Collegiate Times

The NBA playoffs continue this week as the Eastern and Western Conference Finals get under way.

The Boston Celtics traveled a surprisingly rocky road to get to the finals of what many considered to be a weak Eastern Conference.  In the first round, they played an Atlanta Hawk team that was only 37-45 in the regular season, 29 wins worse than Boston.

But the Hawks were resilient, and took the Celtics to seven games.  It was Boston's 'Big Three,' of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, who ultimately helped the Celtics pull through to the next round by leading the blow out against Atlanta 99-65 in game 7.

Although it was a must win game for Boston, the team was confident going into game seven.  

The Detroit Pistons had some trouble of their own, needing six games to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers got off to an unforeseen 2-1 lead in the series, but it was all Detroit after that, as the Pistons won three straight games to take the series and advance to the second round.

The Orlando Magic easily beat the Toronto Raptors in five games.  The story of the series was Dwight Howard, who in only his second career playoff series, averaged 22.6 points and 18.2 rebounds per game.

"He's a phenom; he's the best center in the league," said Raptors forward Chris Bosh to ESPN.com.  "It doesn't surprise me at all. I've seen him play this whole series, I've seen him play this season."

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Washington Wizards in six games to eliminate the Wizards for a third straight year.  LeBron James took over the series, as he had 27 points and posted a triple-double in game 6.

In Western Conference Action, the Los Angeles Lakers swept the Denver Nuggets in four games in an extremely high scoring series in which the Lakers scored over 100 points in every game. The Nuggets became the first 50 win team to be swept in NBA history.  

Kobe Bryant proved why he was the NBA Most Valuable Player this season, as he averaged 33.5 points per game and dominated the entire series.

The New Orleans Hornets followed suit as they beat the Dallas Mavericks in five games to advance to the second round.

Hornets point guard Chris Paul, who finished second in MVP voting behind Kobe Bryant, averaged 24.6 points and 12 assists per game and also posted a triple double in game five.

Starting the series with a 3-0 lead, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 4-1, showing why they have won three championships in the past five seasons.

It was the second straight year the Suns were eliminated by the Spurs.

The Utah Jazz needed six games to defeat the Houston Rockets, advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.  Rockets guard Tracy McGrady now moves to 0-7 all-time in playoffs series.

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