NBA Playoffs Heat Up

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As June approaches, the sports world is immersed in the NBA playoffs, waiting series by series for the crowning of the new NBA champions. The Western Conference was dominated by the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. Led by Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson, the Warriors took down the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans, while the Rockets took down the Timberwolves in a series of only 5 games due to the performances of James Harden and Chris Paul. Fans were shocked when the Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Utah Jazz in 6 games, despite Russell Westbrook’s huge postseason performances. Yet again, he averaged another triple double, which has never been done before.

On the Eastern Conference side, the number one seed Toronto Raptors were dominant in their first series, moving on to the next round in 6 games. Their momentum carried into the conference semifinals, where they would face the Cleveland Cavaliers, who beat the Indiana Pacers in a series that went down to the wire, but once the second round started, it was clear that Lebron James and the Cavs would not let up. LeBron singlehandedly swept the Raptors, not letting them win one game in the series. After that performance, they will take on the Boston Celtics, who took down the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics won their series against the 76ers 4-1, winning the fifth game by a margin of 2 points.

Sophomore Luca Antonio Colannino shared that he “rooted for the 76ers until the last possession of the game. I wish they won so they could take on the Cavs, but they’ll have a shot next year.” On the other hand, freshman Brian McQuillen, though he is a Thunder fan, “would like to see the Celtics beat the Cavs and see them stop the Warriors in the finals.”