BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks needed a win to clinch a playoff spot.  They have been slipping as of late, and hoped to finally put the nail in the coffin at home against a strong Orlando Magic team.  Well, the Hawks had the lead throughout, but at the end of the 4th quarter the Magic came surging back behind a strong 24 rebound night from Superman Dwight Howard.  Then, with the game tied at 84, the Hawks looked for their star Joe Johnson to hit the winner.  He dribbled, drove, and hurled up a shot, bricked it, and from out of nowhere Josh Smith came leaping above everyone and slammed it in to win the game with under a second left.  Amazing!  And Atlanta is headed to the playoffs for their 3rd straight year.  Atlanta 86, Orlando 84.  And here’s the highlight to see it for yourself:

Elsewhere in the NBA, the Boston Celtics had the exact same situation.  Win and clinch a post-season birth.  And they too had a tough match-up to get it done:  The mighty Denver Nuggets.  Well, the shimmering gold of the Nuggets didn’t phase the rejuvenated Celtics one iota.  Carmelo had a nice night for Denver with 32 points, but the Celtics looked fantastic and beat up on Denver the entire game.  Paul Pierce led the way with 27 points, and the Celtics earn a trip to the post-season.   Suddenly, the Celtics look like a championship team again.  Boston 113, Denver 99.

And March Madness kicks back in with the Sweet Sixteen.  #2 West Virgina has had a fantastic season and looks great in the tourney.  However, they got some bad news last game when their point guard Daryl “Tuck” Bryant broke his foot.  He’s out for the remainder of the tourney, and without the leadership of a point-guard things will be tough for WVU.  They take on a fierce Washington team that may sidle into the Elite 8.

And the featured match-up of the night will be #1 seed Kentucky vs. #12 seed Cornell.  Kentucky is the favorite to win the tournament now that Kansas is out.  But there is a lot of talk that Cornell could pull the upset.  Cornell is a very talented team and they play tough, really tough.  Plus, Kentucky and Cornell play two completely different styles of basketball, so there’s no real way to predict how they will match-up.  Kentucky has 3 future NBA players, but Cornell has their own Big 3, and those guys are just as good as any 3-player combo in the country.  This one will be a thriller to watch.