Daily NBA Fix 5-4-14: Home Court Really Does Matter
By Phil Watson
Welcome to the Daily NBA Fix for Sunday, May 4, the morning after a record three Game 7s were played, with the home teams surviving in each one.
In a first-round where road teams have won 23 games so far, home-court advantage was back in vogue Saturday in a trio of Game 7s—the first time in NBA history that three seventh games were played on the same day.
The Indiana Pacers survived at home against the plucky Atlanta Hawks, thanks in part to the Hawks not being able to throw a rock in a lake from a boat, as Atlanta shot 30.4 percent from the floor in a 92-80 loss.
The Oklahoma City Thunder got big-time performances from their stars, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook—who combined to go 7-for-7 from 3-point range, and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 120-109.
And the Los Angeles Clippers held off the Golden State Warriors for a 126-121 win in Game 7.
The three wins by the home teams puts the visitors under .500 for the first time in the playoffs—in 48 first-round games, the home teams are now 25-23 with two games left on Sunday—Game 7s between the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors and the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.
The Daily NBA Fix will do what it did all season long, deliver highlights, game capsules, the top and bottom five players and, yes, we’ll still be handing out the Goose Egg, Clean and Sober and Ironman awards. We’ll also have informational tidbits and a look at the daily lines for those who want to drop a buck or two on a wager.
Check out the highlights below from the night that was, then get into the game capsules (home teams in CAPS).