Chicago Bulls at Atlanta Hawks (+3.5, 179)
THE STORY: The Chicago Bulls team that showed up for Game 3 was a lot more like the club that had cruised through the regular season with the best record in the NBA. After regaining home-court advantage with their most dominant performance yet, Derrick Rose and the Bulls have the Atlanta Hawks right where they want them heading into Game 4. The Hawks will need to go back to the drawing board and find a new way to defend Rose when they host Chicago in Game 4 on Sunday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE HAWKS: Atlanta surprised plenty of people with a relatively easy victory in Game 1. The Hawks flew into the United Center and grabbed a 103-95 victory behind 34 points from Joe Johnson. But things have not been quite as easy in the last two games, as the Bulls have rediscovered their focus on the defensive end and the Hawks have been unable to keep pace. Johnson slumped to 10 points in Friday’s Game 3, shooting 4-of-12 from the floor. The bright spot again was Jeff Teague, who has recorded over 20 points in each of the last two games while filling in at the starting point guard spot for the injured Kirk Hinrich.
ABOUT THE BULLS: A bum ankle did not appear to have any effect on Rose on Friday, as the league MVP poured in a career-high 44 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds. After struggling with his outside shot in the first two games, Rose buried 4-of-7 3-point attempts in Game 3 and went 16-of-27 from the field overall. Chicago jumped out to a 19-point lead in the second quarter and kept it to double digits the entire second half. Atlanta drew to within 11 points in the fourth, but Rose buried a pair of 3-pointers during an 11-0 spurt to put it away.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Since going off for 22 points in Game 1, Jamal Crawford has totaled 18 on 5-of 17 shooting in the past two games for the Hawks. Luol Deng had a rough night on Friday, held to single digits for the first time in the playoffs when he finished with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting for the Bulls.
KEY STATISTIC: Rebounding. Chicago has dominated the boards in its two wins, building up a 105-73 advantage on the glass in the two contests combined. Joakim Noah has been the most prolific, pulling down 29 rebounds in the past two games.
LAST WORD: “I saw an energy level that, right away, I knew we were in trouble,” said Hawks coach Larry Drew, who called his first timeout just 49 seconds into the first quarter on Friday. “When you play an explosive guard like Derrick Rose, you have to make a commitment to getting back and making sure you try to keep him out of the paint. He’s too fast and too explosive.”
Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks (-2.5, 188)
THE STORY: Win or start the offseason a month earlier than expected. That’s the task facing the two-time defending Los Angeles Lakers when they visit the torrid Dallas Mavericks in Sunday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Mavericks have a 3-0 lead in the series to place the Lakers in the most dire of playoff situations. Not a single team in NBA history has rallied to win a playoff series under those circumstances and the Lakers have looked more like a tired team against Dallas than one in the midst of another NBA title push. Dirk Nowitzki has dominated the series and hit the go-ahead shot in Dallas’ 98-92 victory in Game 3 on Friday.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: Although Nowitzki received ample support from reserves Jason Terry and Peja Stojakovic in Friday’s victory, the German proved that he was an unstoppable force in another Dallas triumph. Nowitzki scored 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting and made 4-of-5 3-point attempts. His basket with 1:23 to play put the Mavericks ahead to stay. Terry scored 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting in his best performance of the series and Stojakovic had 11 of his 15 points in the final quarter. The Mavericks outscored the Lakers 17-5 over the final four minutes. Point guard Jason Kidd has struggled with his shooting – he is just 8-of-26 from the field – but is averaging 8.7 assists in the three Dallas victories. Shawn Marion (1-of-7, two points) and J.J. Barea (1-of-5, four points) were not factors after playing pivotal roles in Dallas’ Game 2 victory.
ABOUT THE LAKERS: Los Angeles certainly wasn’t expecting to be in a position where its season might end on May 8. Now, the Lakers will attempt to avoid being the fifth reigning NBA champion to have been swept in a playoff series. Andrew Bynum was the Lakers’ best player in Game 3 with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Kobe Bryant (17 points) and Pau Gasol (12 points) had average games. Lamar Odom moved into the starting lineup due to the one-game suspension to Ron Artest and scored 18 points. Artest will be back for Sunday’s contest. Los Angeles was 3-for-13 from 3-point range in Game 3 and is shooting a porous 19.2 percent from behind the arc in the series.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Nowitzki is averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and shooting 70 percent from 3-point range in the series. Gasol is averaging just 13.3 points and shooting 42.9 percent from the field in the three games.
KEY STATISTIC: Dallas made 12 3-point baskets in Game 3. The Lakers have made 10 the entire series.
LAST WORD: “I might be sick in the head or crazy because I think we’re still going to win the series. I might be nuts. But win on Sunday, go back home and see if they can win in L.A.” – Bryant on the predicament facing the Lakers.
