Boston 93, San Antonio 91 

I really want to lay out all sorts of knowledge accrued from watching and re-watching this one. Not to be the first bloke on the block pointing out something new, naw, I'd just like to give a heads-up should something new actually go down.

I'm stuck inside the living room with an Irish heritage, a head cold/fever, and plenty of time to go over and over the back-and-forth between the two teams that appear to have the best chance (I'm telling you, we haven't seen the best of these Spurs, even if the ancient shooters can't find their mark) of making it to the Finals.

And, and, and ... nothing.

It was exactly what you'd expect. One team, full of perceived disrespect, came out with guns blazing (in this case, San Antonio). The other veteran squad (Boston) withstood the onslaught, and made it a semi-competitive game by halftime.

Things evened out, a few calls (nothing that would decide the game, mind you) went Boston's way, and the Celtic defense made out with the win.

San Antonio was spectacular, at times. It had to be. It had to work so hard to throw in a gorgeous Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker score for a mere two points; when, on the other end, a needless double-team (Ime Udoka, I'm looking at you) would force an otherwise stout Spurs defense to overreact, and give up an open trey to a Boston shooter.

Parse that out a few possessions. That means San Antonio has to go nuts to make a couple of impossible two-pointers that can be matched by a half-second screwup defensively that results in two quick Eddie House three-pointers.

Such is life.

Such is pro hoops. I kind of like it this way. If San Antonio wants a little revenge, they'll have to make it to June. Doubt this crew at your own peril.

Indiana 110, New York 98

There's nothing scandalous here, and I don't want to get into the laundry list of the things the Knicks have done since December of 2003 that isn't being replicated in this season's final weeks, but watching this team play out the string is just fascinating to me.

For one, this group is built on a foundation of chuckers. And yet, while Zach Randolph continues to hurl perimeter bombs while the low post begs for his presence, this group of iffy-shooters actually tries to work in a bit of offense from time to time.

For about 12 minutes time, actually, as they take the lead from the guy who signed them and who coached them and just start going through the motions at the four-minute mark in the first quarter.

Indiana's Mike Dunleavy Jr. was just playing with these Knicks by the second half, he finished with 36 points (34 of them, as far as I could tell, shot left-handed), and the Knicks didn't really seem to mind. Dunleavy's got to have the Most Improved Player award wrapped up by now, right?

Seriously, Isiah, when Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson can't wait for you to go, then you've really mussed things up. Just a surreal game, made all the more strange when the audio on the Indiana feed crapped out in the third quarter.

Memphis 98, Charlotte 80

The Grizzlies have talent - and, with Mike Miller back, they have Hakim Warrick (19 and six rebounds in 24 minutes) as a solid sixth man - but this was Charlotte's game to lose.

And, they lost it. Shock horror! They don't want to play for their coach, Derek Anderson (17 points) is still alive, and the Bobcats have turned into a once-promising start as a franchise into something worth shaking your head over.

Utah 96, Toronto 79

I'm afraid the reification of T.J. Ford as something that rhymes with a stick is complete.

There's precious little to offer here, the Raptors have lost eight of ten with Chris Bosh on the bench, but have lost little ground in the East, while the Jazz can shoot like the Boston Frogs on Double Dribble.

Minnesota 99, Los Angeles Clippers 90

This game was pretty miserable to watch, not because both teams were filled with players that knew that this mid-March pairing meant nothing, but because both teams were filled with players that entered the season knowing that none of this season's 82 games would mean a lick.

And yet, the Minnesota and Clipper rosters are filled with workers who have managed to work through this sordid knowledge. I don't know if that's a compliment or an indictment of ... actually, yeah, that's an indictment of the Minnesota and Clipper front office. Congrats on this mess.

Corey Maggette is good at getting to the free throw line.

Atlanta 105, Washington 96

The Hawks and the Wizards. Two Eastern Conference teams that haven't made much of a dent on PTI this year, but the punters have an idea as to what sorts of teams these are.

After all, the Hawks are full of "athletes." We don't know what kind of athletes (could be a bunch of shot-putters), but let's just go with what sounds right: lots of runners, lots of offense, lots of shooting. Throw in Mike Bibby (I remember him! From 2002, against the Lakers, lots of running!), and you have what appears (again, to the punters) to be a running team.

The Wizards are tiny, without Etan Thomas, without Agent Zero, and they're probably running as well.

105 points for the Hawks? Sounds about right. Poor kids must be all rosy-cheeked following the track meet.

Not quite.

82 possessions in this one. The Hawks were one of the East's better defensive teams for the first part of the year, they took a month off, and were back to shutting teams down until Monday night. They let the Wizards walk all over them to the tune of about 117 points per 100 possessions.

(Here we go again.)

No, here you have a chance to learn again! And that's what we all come to blogs - during our workday - to do, right?

No?

OK, here's a picture of Scarlett Johansson.

Back again? Let's go:

The Hawks, and this goes against the way they've played all year, were incredibly good on the offensive end. And while that might not make sense to those who don't see a lot of them, understand that this is a team that can sometimes struggle to put up 16 in a quarter. So Atlanta's 128 points per 100 was flippin' awesome.

Seriously, much in the same way that Denver's defense against the Sonics (116 points in 118 possessions is akin to 87 points allowed in an NBA-typical possessions) was great, the Atlanta offense (as it hasn't been all year) was superb this time out.

Washington worked, tried to move the ball, and finished well; but it wasn't a fair match for a Hawks team that was a step ahead and superior on the glass.

New Orleans 108, Chicago 97

Chris Paul is brilliant.

Like, Marquee Moon-brilliant.

Like, Odessey [sic] and Oracle-brilliant.

Like, Music of My Mind-brilliant.

Like, Radio City-brilliant.

We're incredibly lucky to be around for - here's hoping - the next 15-plus years of this guy's career. I'll have a Chicago column go up on the main page later today. Until then:

37 points on 15-21 shooting, 13 assists, two turnovers, three steals. Held Kirk Hinrich without a field goal. Brilliant.

(KDnote: I screwed up the late taping of the Orlando/Cleveland game, and will have to watch it this afternoon. As most of you think I'm daft - the payoff is 4:42 into the clip - you'll just have to wait on this one.)