The Cleveland Cavaliers got up big against the Chicago Bulls and never looked backed. But the performance of Derrick Rose was something to watch.

The Cavs beat the Bulls 96-83 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series at the Q. LeBron James did his best on both sides of the ball finishing with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 BLOCKS! The Cavs as a team swatted 12 balls, 10 in the second half. Mo Williams carried a heavy load at point guard dropping in 19 points with 10 dimes. Newly acquired Antawn Jamison was his ever-steady, quiet self, adding 15 points, 10 rebounds, and an impressive 3 blocks.

It was the depth of Cleveland that was the real difference. For once, it was not the LeBron + 4 game. Shaq, having not played since late February, came back with a strong performance, posting 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Varejao brought the energy with 15 rebounds and helped counter his bizarro self, Joakim Noah.

The offense of Chicago went through Derrick Rose. He had 28 points on 28 attempts and added 10 assists. His 7 TOs cost the Bulls but Rose has shown that he plays better in big games. The loss of another big scorer, losing Ben Gordon last year and John Salmons at the trade deadline, reduce the options of Chicago. Luol Deng was only 5-15 shooting, finishing with 12 points.

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The Atlanta Hawks dominated the LA Lakers thanks in part to major contribution from the bench. As the playoffs near, solid bench play is key for a long post-season run.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks in scoring with 25 points (including 5 three pointers) as the Atlanta Hawks dropped the Lakers 109-92 in Atlanta. JoJo has been the teams leading scorer all year long and will be counted on to hit some big shots in the playoffs. But on Wednesday night, it was the play of the Atlanta bench that secured an easy victory. Leading sixth man of the year candidate, Jamal Crawford finished the game with 14 points which is 3 points below his average. The real difference was the contribution of Maurice Evans (18 points) and Zaza Pachulia (10 points, 10 rebounds). If the Hawks get production beyond Crawford off the bench, they can be dangerous.

Despite 28 points from Kobe Bryant, the Lakers were never that close in the second half. The lose was only the fourth time the Lakers have dropped back-to-back games this season. With Boston losing to Oklahoma City, the Hawks moved into third place in the Eastern Conference. The victory over the Lakers continued a nine game win streak at home, though still a far cry from 20 games won at the Omni in the 1996-97 season.

The OKC Thunder trounced the 76ers and are close to clinching a playoff spot. The Thunder represent the future of the NBA and you should rejoice in their success!

Yahoo! Sports reports on Tuesday’s victory:

For three quarters, Kevin Durant put on quite a show for about 50 friends and family members who made the short trip up I-95 from his hometown of Washington, D.C.

There was no need to play for most of the fourth while his teammates were adding to a big lead.

Durant had 26 points and 10 rebounds, Jeff Green added 16 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder cruised to a 111-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.

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The Phoenix Suns won for the eight straight time and clinched a playoff birth, downing Chicago 111-105. Despite the recent success, they have made little headway in the overall Western Conference standings.

Phoenix bested Chicago in a back-and-forth game that came down to the final possessions. Steve Nash was given more room to work when Kirk Hinrich twisted his ankle in the second half. A clutch three by Channing Frye and crucial free throws by Nash down the stretch made the difference, despite good performances by Derrick Rose and Flip Murray. Jason Richardson paced the Suns in scoring with 27 points.

The Suns are 17-4 since the All-Star Break. They’ve won 8 straight games for the first time since 2007. But even with the recent streak, the Suns are still only 4th in the Western Conference. That being said, the are just a game and a half out of 2nd place.

Much of the Suns’ current success can be attributed to the rejuvenated play of Amare Stoudemire. The subject of rampant trade rumors, Stoudemire has stopped pouting and started playing. Averaging nearly 28 points since the All-Star Break, Amare’s showing that he can be a true offensive force if given the right motivation. No doubt he has increased his free agent market value significantly. The Suns will need to think hard about whether they can afford to let him go, or if they decide to finally pay someone.

The New Jersey Nets won their tenth game of the season yesterday, thereby escaping the dreaded title of the NBA’s worst team ever. But don’t cheer too loudly yet.

After winning their tenth game, the Nets avoided the dubious distinction as the NBA’s most inept team. That honor is still squarely on the shoulders of the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers who finished 9-73. In winning 3 of their last 4 games, the Nets need to be careful not to catch the 14-win Minnesota Timberwolves. Losing any ping pong balls in the John Wall (1st)/Evan Turner (2nd) lottery would not be good news for the struggling franchise.

Given the lows of this season, the future is surprisingly bright for the Nets. Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is ready to take the NJ Nets to heights they haven’t seen since Kidd was running the point. Prokhorov clearly wants stars. And there is no bigger star on the market than LeBron James, who has an already tight relationship with hip-hop legend and part Nets owner, Jay-Z. And unlike some fledgling franchises, the Nets actually have some good pieces: a franchise center in Brook Lopez, an excellent-when-not-injured point gaurd in Devin Harris, and a crafty 2 gaurd in Courtney Lee. If the ping pong balls take the right bounce in Secaucus, the Nets could be one free agent away from making some big time noise.

Now the Nets just need to do what they do best: keep losing!

Admit it, you never would have guessed that a game played in late March between the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies would have any meaning attached to it, other than somebody has to win the John Wall lottery. But the Bucks & Grizz battled into overtime on Sunday, as the playoff bound Bucks won 108-103 in overtime in Milwaukee.

Yahoo! Sports gave a good summary of how both teams look for the post-season:

While Memphis came into the game just 1 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the overall NBA standings, the teams have dynamically different postseason chances. The Bucks are close to clinching their first playoff berth since 2006, while the Grizzlies’ chances are all but gone to catch Portland or San Antonio in the Western Conference standings.

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