NBA Playoffs Recaps: Lowry! Lin! Parker! A Night for Point Guards

Toronto Avoids Collapse with Strong Play From Lowry
It seemed like a pretty calm first session of NBA games this evening. It didn't seem like anyone would make a real run at making it a close game, but Brooklyn Nets come back from a 26 point deficit to make it a close game late for another thrilling game in Toronto. Jonas Valanciunas is thanking his lucky stars because if not for a backcourt violation, Deron Williams 65 foot heave would have went in or at least hit rim before Jonas decided to jump for no apparent reason. It would have been one of the biggest blunders in sports history given the nature of the game, the collapse and everything. Toronto is thanking their lucky stars today. Kyle Lowry was terrific on Wednesday night as he had 36 points and six assists with making six threes as well. Lowry put Deron Williams on skates to get the go-ahead bucket as things looked in peril for the Raptors. I still think this series is going seven, but Brooklyn needs to keep Lowry contained on Friday.

Appropriate tweet: Toronto gave lint rollers away in honor of Drake and We The North might be my favorite team slogan ever.

So this is a real thing in Toronto. pic.twitter.com/pYsyTKP5UV
— Jim ICE (@Jim_ICE) April 30, 2014

Houston forces Game 6 
It felt like we were heading to another close battle between Houston and Portland as it became close late in the fourth quarter, but the Rockets pulled away with cold shooting from Trail Blazers forcing a Game 6 returning to Rip City on Friday night. Patrick Beverly battled a fever rendering him useless on the court as he looked sick with him bundled up, eating food and drinking more water therefore someone need to step up in the moment. The person choosing that role was Jeremy Lin. The goat of Game 4 became one of the reasons they are playing on Friday as Lin had 21 points making nine shots and coming up big for this Rockets team. Also a big part of this game was Omer Asik and Dwight Howard combined for 29 rebounds inside which goes a long way.

One of the underrated storylines from last night was how bad LaMarcus Aldridge played on Wednesday. LMA had back-to-back 40 point performances, and Houston held him to single figures. It could be an aberration and Aldridge ends up having a huge game on Friday night yet if Houston figured out the secret to stop him, it becomes a whole new series.

Parker powers Spurs past Mavs
Even though San Antonio won Game 4, Tony Parker faced some criticism because he struggled most of the game and battled a bum ankle. Parker flipped the script in Game 5 being the difference for San Antonio with 13 second half points giving the Spurs a 109-103 victory. Parker finished the game with 23 points being one of the five San Antonio players in double figures. He took control of this game, and that's an encouraging sign for the Spurs moving forward in this series and the playoffs. If Parker can get over his dinged ankle, San Antonio will be the contender again like we all expected them to be in the NBA postseason. Spurs also dominated Dallas inside as they scored 26 more points in the paint than the Mavericks. It started to feel like the Spurs are taking advantage in this series. I wouldn't be surprised if they close out on Friday night.

Appropriate Vine:  Great answer from Gregg Popovich as Vince Carter was lighting up San Antonio



Charlie.