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.
The story in the second round of the NBA playoffs was home court advantage.
In the second round, the home team was 22-3, a winning percentage of 88%, an all time second round high.
This round included many competitive series, including another close one for the Boston Celtics.
They faced LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers, and the series went seven games.
Despite a tremendous effort from James, who scored 45 points in 47 minutes in game 7, the Celtics won the series 4-3. Dueling with James much of the game, Paul Pierce had an awe-inspiring effort as well, as he scored 41 points.
The Celtics move on to play the Pistons, who received a much needed rest after beating the Magic in only 5 games.
Playing without injured point guard Chauncey Billups for most of the series, Richard Hamilton led Detroit to the Eastern Conference finals, averaging 23.6 points per game, with 31 points in the deciding game 5.
In the West, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers continued their torrid scoring pace by beating the Jazz in six games. The Lakers scored over 100 points in all but one game, where they scored only 99 points. Kobe Bryant continued his great play, averaging 33.2 points per game.
Earning a birth in the Western finals as well was San Antonio, as they defeated the Hornets in seven games. With only one game within double digit points, both teams were on a roller coaster ride the entire series.
The Hornets blew out the Spurs at home in games 1, 2 and 5 by an average of more than 19 points a game,
but the Spurs dominated on their home floor as well, winning their home games by an average of almost 17 a game.
The series came down to a decisive game 7, where the Spurs showed they had been there before.
"I think our experience was finally an advantage for us in this game," Spurs guard Tony Parker told TNT.
While the Lakers hosted the Spurs late Wednesday, the Pistons traveled to Boston to face the Celtics on Tuesday night.
The Celtics won game 1 of the series 88-79, led by Kevin Garnett, who had 26 points and 9 rebounds. Also contributing for the Celtics was Paul Pierce, who had 22 points and 6 assists.
Game 2 of the series will be tonight in Boston.