Second Leg of NBA Playoffs Almost Set fot the East, West Still in Tough Competition

The second leg of the NBA playoffs is almost near as teams Miami Heat and Washington Wizards are already ahead of the pack. Other top tier teams during the regular season now show doubts in making it to the next round.

Eastern Conference

Miami Heat is the first team to quickly move forward as they swept the Charlotte Bobcats 4-0 in their first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. LeBron James scored 31 points, and Chris Bosh contributing 17 points in their last game against the Bobcats.

Following Miami's win, the Washington Wizards also moved on to the next round as the beat the Chicago Bulls 4-1 in game 5. John Wall finished with 24 points and Nene with 20 ending game 5 75-69.

Indiana Pacers is a struggling team in the first round of the playoffs facing the Atlanta Hawks. The Pacers are down 2-3 against the Hawks with their recent loss in game 5 Tuesday. Their final score was 107-97. One of the most notable challenges to Indiana at the moment is Roy Hibbert being unproductive in his recent games. In game 5, Hibbert was zero in points and rebounds.

Another crucial situation stands for the Brooklyn Nets as the Toronto Raptors had their biggest lead in playoff franchise history (26 points). The Raptors now lead the series 3-2 and is just one win away to move to the next round. Toronto's Kyle Lowry scored a career-high 36 points in game 5.

Western Conference

The San Antonio Spurs held off the Dallas Mavericks to a 109-103 win in game 5, April 30. Despite notable performances by Vince Carter sinking in 7 three-pointers, and Dirk Nowitzki scoring 26 points, the Spurs still beat Mavericks by 6 points. Tony Parker's 26 points, Tim Duncan's 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Tiago Splitter's 17 points and 12 rebounds (both players having double-doubles for that game) had helped the Spurs win game 5.

The Houston Rockets still held on from a 1-3 standing to 2-3 against the Portland Blazers with 108-98 in game 5. Dwight Howard scored 22 points, grabbed 14 boards, and help greatly with defense to avoid elimination. Jeremy Lin also helped in the cause by scoring off the bench 21 points.

The Los Angeles Clippers while going through a controversy with their owner broke the tied series with the Golden State Warriors with a 113-103. The Clippers' DeAndre Jordan played a remarkable NBA first record having 25 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks in a playoff game. The last player to have recorded similar statistics was Tim Duncan back in 2008.

The Memphis Grizzlies pulled a close 1-point win in overtime against the Oklahoma City Thunder with the game ending 100-99. Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley scored the crucial winning basket to decide game 5. Despite the Thunder's Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook 56 combined points, it still didn't make up for their low field goals that may have caused their loss. Notable performance of the night was Westbrook's ninth career triple-double with 30 points, 13 assists, and 1 rebounds.