WASHINGTON, 18 May 2005 — Three favored National Basketball Association title contenders face their moments of truth this week in best-of-seven second round playoff showdowns with stubborn rivals who refuse to step aside.
Defending NBA champion Detroit, which needed a road victory to pull level at 2-2 with fight-tested foe Indiana, must win at home Tuesday to have a chance of closing out the Pacers at Indianapolis on Thursday.
Whichever club emerges from that Eastern Conference duel must next face the rested Miami Heat, with Shaquille O’Neal likely to return from a bruised right thigh and combine with guard Dwyane Wade to ignite the flashy Heat attack. The Western Conference second round has a pair of series deadlocked at 2-2 with Dallas at regular-season champion Phoenix for game five Wednesday and Seattle playing game five Tuesday at San Antonio.
“Going there 2-2 is much better than being down 3-1,” Seattle’s Reggie Evans said. “I’m not making any predictions, but who knows what can happen now.”
NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash of Phoenix scored 48 points against his former teammates in a losing cause Sunday, allowing the Mavericks to pull even.
A key for the Suns will be Amare Stoudemire, who averaged 35.7 points and 15.3 rebounds in the first three games but managed only 15 points against Dallas in game four.
Home teams have won every game in the Seattle-San Antonio slugfest, the Spurs winning the first two at home by a combined 39 points and the SuperSonics outlasting San Antonio in a pair of tight finishes.
Tim Duncan missed a turnaround jumper at the buzzer that allowed Seattle to escape with a 92-91 triumph in game three and avoid the 3-0 deficit that no club in NBA history has ever recovered from to win a series.
“You worry about a team playing inspired basketball knowing that they are up against it,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “You talk about that sort of thing but sometimes it doesn’t make any difference.”
Seattle’s Ray Allen scored 32 points to spark a 101-89 triumph in game four despite Duncan’s 35 points and 10 rebounds.
“Seattle played a great game,” Popovich said. “They played like it was a playoff game and I thought that Tim Duncan played like it was a playoff game. He looked around and couldn’t find anyone to help him.”
