Celtics’ Kevin Garnett shows when he wants to be a force on offense, he still can be virtually unstoppable on the block. With his 27 points and 13 rebound performance, he more than made up for a costly illegal pick call in the 76ers’ win in Game 2. It was not only a great Big Ticket moment, but Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo looked the Championship part. Pierce had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Rondo 23 points and 14 assists was enough to put the Celtics up 2-1 in the series. 76ers continue to struggle on the offensive end. Thaddeus Young and Jrue Holiday were the only highlights on a struggling offense. Young finished game with 22 points and Holiday added 15 points.

Thunder went on a much needed run to put the Lakers down 2-0 in the series. It was game that the Lakers needed to win and probably should have won; however, they should have and did not is what may mean the Lakers will not make it to the next round in the NBA Playoffs. The 77-75 victory may be the biggest 2 point victory of Kevin Durant’s young career. Okay, it is not the biggest but when you are able to get victory over a Laker team that nearly had the series tied; a 2 point victory is huge. Kevin Durant finished the game with 22 points, but it was his shot with 18 seconds left that sealed the fate of the Lakers. Lakers could not score and bad choice of going for one shot with so much time on the clock may have helped themselves into dire straits. An open look in the corner was missed by Steve Blake; however, Lakers could have gone with a quick shot to have few more opportunities to win the game. Bryant and Bynum 20 points each was not enough and the tandem may not be enough to wield Lakers to the next round.

Both the Pacers and Heat did not play the best basketball; however, the Pacer did play well enough to hang on for a much needed victory. Heat got it normal production from both LeBron James scored 28 points and Dwyane Wade added 24 points; however, both players were unable to be clutch when the team needed it most. It was poor shooting night for both teams. Pacers won the game, but you cannot expect 38 percent shooting to win many more upcoming games. The Heat shot nearly 35 percent and horrible third quarter led to the Pacers tying the series. David West led the Pacer in scoring with 16 points. Danny Granger have been relatively quiet during the series and he will need to pick up if Pacers are going to compete with the Heat.

The battle of point guards Chris Paul and Tony Parker did not live up to billing in Game 1. Both Paul and Parker had poor shooting nights. This was a bigger problem for the Clippers because they need Paul to score to open the offense for other players. Paul scored 6 points and dished out 10 assists. Parker scored only 7 points and had 11 assists. Eric Bledsoe led Clippers in scoring with 23 points. The high flying acts of Lob City went on vacation this game. The Spurs played good defense that help prevent the many lob passes normally seen in a Clippers Game. Tim Duncan looked as if the clock was turned back as he scored 26 points and grab 10 rebounds. It was another double-double during the playoffs for Duncan. The Spurs cruised to a victory.

Miami Heat will not shoot that poorly again; therefore, the Pacers will have play a lot better going forward. The Spurs manage to play great defense against Paul and this will be a formula to send Clippers home early. You can expect Paul and Clippers to bounce back, but the Spurs may be too much for them this season. NBA Playoffs have great games to watch so do miss them.

Thunder had max effort from almost every player on the roster. Kevin Durant was Durant. He scored his 25 points and it looked nearly effortless doing it. Watching the game, you can tell there was a mismatch for anyone who tried to defend Russell Westbrook. Westbrook could get his shot at any time he wanted it. Westbrook finished the game with 27 points and 9 assists. James Harden, the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, came off the bench and scored 17 points. Harden played ball and was not deterred by the shot he took from Metta World Peace in the last game between the Thunder and the Lakers.

There are few highlights for the Lakers. Both Kobe and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points each. When you are defeated by 29 points, the Lakers can only hope they can make an adjustments to ensure such a rout do not occur again. It is doubtful that such a blowout victory will happen again. However, they must show they want to win and they did not in their defeat in Game 1. Lakers going forward will need someone to guard Westbrook. It is a given Durant is going to score, but if they are unable to stop everyone else from scoring the Lakers and Bryant will have to wait on the ring.

Thunder needs to continue protecting the basketball as they did in Monday’s night win. Los Angeles needs to put forth a better effort and slow the game down. Pau Gasol need to have a better offensive game. Kobe Bryant, if he is going to be compared to Michael Jordan, he must do a lot better job. Jordan in the playoffs was unstoppable. This is why there is only one Mike. Thunder must never get complacent because, it is going to be a tough series going forward.