[08] Flying High In The ATL-NBA Finals - Complete!

[dansensei]

sorry, i mean chandler...

[Lamrock]

Bucks Use Hot Shooting And Third Quarter Run To Knot Series

Milwaukee 113, Atlanta 107

Atlanta, GA - May 3, 2009, 10:35 PM ET - Coming out of game 1, it looked like the Hawks would easily dominate the Bucks. However, Milwaukee shocked them by exploding out of the gate, scoring the first seven points. The Hawks managed to keep them under control for the rest of the quarter, however, and trailed by just three going into the second.

The Hawks tried to get on a run and put Milwaukee away early in the second quarter, but Michael Redd and Jose Calderon would not have it. Every time the Hawks would tie or take the lead, the Bucks would score a few quick points to retake a small lead. Atlanta stayed within striking distance at halftime, trailing 60-58.

[align=center]Top Players At The Half:

Jose Calderon: 11/0/8/1/2
Josh Smith: 13/5/2/1/0[/align]

[align=center] [/align]

[align=center]Left, Bobby Simmons Nails a Three in Childress' Face. Right, Bargnani Posterizes Bogut.[/align]

Atlanta fell apart in the third period. Joe Johnson missed a three to take the lead, and from there Milwaukee dominated. Try as they might, the Hawks could not stop the Bucks from hitting nearly every shot. The Bucks had a solid fourteen point lead going into the final period.

The Hawks sent their reserves out for the fourth quarter. Surprisingly, the bench players did very well, cutting into the deficit. With three minutes to go, coach Bailey brought Josh Childress and Josh Smith back in the game, trailing by just seven points. The Hawks made a solid effort towards a comeback, but the Bucks made the necessary shots, and Atlanta fell just short. With under thirty seconds to go, the Hawks had the ball, and were only down by three. However, Joe Johnson missed a potential game-tying three pointer, and the Bucks hit their free throws en route to a victory.

"Our defense just wasn't there tonight, and our offense wasn't anything special either", Bailey remarked after the game. "Josh Smith played great, but Milwaukee deserved the victory." Michael Redd, who led his team with 34 points said "Its a great feeling finally winning a playoff game on the road. Its exciting to have the upper hand, but we've got to remember just who we are dealing with." The series is now tied at a game apiece, and will shift to Milwaukee for games 3 and 4.

JORDAN Player of the Game: Jose Calderon: 24 Points, 12 Assists, 3 Rebounds, 3 Steals, 1 Block, 9-16 FG, 1-3 3PT, 5-6 FT (45 Minutes)
MCDWYANE Shitass of the Game: Rudy Gay: 2 Points, 1 Assists, 1-5 FG, 0-1 FT (15 Minutes)

MIL 29 31 34 21 113
ATL 26 32 22 29 107

Player Stats:

Atlanta:
Horford: 6/8/2/3/0 - 3-7 FG | 39 Minutes | 3 Fouls, 0 Turnovers
Smith: 26/10/4/1/0 - 12-22 FG, 2-2 FT | 42 Minutes | 3 Fouls, 1 Turnover
Childress: 16/2/2/1/0 - 7-15 FG, 1-4 3PT, 1-1 FT | 40 Minutes | 1 Foul, 0 Turnovers
J. Johnson: 15/3/2/0/2 - 6-19 FG, 0-9 3PT, 3-4 FT | 42 Minutes | 0 Fouls, 1 Turnover
Ford: 24/2/5/0/6 - 10-18 FG, 2-6 3PT, 2-3 FT | 37 Minutes | 3 Fouls, 7 Turnovers
Bargnani: 7/5/3/0/0 - 3-4 FG, 1-1 3PT | 16 Minutes | 0 Fouls, 1 Turnover
Gay: 2/0/1/0/0 - 1-5 FG, 0-1 FT | 15 Minutes | 2 Fouls, 1 Turnover
Milicic: 11/2/0/0/0 - 3/3 FG, 5-5 FT | 9 Minutes | 0 Fouls, 0 Turnovers
Anthony Johnson: DNP - Old Age
Amir Johnson: DNP - Project
Matt Barnes: DNP - Sucks
Wally Szczerbiak - DNP - Injury

