I use the word “favourite” loosely in the headline because both of the higher-seeded teams coming into Game 5s last night were actually down in their series 3-1.
The Raptors barely escaped game 5 with their hopes still intact. After going up by 20 at one point, the game ended up coming down to a potentially game-winning missed 3 pointer by Bostjan Nachbar of the Nets. Nachbar went 0-for-7 from 3-point range on the night in sad showing. T.J. Ford was forced out of the game early when he suffered a “stinger” after the most hated man in Toronto, Vince Carter, fell on him in a scramble. Jose Calderon was also forced out of the game after apparently spraining his ankle while coughing up the ball to Jason Kidd during a crucial possession.
Dallas got off to a roaring start against Golden State but weren’t able to sustain it all the way through the game. The Warriors eventually evened up the game and then went up by seven late, but Dirk put up an MVP calibre performance to keep his team in it. Dirk scored 12 of the final 15 Maverick points in the comeback from 112-103. Perfect timing for being a guy being named MVP shortly.