OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

Stephen Jackson sinks Loss Lakers

Cap'n Clutch

Any NBA team that gives up a 26-point lead usually doesn’t deserve to win the game. More than likely, they won’t even get the chance to make it close, anyways. Additionally, any team that blows a 26-point advantage often doesn’t deserve to win the game, either. On Easter Sunday the Lakers hosted the Warriors in Part 1 of the Battle of California, in what would become an incredible and unpredictable tale of two halves. Calling this contest an epic duel might not do justice for what took place at Staples Center between these division rivals.

Jumping out to an early first half advantage, the Warriors did not look anything like the team that lost 9 of its previous meetings in Lakerland. Stephen Jackson was unconscious early on, sinking 4-4 from beyond the arc in the first quarter. Monta Ellis slashed his way through the Laker defense to compliment the outside game. The Warriors matched a season-high 72 points in the first half, or just 9 points short of Mavericks’ total points against the Spurs earlier today, and looked to be in control with a 23 point lead at the break.

Then, like a Hollywood villain who isn’t quite as dead as you thought, the Lakers woke up and took control of the 3rd quarter. As hot as the Warriors played early on and forced turnovers, the Lakers came out with grit and turned the tables on the Warriors in the furious rally. A number of defensive stops and slowing down the tempo enough to force ill-advised perimeter shots allowed Los Lakers to cut the deficit to 6 going into the 4th. Kobe Bryant came alive in the 4th, scoring 16 of his 36 in the final frame and rallying the team to completely cut the deficit and take the lead, all before the whirlwind end of the game.

With :46 left, Kobe did what he does best – draining a three from 26 feet out to cut the deficit to one. However, on the next possession, Jackson answered back with a three of his own, his first bucket of the second half. Following a timeout, the Lakers traded 2-for-1 as, who else, Kobe drained yet another three to cut the lead back to one, 112-111. As Baron Davis brought the ball up the court, and the seconds wound down on the clock, he found Jackson wide open from 27 feet out. Captain Jack drove the final dagger in the Lakers’ heart, hitting the three and game-deciding points.

The Lakers now fly up to the Bay Area where they will once again take on the Warriors with a foul taste in their mouth, and part two of this NorCal-SoCal shootout, while the Warriors seek to win the season series 3-1.

OFF TO THE SWEAT COAST

Stanford, UCLA survive scares; Duke gets dumped

Fight, Fight, Fight

While Saturday’s contests under the southern-California sun did not exhibit the Pac-10 as the most-dominant league in the country, it did showcase two storied powerhouses with intestines of steel and sub-zero IV drips. Within an hour drive for the Baby Bears and an hour flight for the Cardinal from their respective campuses, a sold-out crowd of well over 17,000 descended on the Honda Center in Anaheim to watch two teams punch their tickets to the Regionals.

It's good to see that Justin Guarini
is finally getting a taste of victory.

Down much of the game and without their leader Trent Johnson, who was inexplicably tossed with two T’s just before the half on the biggest of stages, the Cardinal’s 7-foot twin towers of Robin and Brook Lopez dominated the second frame by doing what they were supposed to do: punish the smaller Golden Eagles in the paint. Brook put up 30 points (including the game-winning shooter’s bounce on the baseline) and Robin added 18 to push Stanford to the Sweet Sixteen, barely avoiding the agony of heading back to the Bay Area and pondering why they both have girls' names.

UCLA has been no stranger to last-second drama the last few weeks of the season, and their second-round clash with the Aggies of Texas A&M was no exception. With Josh Shipp putting up a donut through much of the night, Luc Mbah a Moute walking more than Barry Bonds, and Kevin Love missing jumpers from 17 out, the first half seemed like a premonition of impending doom for the squad from Westwood, especially with A&M getting all the bounces, including a HORSE-winning bank shot off the top of the board. But Darren Collison’s Jason-Kapono-impression in the first half kept them within reach, and Love’s block party (sending back 7!) in the second half was enough to get the Bruins to Phoenix.

The Dukies were utterly outmatched in the second half by the Mountaineers, to the dismay of a flu-stricken and frustrated Coach K. Their lack of a significant inside presence and complete collapse of their outside game (including 15 straight bricks from behind the line) were too much for the Devils to overcome, as they were ousted in the second round before a raucous D.C. crowd, including a fully-dressed mountain man reminiscent of Ted Kaczynski. This marks the second straight year Duke has failed to reach the Sweet Sixteen.