Milwaukee:
Bogut: 10/11/0/0/0 - 5-7 FG | 40 Minutes | 1 Foul, 0 Turnovers
Villanueva: 16/8/1/0/0 - 7-9 FG | 41 Minutes | 4 Fouls, 1 Turnover
Simmons: 13/8/1/1/0 - 6-13 FG, 1-5 3PT, 0-1 FT | 42 Minutes | 3 Fouls, 3 Turnovers
Redd: 34/2/3/1/1 - 15-24 FG, 4-4 FT | 43 Minutes | 1 Foul, 0 Turnovers
Calderon: 24/12/3/1/3 - 9-16 FG, 1-3 3PT, 5-6 FT | 45 Minutes | 1 Foul, 8 Turnovers
Hollins: 4/4/0/0/0 - 2-2 FG | 9 Minutes | 1 Foul, 0 Turnovers
Mason: 0/0/1/0/1 - 0-1 FG | 6 Minutes | 1 Foul, 0 Turnovers
Hudson: 4/0/0/0/0 - 1-1 FG, 2-2 FT | 6 Minutes | 0 Fouls, 0 Turnovers
Pavlovic: 8/0/0/0/0 - 4-4 FG | 6 Minutes | 0 Fouls, 0 Turnovers
Sefolosha - Didn't Play - Swiss
J. Wells - Didn't Play - Generic
R. Price - Didn't Play - Garbage

Hawks | Bucks
PTs: 107 | 113
REBs: 32 | 33
ASTs: 19 | 18
BLKs: 5 | 4
STLs: 8 | 6
Fouls: 12 | 12
T/O's: 11 | 12
FG: 45/93 | 49/77
3pt: 3-20 | 2-8
FT: 14/16 | 13-15
Bench: 18 | 16

Series tied 1-1

Other Results:

LAC 92 DAL 94]
Mavericks lead 2-0

UTA 105 NOH 75
Series tied 1-1

HOU 119 PHX 95
Series tied 1-1

SAS 91 LAL 100
Lakers lead 2-0

MIA 78 CHI 97
Series tied 1-1

IND 58 CLE 83
Series tied 1-1

ORL 110 BOS 124
Celtics lead 2-0

[homicide1550]

Whoah! Didnt expect you to lose one at home, but I think the Bucks win will be a one time affair.. Still think that you’ll win the next 3 and finish this series 4-1.

[dansensei]

when you shoot 3/20 beyond the arc, its more likely you'll lose ... better luck next game...

[Clutch]

GAHH! inconsistent just like the real Hawks, gotta love it! was gonna say TJ cost you the game with his 7 TO's, but then i saw Jose's 8...

don't get too lax on this team especially vs someone who can score in bunches like Redd. GL for game 3

[Lamrock]

Hawks Front Office

Chapter 7: The Plot Thickens

Liam Washburn was laying in a hospital bed, five days after an unidentified male in a Hummer struck him, while driving his Lotus Elise. The car was totaled, and he was hospitalized, but lucky to be alive.

The biggest concern to Washburn however, was that assistant Ben Bailey was to coach the Atlanta Hawks for the first two rounds of the playoffs. This frightened Washburn greatly. After the dull Cavs/Pacers blowout, Game 2 of Hawks/Bucks came on.

Three hours later...

Washburn was breathing deeply, trying to calm himself. Beside him sat four stress balls, which he had destroyed in frustration. 'He's going to ruin everything and humiliate my team! I knew I shouldn't have hired a Sarah Palin advocate to be my assistant coach!', he thought as he watched the dull Suns/Rockets game.

"We interrupt this game to give you some breaking news," a hot newswoman said. "We have word than another witness to the Washburn car accident has spoken up with license plate information. be on the lookout for a yellow Hummer H2, with the license "jxuusa". Now back to this exciting basketball game," she said, as the Rockets/Suns game came back up, in favor of the Rockets 52-24.

At the Hawks Training Center the next day...

Ben Bailey was talking to his team on how to improve before they fly to Milwaukee for Game 3. "Okay, lets work on our offense. Childress, Darko, you'll be starting the next game, over Joe and Gay..."

"WHAT? I'm the team's leading scorer, and captain! How can you bench me?!!! Me?!!!," exclaimed Joe Johnson.

"Lulz, you shot 6-19 from the field, and went 0-9 from three. Do you honestly think I would let you start after that?", Bailey replied.

"Oh my god, did he just say 'lulz'" another player whispered.

"Come on. One bad game, and you bench your star player?", complained Johnson.

"You're my star player? News to me..., Bailey said, as Johnson sulked. The Hawks then played out their most efficient offensive plays.

At a stereotypical evil lair warehouse...

"So, it seems you have failed me again. You and Billy have almost sabotaged my plan!"

"But please, just give me one more chance! How was I supposed to know that he drives a European car?"

"You didn't read the memo I gave you! I have given you too many chances", the villain said, pulling out a gun, and aiming it at the other man.

"Please! Have mercy!"

"And where has mercy gotten me? I'll tell you what. I'm thinking of a number between one and ten. If you can guess what it is, I will let you live."

