Last time on The New Millennium, the Lakers and Bulls continued to reign as regular season champions, but neither team has made a run to the NBA Finals in over six years. With both conference stocked with talent, who will claim the ultimate prize and become 2010 NBA Champions?
First Round
Even in a guard dominated league, the Denver Nuggets proved the importance of big men. Kevin Love and Sherman Conway dominated inside of all five games, and the top seeded Lakers were out immediately. Another five game battle saw the Pelicans eliminate the other Los Angeles team, as Tony Parker scored 31 points in Game 5 to take out the Clippers. After a great rookie season, Stephen Curry went completely cold for the Mavericks as the Trail Blazers advanced in four. And in another upset, the Kings went down to the Timberwolves in four, as Kevin Durant scored an incredible 50 points to send Sacramento packing.
If you thought the Bulls could turn around their playoff mistakes, you would be sorely mistaken, as Chicago went down in five in another upset to Rudy Gay and Russell Westbrook of the Detroit Pistons. In a battle of recent champions, the Nets eliminated the Pacers after stellar performances by playoff hero Jason Richardson. The 76ers just survived against the Wizards, as shooting guards Willis Hammonds and Lou Williams combined for 48 points to win the decisive Game 5. The Charlotte Hornets would become the only top two seed to advance, sweeping the supposed "super team" in Atlanta. Their hero was a surprising one, as 35 year old Allen Iverson turned back the clock in a dominant three game performance. The miserable performance of Paul Pierce(he scored only 32 points in 96 minutes) led to a huge argument late in Game 3 with LeBron, leaving Atlanta's future extremely cloudy.
Second Round
Jason Richardson was on fire throughout the Nets' series with Detroit, as New Jersey would win in 6 and oust the young Pistons. They would be joined in the Eastern Conference Finals by the 76ers, who also won in 6. Hammonds was excellent once more, never scoring less than 15 points in any game, and got some help from Caron Butler, who's three point shooting helped win Game 5.
The West was wide open, and the Denver Nuggets were ready to take full advantage. Thanks to their superb defense, allowing New Orleans to score over 100 points only twice all series, they sent the Pelicans packing in only five games. Portland and Minnesota tore lumps out of each other in their series, fighting all the way to seven games. The Timberwolves only stayed alive thanks to Durant, who never scored less than 20 points in any game. In Game 7, he personally sent the Trail Blazers on their way, dropping 33 in Portland to advance.
Conference Finals
In the Western Conference Finals, the lockdown defense of Denver was tested, and for the most part, it held. Durant was held in check all series, only having one game of 20+ point scoring. It came down to Game 6, which was a defensive slugfest, won by a last minute tip-in by Kevin Love to send Denver to their second NBA Finals in The New Millennium.
On their home floor, the 76ers came out firing, winning the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals. But Chauncey Billups kept his team in it, scoring 60 combined points across Games 3 and 4 to even things up. Game 5 was won with a great bench performance by journeyman Darius Crawford, was Game 6 saw Philly win in Jersey, holding off a late rally. But in Game 7, the Nets blew the 76ers out of the water as Jason Richardson dropped 27 and New Jersey costed to a 29 point win and a chance to win their second consecutive championship.
NBA Finals
Game 1 in New Jersey saw the Nuggets stun the Nets behind a 27 point performance from Jameer Nelson to win easily. Game 2 was much closer, as the teams battled to overtime. There, Kevin Love took charge, drilling a game winning three to take a 2-0 lead heading back home.
In Game 3, the Nets looked defeated, as Denver's third big man, Vladimir Saric, notched a double-double and Denver had a late run to go up 3-0. One win away at home, the Nuggets held a lead for most of the game. But in the fourth quarter, Coty Porter hit several big shots, Chauncey Billups forced several turnovers and the Nets had their first win.
There would be no mistakes in Game 5. The Nuggets dominated at every facet of the game, as Sherman Conway and Kevin Love each had double-doubles. Jameer Nelson led the way with 25 points, for the first time in NBA history, an eighth seed had lifted the Larry O'Brien Trophy! The Denver Nuggets are 2010 NBA Champions!
NBA Finals MVP: Sherman Conway(18 ppg, 9 rpg, 1.6 spg)
For the second time in The New Millennium, the Nuggets are NBA Champions as the Nets fall short of back-to-back titles. Join me next time for the 2010 offseason.
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