Since the Thunder/Spurs series doesn’t start until Sunday, no rush to make any guesses on the series. We’ll save it for later in the week. For now, Kobe on the future (fast-forward to 2:30 for a nice Pistons analogy):

After the game, as thousands of fans were walking to their cars, eight people were shot in downtown Oklahoma City near the arena. One was listed in critical condition this morning, and the rest were stable, according to the Oklahoman. Police said, “one person suffered blunt trauma, and that person was a pregnant woman.” Two arrests were made.

Boston 101, Philadelphia 85: The 76ers played a nearly flawless 1st half, but it all fell apart in the 3rd quarter, when they were outscored by Brandon Bass, 18-16. Rondo was Rondo – 13 points, 14 assists – and Boston made more fouls shots (26) than Philly attempted (16). The 76ers had turnover issues during the pivotal 3rd quarter, and permitted a 14-2 run that gave Boston control it never relinquished. So do the Celtics (up 3-2) have a better chance against the Heat or Pacers? One could probably argue Boston might give the Bosh-less Heat fits, but wouldn’t be Indiana.