Last time on The New Millennium, the Chicago Bulls were once again the best team in the regular season, and now look to actually deliver a championship to their loyal fans. The West has seen a huge influx of new contenders, but they also must contend with MVP Kobe Bryant and his Lakers. Who will lay claim to the 2006 NBA Championship?
First Round
In an unbelievable upset, the West lost their top seed immediately, as young Chris Paul led his Kings to victory in four games, ousting the Lakers. They'll take on the Timberwolves next, as Minnesota breezed past the Trail Blazers. Unfortunately, the Pelicans will not be making any sort of playoff run, falling to the Grizzlies in four. For the final spot, the Suns and Spurs duked it out, going all the way to a Game 5, where Dwight Howard dropped 32 in a double overtime thriller, only for Amar'e Stoudemire to hit the winner to send Phoenix through. In the East, the Bulls and Pacers had minimal problems in advancing to face each other, taking out Atlanta and New Jersey. Despite Vince Carter scoring 30 in Game 5, Tracy McGrady hit the winner to send Orlando through. The Wizards pushed the Bucks all the way to five despite struggles from Dirk, but came up short in the upset attempt.
Second Round
This was a battle of attrition for everyone, as all four second round series would go seven games. Somehow, someway, the Kings took down the Timberwolves, as Peja Stojakovic and Chris Paul would engineer a comeback to win Game 7. The Suns would join them, using excellent defense from veteran Jason Kidd to take out the Grizzlies. Out East, Jermaine O'Neal continues to cement his legacy, forcing big turnovers late against the Bulls to lead the Pacers back to the Eastern Conference Finals. Joining them would be the Bucks, who got 60 combined points from Ray Allen, Michael Redd and Luol Deng to win Game 7 by 4.
Conference Finals
The team of destiny are without a doubt the Sacramento Kings, who would quickly take a 3-0 lead. Darryl Berry and Amar'e Stoudemire fought hard to get the Suns back into the series, winning two straight games, but big man Jimmie Owens took over in Game 6, scoring nineteen points, grabbing thirteen rebound and blocking five shots to get the win. The Bucks looked primed to join them, coming so close to eliminating the Pacers on multiple occasions. But young point guard Dexter Collinsworth took over, forcing a Game 7 and then dropping 26 points en route to another trip to the Finals.
NBA Finals
Trying to avoid losing in their third Finals in The New Millennium and their second in a row, the Pacers came out firing in Game 1, as Justin Galloway scored 37 for the win at home. It was more of the same in Game 2, as Chris Paul missed three after three and Indiana cruised to an easy win.
Game 3 in Sacramento was more of the same, as the Kings scored a dismal 77 points and lost by nearly 40, as Collinsworth put up 24. Facing elimination, the Kings played well in Game 4, as Chris Webber would force several turnovers and Sacramento would even hold a late lead. But Galloway would take over, hitting several big shots over the inexperienced and outmatched Chris Paul, and the Pacers won by seven. On their third try, fourth since 2000, the Indiana Pacers have won their very first NBA Championship!
NBA Finals MVP: Jermaine O'Neal(16.3 ppg, 12 rpg, 2.8 blkpg)
Finally, through all the pain and heartbreak, the Indiana Pacers are NBA Champions to the first time, though you do have to give props to the Kings, who had a miraculous playoff run. Join us next time on The New Millennium for the offseason, as several big names do have expiring contracts, and the draft pool does posses some future superstars.
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