'Shit!', the man thought, as he searched the room for clues. Finally, he said "Five?"

[dansensei]

bailey's gonna screw your team really bad...

[Valor]

ouch..tough loss...

nice chapter 7 cant wait for chapter 8!!

[nba_baller]

Lol. Joe's benched!

[Martti.]

Damn, that's one point off my predictions.. Hope to see you bounce back in game 3!

Anthony Johnson: DNP - Old Age
Matt Barnes: DNP - Sucks

Damn, I love these..

[Oskar]

I like reading it as well, but if you wouldn't be Lamrock, but someone else, and having a " Lulz " in a recap, I'd say it's quite stupid. Anyways, keep it up. I hope you'll do better next time !

[Lamrock]

Despite Johnson's Killer Game, Hawks Fall Apart In Second Half

Milwaukee 117, Atlanta 109

Milwaukee, WI - May 6, 2009, 10:44 PM ET - It wasn't a fluke. The Bucks are the real deal. Following the shocking defeat of the Hawks in Atlanta, the #8 seed used a great second half to take a 2-1 series lead.

The game started with Joe Johnson oddly coming off the bench. Milwaukee opened the game up with a 17-4 run, prompting coach Bailey to bring Johnson in. The substitution did the trick, as the Hawks started to close the gap. By the end of the first quarter, were only down by a single point, thanks to Johnson's 13 points.

The second quarter saw the Bucks briefly hold a 6 point lead, before Andrea Bargnani hit back-to-back threes, tying the game. Bobby Simmons struck back, hitting what would be his team's only three point make of the game. After that, however, the Hawks finished the period on a 15-5 run. At the half, they led 59-52, led by Joe Johnson's 22 points.

[align=center]Top Players At The Half:

Joe Johnson: 22/2/2/0/0
Charlie Villanueva: 12/4/1/1/0[/align]

[align=center]

Left, Jose Calderon nails the shot, and draws the foul. Right, Josh Smith Posterizes Michael Redd.[/align]

Unfortunately for Atlanta, their third quarter woes returned. Their lead quickly evaporated, as they could not stop the Bucks from scoring. Going into the final period, they trailed by one point.

Atlanta and Milwaukee traded baskets for the most part of the fourth quarter. With the clock winding down, Jose Calderon intercepted a T.J. Ford pass and dished it to Andrew Bogut for an alley-oop. This triggered a 10-2 Bucks run. Milwaukee hit its foul shots, Atlanta missed its desperation threes, and the Bucks took it 117-109.

"Well, what I saw here was our offense being average for the most part, but our defense not being there. I am going to reinsert Joe to the starting lineup for the next game and work on our defense," Ben Bailey remarked after the game. The Bucks now lead the series 2-1, going into game 4 at home. Can they be the fourth #8 seed to knock off the #1 seed? Time will most certainly tell.

JORDAN Player of the Game: Charlie Villanueva: 20 Points, 11 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Blocks, 8-13 FG, 4-6 FT (38 Minutes)
MCDWYANE Shitass of the Game: Troy Hudson: 2 Points, 2 Assists, 1 Rebound, 1 Turnover, 1-5 FG (7 Minutes)

ATL 30 29 24 26 109
MIL 31 21 32 33 117

Player Stats:

Milwaukee:
Bogut: 17/9/3/1/0 - 7-10 FG, 3-3 FT | 38 Minutes | 2 Fouls, 1 Turnover
Villanueva: 20/11/2/2/0 - 8-13 FG, 4-6 FT | 38 Minutes | 4 Fouls, 2 Turnovers
Simmons: 15/4/3/0/1 - 5-8 FG, 1-1 3PT, 4-6 FT | 34 Minutes | 2 Fouls, 1 Turnover
Redd: 25/3/4/0/2 - 11-21 FG, 3-4 FT, 0-2 3PT | 42 Minutes | 2 Fouls, 3 Turnovers
Calderon: 14/2/11/0/2 - 6-13 FG, 2-2 FT, 0-2 3PT | 44 Minutes | 3 Fouls | 4 Turnovers
Pavlovic: 8/1/1/0/1 - 4-6 FG | 12 Minutes | 1 Foul, 0 Turnovers
Hollins: 6/3/0/0/1 - 3-5 FG | 10 Minutes | 2 Fouls, 0 Turnovers
Mason: 10/1/2/0/0 - 3-7 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-4 FT | 15 Minutes | 1 Foul, 2 Turnovers
Hudson: 2/1/2/0/0 - 1-5 FG | 7 Minutes | 0 Fouls, 1 Turnover
Sefolosha: DNP - Name is hard to spell
R. Price: DNP - Turd
J. Wells: DNP - Who gives a shit about him?