THE STORY: The Chicago Bulls team that showed up for Game 3 was a lot more like the club that had cruised through the regular season with the best record in the NBA. After regaining home-court advantage with their most dominant performance yet, Derrick Rose and the Bulls have the Atlanta Hawks right where they want them heading into Game 4. The Hawks will need to go back to the drawing board and find a new way to defend Rose when they host Chicago in Game 4 on Sunday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE HAWKS: Atlanta surprised plenty of people with a relatively easy victory in Game 1. The Hawks flew into the United Center and grabbed a 103-95 victory behind 34 points from Joe Johnson. But things have not been quite as easy in the last two games, as the Bulls have rediscovered their focus on the defensive end and the Hawks have been unable to keep pace. Johnson slumped to 10 points in Friday’s Game 3, shooting 4-of-12 from the floor. The bright spot again was Jeff Teague, who has recorded over 20 points in each of the last two games while filling in at the starting point guard spot for the injured Kirk Hinrich.
ABOUT THE BULLS: A bum ankle did not appear to have any effect on Rose on Friday, as the league MVP poured in a career-high 44 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds. After struggling with his outside shot in the first two games, Rose buried 4-of-7 3-point attempts in Game 3 and went 16-of-27 from the field overall. Chicago jumped out to a 19-point lead in the second quarter and kept it to double digits the entire second half. Atlanta drew to within 11 points in the fourth, but Rose buried a pair of 3-pointers during an 11-0 spurt to put it away.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Since going off for 22 points in Game 1, Jamal Crawford has totaled 18 on 5-of 17 shooting in the past two games for the Hawks. Luol Deng had a rough night on Friday, held to single digits for the first time in the playoffs when he finished with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting for the Bulls.
KEY STATISTIC: Rebounding. Chicago has dominated the boards in its two wins, building up a 105-73 advantage on the glass in the two contests combined. Joakim Noah has been the most prolific, pulling down 29 rebounds in the past two games.
LAST WORD: “I saw an energy level that, right away, I knew we were in trouble,” said Hawks coach Larry Drew, who called his first timeout just 49 seconds into the first quarter on Friday. “When you play an explosive guard like Derrick Rose, you have to make a commitment to getting back and making sure you try to keep him out of the paint. He’s too fast and too explosive.”
Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks (-2.5, 188)
THE STORY: Win or start the offseason a month earlier than expected. That’s the task facing the two-time defending Los Angeles Lakers when they visit the torrid Dallas Mavericks in Sunday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Mavericks have a 3-0 lead in the series to place the Lakers in the most dire of playoff situations. Not a single team in NBA history has rallied to win a playoff series under those circumstances and the Lakers have looked more like a tired team against Dallas than one in the midst of another NBA title push. Dirk Nowitzki has dominated the series and hit the go-ahead shot in Dallas’ 98-92 victory in Game 3 on Friday.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: Although Nowitzki received ample support from reserves Jason Terry and Peja Stojakovic in Friday’s victory, the German proved that he was an unstoppable force in another Dallas triumph. Nowitzki scored 32 points on 12-of-19 shooting and made 4-of-5 3-point attempts. His basket with 1:23 to play put the Mavericks ahead to stay. Terry scored 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting in his best performance of the series and Stojakovic had 11 of his 15 points in the final quarter. The Mavericks outscored the Lakers 17-5 over the final four minutes. Point guard Jason Kidd has struggled with his shooting – he is just 8-of-26 from the field – but is averaging 8.7 assists in the three Dallas victories. Shawn Marion (1-of-7, two points) and J.J. Barea (1-of-5, four points) were not factors after playing pivotal roles in Dallas’ Game 2 victory.
ABOUT THE LAKERS: Los Angeles certainly wasn’t expecting to be in a position where its season might end on May 8. Now, the Lakers will attempt to avoid being the fifth reigning NBA champion to have been swept in a playoff series. Andrew Bynum was the Lakers’ best player in Game 3 with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Kobe Bryant (17 points) and Pau Gasol (12 points) had average games. Lamar Odom moved into the starting lineup due to the one-game suspension to Ron Artest and scored 18 points. Artest will be back for Sunday’s contest. Los Angeles was 3-for-13 from 3-point range in Game 3 and is shooting a porous 19.2 percent from behind the arc in the series.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Nowitzki is averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and shooting 70 percent from 3-point range in the series. Gasol is averaging just 13.3 points and shooting 42.9 percent from the field in the three games.
KEY STATISTIC: Dallas made 12 3-point baskets in Game 3. The Lakers have made 10 the entire series.
LAST WORD: “I might be sick in the head or crazy because I think we’re still going to win the series. I might be nuts. But win on Sunday, go back home and see if they can win in L.A.” – Bryant on the predicament facing the Lakers.
