NBA Update

After three games, each of the Conference Finals is split two-one, but the two series are very different.

The Eastern Conference Finals are about as entertaining as the NBA can be.  Each of the three games was compelling to watch:

Game One (in NY):  Knicks lead by 14 points with 2:51 left, but the Pacers have a miracle comeback to tie the game at the buzzer.  Pacers win 138-135 in overtime.  Pacers lead 1-0.

Game Two (in NY):  Neither team leads by more than 10 points throughout the game.  Pacers hang on for a 114-109 win behind 39 points from Pascal Siakim.  Pacers lead 2-0.

Game Three (in Indy):  Pacers lead by 20 at one point, and still lead 80-70 with one quarter left.  But the Knicks outscore the Pacers 36-20 in the last quarter, and prevail 106-100 on the road.  Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points and 8 rebounds in the fourth quarter to lead the Knicks to victory.  Pacers lead 2-1.

This is a rare series where both teams are evenly matched and neither team is willing to concede a single game.  We don't get enough of those in the NBA playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Western Conference Finals have been pretty dull.  In fact, none of the games has been competitive.  Opening at home, OKC crushed Minnesota two games in a row:  114-88 and 118-103.  The Thunder then conceded Game Three in Minnesota, 143-101.  So the series is 2-1 for the Thunder, but OKC has looked much better when both teams were playing at full speed.  The most likely outcome is that OKC shows up for Game Four, wins that game, and then closes out the T-Wolves in Game Five.