Atlanta:
Milicic: 8/4/0/2/0 - 4-6 FG | 19 Minutes | 1 Foul, 1 Turnover
Horford: 13/10/2/2/1 - 5-8 FG, 3-4 FT | 37 Minutes | 3 Fouls, 2 Turnovers
Smith: 22/11/5/4/1 - 9-16 FG, 4-5 FT | 39 Minutes | 4 Fouls, 2 Turnovers
Childress: 10/3/2/0/1 - 3-9 FG, 3-4 FT, 1-3 3PT | 30 Minutes | 3 Fouls, 3 Turnovers
Ford: 10/2/11/0/3 - 4-11 FG, 2-2 FT, 0-1 3PT | 36 Minutes | 4 Fouls, 3 Turnovers
Johnson: 23/3/5/0/2 - 9/16 FG, 2-5 3PT, 3-3 FT | 40 Minutes | 2 Fouls, 2 Turnovers
Gay: 11/1/2/0/1 - 5-13 FG, 1-4 3PT | 17 Minutes | 3 Fouls, 2 Turnovers
Bargnani: 8/2/1/2/0 - 3-7 FG, 2-5 3PT | 15 Minutes | 2 Fouls, 0 Turnovers
An. Johnson: 4/1/3/0/1 - 2-3 FG | 7 Minutes | 1 Foul, 1 Turnover
Am. Johnson: DNP - Garbage
Barnes: DNP - Worst Player In NBA
Szczerbiak: DNP - Injured

Hawks | Bucks
PTs: 109 | 117
REBs: 37 | 35
ASTs: 31 | 28
BLKs: 10 | 3
STLs: 10 | 7
Fouls: 23 |17
T/O's: 16 |14
FG: 44/89 | 48-88
3PT: 6-18 | 1-6
FT: 15-18 | 20-29
Bench: 37 |26

Bucks lead 2-1

Other Results:

DAL 95 LAC 85
Mavericks lead 3-0

NOH 73 UTA 87
Jazz lead 2-1

PHX 101 HOU 116
Rockets lead 2-1

LAL 84 SAS 88
Lakers lead 2-1

CHI 77 MIA 98
Heat lead 2-1

CLE 94 IND 72
Cavaliers lead 2-1

BOS 105 ORL 101
Celtics lead 3-0

[homicide1550]

Dang! Bucks are the real deal.. I think Liam Washburn will try to walk out of the hospital and coach his team and eventually win the series..

Well, its nice to see quick updates from great dynasties like this one and Clutch’s..

[Lamrock]

Even Clutch has been updating every 4-5 days. I really hope the dynasty forums get active again come the start of the season. Good to see yours resume though.

[dansensei]

damn!! the bucks are really messing with my predictions...

[Clutch]

JJ off the bench ?!? guess that's why Bailey's only an assistant lol

Bucks are playing to their strengths, not good for ATL; hope you can pull even in gm 4...

[Valor]

omg!! >< bucks are catching up!!
get out of hospital soon and lead the team to success!!

[Chaser7]

omg!! >< bucks are catching up!!
get out of hospital soon and lead the team to success!!

Umm... The Bucks are winning lol

Also, how hard did you make ur settings now?

[Lamrock]

Bulls' Nocioni Takes Home Sixth Man Award

Chicago, IL - May 6, 2009 - It has been leaked that Andres Nocioni of the Chicago Bulls has won the 2009 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. Nocioni, a four year player, has seen an increase in playing time and role, with Ben Gordon and other teammates leaving via free agency.

Nocioni, 29, averaged 15.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 31 minutes per game for the Bulls, who are the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 49-33 record. The last time a Bull won this award was in 2005 when Ben Gordon won it.

A panel of 124 sportswriters from the United States and Canada awarded a first, second and third place vote, worth 5, 3 and 1 points respectively. Nocioni won the award rather easily with 515 points and 84 first place votes. The 76ers' Thaddeus Young came second with 327 points, with 25 first place votes. The Hawks saw Andrea Bargnani and Josh Childress come in 3rd and 5th respectively, with the big Italian scoring 147, and Childress 39. Finally, Zach Randolph put up solid numbers off the bench for the abysmal Knicks, to earn 87 points and fourth place.

Nocioni was unavailable for comment upon winning the award. He dethrones the Andrei Kirilenko, who now starts for the Jazz. David Stern will present him the award before Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals between the Bulls and the Heat.

