BASKETBALL

Things heated up Wednesday night in the playoffs.  First up, it was Game 5 between the Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers.  Philly was able to keep the series alive, but, in front of their home crowd, the Heat brought their  firepower.  Dwayne Wade put up 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists, but that didn’t make the Sixers go-away.  From out of nowhere, Andre Igoudala came to life in this series and posted his own 22 points to keep the game close in the end.  But, this veteran Heat team knows what it takes to close-out games, especially important home games, and they rolled onto a victory.  Next up for LeBron and Company — the Boston Celtics.  Miami 97, Philadelphia 91.

Next up, an absolute nail-biter between the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs.  Going into the game, the Grizz had a 3-1 lead on the series, and were hoping to put the nail in the coffin.  However, San Antonio is very tough to beat in front of their home crowd.  The Spurs got off to a hot start and led by 8 at the half.  But, in the 3rd quarter, the Grizzlies had a resurgence and outscored the Spurs 26-15.  The game came down to the wire, but the #1 overall seed found themselves down by 3 with just under 10 seconds.  They had  a horrible inbound play, the ball got loose, Manu Ginobili got it, chucked a 3-pointer off-balance and… GOOD!!!  Wow!  But, the refs had to review it, and it ruled that Ginobili had a foot on the line.  It was only a 2-pointer, and the Spurs still trailed by one.  The Grizzlies hit two free throws at the other end to put them back up by 3 with 1.3 seconds left.  The Spurs inbounded to Gary Neal, he took one dribble, and launched up a 3, and… GOOD!!!!  Wow, unbelievable!  That forced an overtime, where the Spurs had all the momentum.  They took the victory to send it back to Memphis.  Can Memphis close it out, or will they have to win a Game 7 back on the road?  San Antonio 110, Memphis 103.

Finally, Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder were back home to try and close out the series against the Nuggets.  That wouldn’t prove easy, as the Nuggets had no intention of going home.  Denver brought their balanced scoring attack and team play that they’ve had since the Carmelo Anthony trade.  But, in the end, Kevin Durant turned on the Jets.  He finished the night with 41 points, and the Thunder found themselves up 3 with just under 20 seconds to go.  Then, the Thunder had a terrific defensive stand to seal the deal and send them to the 2nd round.  Wow, the Thunder move on — who would have ever thought.  They now await the winner of the Spurs/Grizzlies series.  OKC 100, Denver 97.

And, as a reminder, the first round of the NFL Draft is on Thursday night at 8pm ET.