(Almost) Every day during the NBA playoffs, the Triple Threat will break down the latest action as we get closer to awarding the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

San Antonio 110 New Orleans 99 The Spurs didn't have a sluggish 3rd quarter and used a later 4th quarter run to close out the Hornets, in a game where the final score is not as indicative of how close this game truly was. Chris Paul and Tony Parker put on a show but it was the defensive adjustment of putting Bruce Bowen on Peja Stojakovic by Greg Popovich and the Spurs hitting 11 three pointers that made the biggest difference tonight. Chris Paul scored 35 points and dished out 9 assists while Tony Parker countered that with 31 points and 11 assists. With both Point Guards dueling and going back and forth trading blows, it came down to the other stars and supporting casts to push each team over the top. Manu Ginobili scored 31 points while Popovich’s switch of Bowen to Stojakovic kept Stojakovic in check to the tune of only 8 points was the major difference in the game. Tim Duncan continues to struggle but did have a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds. We now have to wait all the way until Sunday night to see Game 4 of this now much tighter series than it was coming into Game 3.

Boston 89 Cleveland 73 Ray Allen and Paul Pierce found their shooting touch while LeBron continued to struggle as Boston took the 2-0 lead as this series shifts to Cleveland. Both teams collectively continued to struggle shooting, especially from the three point line (combined 5-27). Ray Allen finally made a field goal, ending a 7 quarter drought, in route to a 16 point night. Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 12 rebounds. LeBron shot a little better in Game 2, 6-24, but it wasn’t enough as the Celtics put the clamps down on the Cavs in the 3^rd quarter. LeBron is 8-42 with 17 turnovers in the two games so far. For Cleveland’s sake, they better hope that LeBron can find his shooting touch in Cleveland and that Boston will continue to struggle on the road. Game 3 is Saturday.

Best Lines

• Tony Parker: 31 pts, 11 asts, 4 rbs
  
• Chris Paul: 35 pts, 9 asts, 2 rbs, 1 stl
  
• Manu Ginobili: 31 pts, 6 asts, 4 rbs
  
• Tim Duncan: 16 pts, 13 rbs, 4 blks, 3 asts
• Kevin Garnett: 13 pts, 12 rbs, 4 asts, 1 blk