[align=center][table][mrow]Player[mcol]1st[mcol]2nd[mcol]3rd[mcol]Points[mcol]PPG[mcol]RPG[mcol]APG[mcol]BPG[mcol]SPG
[row]Andres Nocioni[col]84[col]28[col]11[col]515[col]15.8[col]5.1[col]2.5[col]1.3[col]0.4
[row]Thaddeus Young[col]25[col]57[col]31[col]327[col]14.4[col]5.7[col]1.9[col]1.1[col]0.5
[row]Andrea Bargnani[col]10[col]21[col]35[col]147[col]10.7[col]5.9[col]2.1[col]1.1[col]0.4
[row]Zach Randolph[col]4[col]12[col]31[col]87[col]12.0[col]7.2[col]1.5[col]0.2[col]0.3
[row]Josh Childress[col]1[col]6[col]16[col]39[col]9.2[col]2.5[col]2.2[col]0.5[col]0.4[/table]

[/align]

[Chabalaba]

Woah, Zach Randolph coming off the bench. Maybe the Knicks should take something from this.
You really need the next win on the road.Good luck.

[deihatein]

Nice to see you now in the playoffs Lamrock. Even though I not that active right now here in the forum just wanted to see the progress of this dynasty you have which I still am a fan of. Bad luck on the 2-1 deficit against the Bucks though. I hope you comeback and get to the next round

By the way can I still post my predictions?

[dansensei]

By the way can I still post my predictions?

No, cause some of the games are already posted, and that would be cheating...

[Lamrock]

Oskar, Thanks for following, but confusing reply about the "lulz"

dei., Sorry, but no. I allow predictions after the first game for 75% and after the second for 50%, but after that, nada. Have you been inactive due to the keyboard thing?

Chabalaba, Yep, don't want to go down 3-1. Thanks for following.

Chaser7, Not too hard. I just gave them better shooting and rebounding. They are pretty fair. Thanks for still checking in! Update yours someday!

Valor, Perhaps I'll have to. I'm starting to lose faith in Benji's ability to hold down the fort.

dansensei, I think they are messing with everyone's, don't worry.

Game 4 should be coming very soon! Stay tuned!

[Lamrock]

Hawks Blow Out Bucks, Regain Homecourt Advantage

Atlanta 106, Milwaukee 83

Milwaukee, WI - May 8, 2009, 11:03 PM ET - That Atlanta defense finally returned, and in the nick of time. Down 2-1, and looking very vulnerable, a Bucks upset looked more and more likely. Now that homecourt advantage is back in the right hands, expect the criticism to subside for the time being.

From the very beginning, you could tell this was a different Hawks team. They crashed the boards, played tough defense and took smart shots. They led 32-20 coming out for the first quarter. This carried over into the second period, as they held a solid 54-40 lead, led by T.J. Ford.

[align=center]Top Players At The Half:

T.J. Ford: 13/5/6/0/2
Michael Redd: 15/3/2/1/0[/align]

[align=center]

Left, Josh Smith shows off his improved jumper. Right, Josh Childress dunks... We have bad photographers.[/align]

In the third quarter, Atlanta pulled away for good. Led by the backcourt tandem of Ford and Joe Johnson, along with Josh Smith and Al Horford's defense, Atlanta did not stand a chance. The Hawks came into the fourth quarter with a comfortable twenty point cushion. T.J. Ford finished the game with his first playoff triple-double, tallying 22 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds.

In the final period, fans left the stands one by one. The bench players played out the final period. The final score was 106-83. "We managed to tie the series. We won't be celebrating until we've beaten them four times," said Ben Bailey. Michael Redd led the Bucks with 23 points, while Ford's triple-double and Johnson's 26 helped the Hawks to victory. They will play game 5 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta.

JORDAN Player of the Game: T.J. Ford: 22 Points, 12 Assists, 11 Rebounds, 4 Steals
MCDWYANE Shitass of the Game: N/A

ATL 32 22 24 28 106
MIL 20 20 18 25 83

Series tied 2-2.

Other Results:

DAL 106 LAC 99
Mavericks win 4-0.

NOH 86 UTA 93
Jazz lead 3-1.

PHX 93 HOU 109
Rockets lead 3-1.

LAL 102 SAS 81
Lakers lead 3-1.

CHI 101 MIA 76
Series tied 2-2.

CLE 90 IND 86
Cavaliers lead 3-1.

BOS 121 ORL 98
Celtics win 4-0.

Note: I know that there are no stats for this recap. I lost the file I had the stats stored in, so I just went by memory. Not sure on Ford's stats exactly, but I knew he had that triple double. Game 5 and Most Improved Player coming next!

[Valor]

Nice win, defense owns in playoffs