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Miami won 92-84 in Game 1 of this year’s NBA Finals but then the next three games were decided by three points or less. The last time three consecutive games of an NBA Finals had been decided by three points or less came way back in 1948. That the set the stage for Game 5 on Thursday night with the series...

Game 5 of the NBA Finals is set for 9:00 ET on ABC. One could argue that the Heat look like the better team but Miami sure hasn’t been able to close out games. The Mavs outscored the Heat 21-9 over the final 10:12 of Tuesday’s Game 4, giving them an 86-83 win and tying the series at two-all. The Heat...

The Heat jumped out to a 14-point lead on the Mavs in the second quarter of Game 3 but the Mavs did close the margin to five points (47-42) at the half. The second half was close most of the way but the Heat did take an 81-74 lead with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the game. However, Dirk would score all...

Dwayne Wade knocked down a three-pointer with just over seven minutes to go In Thursday’s Game 2, giving the Heat an 88-73 lead at the end of a 13-0 run. The basket gave Wade 36 points for the game but he never scored again and the Heat were outscored 22-5 the rest of the way, as the Mavs ‘stole’ Game...

Dallas and Miami opened the 2011 NBA Finals on Tuesday and after one quarter, the Mavs led 17-16. It was the lowest-scoring Game 1 first quarter of any NBA Finals in the shot clock era. It also tied as the fourth-lowest total for any Finals quarter since 1955. Dallas would lead 44-43 at the half and...

The Spurs (the West’s No. 1 seed) got ‘bounced’ in the first round of this year’s postseason and the Bulls (the overall No. 1 seed) were eliminated in the conference finals by the Heat. That means that just two teams with the league’s best regular season record (the 2008 Celtics and the 2003 Spurs) have...

The Bulls, like the Thunder vs the Mavs, were not able to match up with the Heat during ‘crunch time.’ The Bulls had EVERY chance to win Game 4, but eventually lost in OT. Then last night back home for Game 5, saw the Heat close with an 18-3 run in the final 3:03, closing out the series with an 83-80...

The Mavs came from 15 points down with just under five minutes to go to win Game 4 in OT vs the Thunder and last night, closed out Oklahoma City with another late surge, outscoring the Thunder 14-4 in the last 4:37, turning a six-point deficit into a 100-96 win. Nowitzki hit a HUGE three with 1:14 left...

The Thunder closed as four-point favorites in Game 4 and could have easily won and not covered Monday night. However, the Mavs not only came all the way back from 15 points down with under five minutes to go by ending regulation on a 17-2 run but also went on to win outright in OT, 112-105. Last night...

The Mavs have won at least 50 games in 11 straight seasons but have no titles and only one trip to the NBA finals to show for it. Worse yet, the Mavs lost that 2006 appearance against the Heat, after taking a 2-0 lead in games. The Mavericks led the Heat 89-76 with 6:30 remaining in the fourth quarter...

The Bulls did a good job against LBJ and Wade last night, holding that pair to a combined 12-of-30 (40 percent) from the floor. However, Chicago could not do anything with the third member of Miami’s “Big 3,” Chris Bosh. Bosh did miss his first three shots but then connected on 13 of his final 15, on...

Miami’s “Big 3” accounted for 83 points in its Game 4 win at Boston and when the Heat closed out the Celtics back in Miami in Game 5, the “Big 3” accounted for 81 points. Bosh, LBJ and Wade accounted for a total of just 63 points in Game 1 vs Chicago, as the Bulls routed the Heat 103-82. Miami's...

The second round of the this year’s NBA postseason closed Sunday afternoon with Oklahoma City beating Memphis 105-90 in the first two round’s lone Game 7. Home teams ended the first two rounds 46-19 SU (.707) with home dogs going 7-6-1 and after a very slow start in the first round, home favorites are...

Oklahoma City led Memphis 54-44 at the half in Game 6 last Friday night but got ‘run over’ 28-14 in the third quarter, as the Grizz tied the series at three-all with a 95-83 win. Randolph rebounded from his worst game of the postseason in Game 5 with 30 points and 13 rebounds while Mayo added 16 from...

The Hawks surprised many by taking their first round series from the Magic in six games. They then shocked almost all, by beating the Bulls in Chicago 103-95 in the first game of their semifinal series. However, the Hawks were able to win just one game after that (100-88 in Game 4). The final ‘dagger...

LBJ’s season was ended last year by the Celtics, as his Cavs lost embarrassingly at home in Game 5 by a score of 120-88 and then went meekly in Game 6 with a 94-85 loss. Amid much fanfare, King James “took his talents to South Beach” over the summer, joining Chris Bosh (a Toronto refugee) and Dwayne...

The Bulls led by as many as 15 points in the first quarter but actually trailed 70-69 early in the fourth last night, before a 9-0 run allowed them to take control. Chicago would outscore Atlanta 26-15 in the quarter and win, 95-83. As I pointed out in Tuesday’s journal, of the previous 159 series tied...

There was plenty excitement in last night’s games, as the Heat needed overtime to take a 3-1 lead in their series against the Celtics while the Thunder and Grizzlies went three overtimes before settling their Game 4 and leaving the series tied at two-all. Both home teams lost, making them are 9-7 SU...

“I might be sick in the head or crazy or thrown off or something like that, but I still think we are going to win this series,” Bryant said after the Lakers blew a fourth quarter lead in a Game 3 loss to the Mavericks. “I might be nuts. Win on Sunday. Go back home and see if they can win in L.A.” When...

The Celtics and Lakers met in last year’s NBA Finals. It was the 12th all-time meeting for the league's two most storied franchises. Boston won the first eight meetings (the first seven of which came no later than 1969), LA the next two ('85 and '87) and then after a 21-season gap, the Celtics...

Home teams (and favorites) “took it on the chin”” Monday night with both the Hawks and Mavs winning in Chicago and LA, respectively. However, home teams got a measure of revenge last night, as the Heat opened a 2-0 lead over the Celtics with a 102-91 win in Miami while the Thunder evened their series...

The first round of the 2011 NBA postseason came to a close Friday night when the Grizzlies beat the Spurs 99-91. Randolph (21.5-9.2 on 50.0 percent shooting) and Gasol (14.2-12.3 on 53.3 percent) dominated inside all series and in Game 6 it was no different. Gasol had 12 points and 13 rebounds while...

Home teams remained perfect this week (at least SU), as the Heat eliminated the 76ers in five games with a 97-91 win, the Spurs stayed ‘alive’ with a 110-103 overtime win against the Grizzlies and the Thunder eliminated the Nuggets (also in five games) with a 100-97 win on Wednesday night. However, favorites...

Home teams went 32-13 SU for the entire first round last season, including a money-making 29-16 ATS. However, as the new week opened, they sat 21-9 SU and a woeful 10-19-1 ATS. Home favorites had been just awful, going 5-16 ATS while home dogs were holding their own going 5-3-1. Things have changed quickly...

Home teams won all three games last night, going 2-0-1 ATS. Home teams are 24-9 SU but just 12-19-2 ATS through 33 games of this year’s first round. That’s in stark contrast to last year, when home teams went 32-13 SU for the entire first round, including a money-making 29-16 ATS. Home favorites have...