CSL March Madness: Round 2

#16 Indiana Pacers vs. #1 New Orleans Pelicans
RESULT: Indiana Pacers WIN, 101-87/b]
Screenshots of game result:


Analysis: AND THE PELICANS GO DOWN! LeBron was simply too much for this Pelicans team. 55 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, and no one on the Pelicans could even come close to matching him. Marcus Smart was just plain bad, and when Smart is off, this Pelicans team won’t ever win, even in a game like this when Anthony Davis shoots 10 for 18 from the field for 29 points. It didn’t even matter that Kobe and Dirk played poorly, LeBron was just. too. good.


#24 Dallas Mavericks vs. #8 Chicago Bulls
RESULT: Chicago Bulls WIN, 102-80
Screenshots of game result:


Analysis: Well, the Dallas Mavericks run didn’t last long at all. After taking out the dominant Atlanta Hawks in the first round by 16 points, After scoring 37 in the first round, DeRozan got shut down by Joe Johnson, shooting 30%. Rose also had an off shooting night, with 29% FG%. But Tony Allen led the game shooting 50% for 23 points. The Mavericks were just outplayed and overwhelmed, and the Bulls will now be facing the Pacers in the 3rd round.

#13 Washington Wizards vs. #4 Detroit Pistons
RESULT: Washington Wizards WIN, 94-75
Screenshots of game result:


Analysis: With our 2nd upset of the 2nd round, the Washington Wizards take down the physical Detroit Pistons. John Wall slaughtered Jameer Nelson for 30 points, and the normally dominant Carmelo Anthony was locked down by Jonas Jerebko, who shot a poor 6 of 17. Andre Drummond did his best scoring 23 points on 50%+ shooting, but it wasn’t enough to save them this game, as one of the favorites to go all the way find an untimely demise in the 2nd round. The Wiz will be playing the Clippers or Houston Rockets in the next round.

Game 2, #12 Houston Rockets vs. #5 Los Angeles Clippers
RESULT: Los Angeles Clippers WIN, 116-103
Screenshots of game result:


Analysis: After having a fairly easy first round matchup in which missing James Harden didn’t matter so much, the Rockets finally got a challenge against the Clippers, and they couldn’t pull it off. Chris Paul destroyed Darren Collison, shooting 75% for 20 points. Al Jefferson added in 35, and the Rockets just don’t have enough scoring when missing Harden to really compete. Iguodala had 32 as the leading scorer for the Rockets, but there wasn’t much help for anyone else.

Game 1, #15 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. #2 Portland Trailblazers
RESULT: Portland Trailblazers WIN, 119-93
Screenshots of game result:


Analysis: Well, the Wolves just couldn’t match the combined 65 points from LaMarcus and Damian Lillard. Not much more to say here.

#26 Phoenix Suns vs. #10 Oklahoma City Thunder
RESULT:Oklahoma City Thunder WIN, 99-89
Screenshots of game result:


Analysis: In a game where Phoenix led by 12 point at the half, the Suns choked down the stretch and their run comes to an early end. Kendall Marshall was just bad, shooting 3 of 13, and though Otto Porter had 19 points, it just wasn’t enough to compete Paul George and Deron Williams who combined for 43 points. After this game, the lowest seed left is the Indiana Pacers.

#14 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #3 Utah Jazz
RESULT: Utah Jazz WIN, 114-87
Screenshots of game result:


Analysis: When the Lakers have Russell Westbrook healthy, they can hang with anybody in the league. But when he’s not… this is what happens. The Lakers just didn’t have any chance in this one. Derrick Favors had 24 points, only to be outdone by Al Horford, but CJ Watson was abused by Mike Conley. The Jazz will move on to play either the Heat or the Knicks in the next round.

#11 Miami Heat vs. #6 New York Knicks
RESULT: Miami Heat WIN, 136-129
Screenshots of game result:


Analysis: In the 2nd upset of this round, Kevin Durant was simply too much. 50 points. Ricky Rubio played pretty poorly, only scoring 8 points, even with 15 assists. Both Isaiah Thomas and Kevin Durant played 48 minutes, but in a march madness tournament, it seems that the key to winning is having a dominant player, with both teams led by Kevin Durant and LeBron James leading their teams into the 3rd round.




So after all 8 round 2 games, here is the bracket:
Tune in tomorrow for the next round. How long can Kevin Durant and LeBron James keep this up?