There were four NBA playoff games on Easter Sunday. Some people would say that’s one, two, three or four games too many. Others, like me, would say that’s just about right. I didn’t watch every minute of every game. But I did watch a lot of each game.
In the first game, Atlanta at Miami, much to my pleasure, the Heat beat up on the Hawks to the tune of 115-95. Only at the very beginning was it close. Then Duncan Robinson came in off the Heat bench and went to work on three-point shots, making 8 of 9 for a point total of 27 and was joined by five of his teammates beyond the arc: Jimmy Buffett made 1 of 2 three pointers and scored 21 points; P.J. Tucker, 4 of 4 and 16 points; Kyle Lowry, 2 of 4 and 10; Gabe Vincent, 2 of 7 and 8; and Max Strus, 1 of 5 and 9. The usually reliable Tyler Herro missed all four of his three-point attempts. Miami’s largest margin was 32 points. Atlanta’s was 3.
Atlanta played again at 7:30 p.m. April 19 at Miami, the Heat winning again, 115-105. The two teams will play at 7 p.m. Friday and Sunday at Atlanta. The first team to win four games will advance to the next round.
The next game on Easter was Brooklyn at Boston and by that time I was dining out. With the score very close and the game near its conclusion, our hostess gave the call for dinner to be pleasantly served outdoors – and away from televisions. My host made the brilliant suggestion that we turn off the TV, but tape the end of the game for later viewing so as not to miss the ending.
We were busy eating a delicious meal and congratulating ourselves on being so smart when another guest, who had not been a part of our master plan, spoke up after checking his phone.
“Hey, Boston beat the Nets by one point at the buzzer.” Thanks for that. I guess we weren’t so brilliant after all.
The host and I did watch the taped finish so we caught Jayson Tatum driving to the basket and scoring two points just as the game ended and the Celtics the 115-114 winners. It was still exciting even if we knew how the game would conclude.
Two more games were to be played Sunday evening. Milwaukee defeated Chicago, 93-86, and Phoenix beat New Orleans, 116-99. And we were only halfway through day two of the tournament, which will take 16 games to determine a champion.
That’s a lot of basketball, though not enough for some of us.
