Baron, Si! Cuban NO!!

The Warriors scored 112 points in Dallas the other night, but it wasn't enough to close out the Mavs, who went on a late 4th quarter run and won at home going away. Last night the Warriors needed one less point to blow the Mavs out of the arena 111-86 back in Oakland, and eliminate them from the playoffs in front of an enthusiastic home crowd garbed in gold and screaming "We Believe!"

Baron Davis tweeked his hammie (what a strange phrase THAT must be for a non-native speaker of English) late in the first quarter, which briefly sent him to the locker room for treatment -- but combative teammate Stephen Jackson stepped up to the challenge and drained some ungodly number of consecutive treys (I'll look it up in the box score later...and so can you) and it was off to the races in what for awhile looked an awful lot like an up-and-down three-point shooting contest in the spirit of Paul Westhead.

But the Mavs cooled off in the 3rd quarter, while it seemed like the Warriors just couldn't miss. Witness Baron's goofy-footed, off-balance three from the West Wing, and another waved-off bucket from half-court (by Jason Richardson?) which failed to beat the buzzer but still put a thrill in the hearts of the Warriors faithful.

I know this is the first time in NBA history that an eight-seed has eliminated a one-seed in a seven-game series, and the first time in fifty years that BOTH teams who played for the Championship the previous season have been sent home at the end of the first round. But both the Warriors and the Bulls are playing excellent, high-energy basketball right now, having both made dramatic rooster moves this past season which are finally starting to pay off at just the right time.

I think the Bulls/Pistons series is going to be a brawl, and that the Warriors will give either the Jazz or the Rockets all they can handle. Still like the Spurs to win it all, and am really looking forward to watching their upcoming match-up with the Suns...which could easily prove to be the second-most entertaining series of the entire playoffs. And again, who really cares what's happening in the East with the Nets, the Raptors, or even the Cavs...

But at this point, Golden State is Cinderella. And Mark Cuban is the jealous ugly step-sister. And the slipper...the slipper looks fly! And I just LOVED the AP tag-line: Whoa Nellie! Coach Don Nelson has done a helluva job with his Wild Warriors. They play their hearts out, and they're fun to watch. Let's hope they can keep it going a little longer.