Basketball Daily

The Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets are now in the books.  Denver who surprised analysts and fans alike really gave L.A. a fight to the end.  What was most surprising is that Denver got blown out at home to send them packing, where finally the Lakers played with the dominance and determination we had come to expect from them.  The Lakers win the series on the road in 6 games.

The Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic ended with the Magic’s center Dwight Howard putting on a clinic down low with 40 points.  To most this was a considered an upset because of Cleveland having the best record in the NBA, but those who follow the game had a strong feeling that Orlando was a better team and the Cavaliers could not match up with Orlando’s forwards.  The Magic win the series at home in 6 games.

The stage is set for a thrilling and exciting NBA Championship Finals with the two superstars on the opposing teams of Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.  The series is in the 2-3-2 format with the home team Lakers having the advantage.  The series begins on Thursday, June 4th, with all games being nationally televised on ABC.

The number two seeded Denver Nuggets faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers in a game where Andrew Bynum returned from his knee injury.  Bynum started off slow and gradual, but in the second half, he came out firing on all cylinders with points and rebounds.  The Lakers ended up winning in an easy fashion with the final score being 116-102.

The leading scorers for L.A. were Kobe Bryant with 33 points, Pau Gasol with 27 points and Andrew Bynum with 16 points.  They were the only three players in double figures on the night.  With this victory, the Lakers are now only a half of a game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the best record in the NBA.  The remaining few games will determine who comes out on top this year.

The struggling Utah Jazz team on the road headed into the Denver Nuggets house and tried to snatch a win but came up short.  The Nuggets are playing some top rate ball as of late and two bench players really showed their poise and athleticism.  The first one being Chris “The Birdman” Andersen who put up career numbers by snuffing out 8 blocks.  The second one being J.R. Smith who tied his career high with 8 three pointers in a single game.  Smith had the shooters touch all night, and he also gave out 7 dishes to go along with his brilliant shooting performance.  The final score ended at 114-104.

The top three scorers for the Nuggets were J.R. Smith with 28 points, Carmelo Anthony with 23 points and Chauncey Billups with 17 points.  The Nuggets team defense has really improved and they showed it by holding the Jazz to an astounding low of only 36% field goal shooting.  Denver is currently in second place and they want to hold that position so they can have home court advantage most of the way through the Playoffs.