It's The Playoffs!

Baketball Playoffs

Lakers 88, Spurs 81

It isn't fair.

On a night when Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant scored like mere mortals (19 and 28 points respectively) and Tim Duncan, one half of the fabled Twin Towers of San Antonio (the other being David Robinson) scored 40 points, the Lakers STILL won! And in so doing, they took a two-games to zilch lead in the series, extending their win streak to 17 in a row.

The Lakers got input from the entire team Monday night, not just from their two stars. Players other than O'Neal and Bryant scored 20 of Los Angeles' 38 points in the first half.

Lakers' forward Horace Grant (center) puts up a shot over Tim Duncan of the Spurs. The reason we're highlighting Grant has nothing to do with how he played (he had six points and three rebounds), we're just tired of showing pictures of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. REUTERS

It was a far different story for the Spurs. They only got 17 points from players other than Duncan and Antonio Daniels throughout the entire game! And only two points came from their bench.

The fact is the Lakers are not only a scoring machine, they play great "D" as well. They shut down the Spurs' acclaimed three point shooters, limiting them to 4-16 shooting for a dismal 25% success rate. San Antonio had shot 42 percent on 3-pointers in the first two rounds.

Another big problem for the Spurs was that David Robinson got into early foul trouble and was only on the court for 27 minutes.

"With the two of us in there, it puts pressure on them," Robinson said. "With one of us out there, it puts a lot of pressure on Tim."

Hockey Playoffs

Avalanche 2, Blues 1, OT

Joe Sakic scored on a power play goal in overtime to send the Colorado Avalanche back to the Stanley Cup Championship, which they last won in 1996. The Avs took this series 4-1 against the Blues, who led for only 52 seconds in the series. The Blues have not appeared in the Stanley Cup finals in 31 years.

Avalanche center Joe Sakic (right) gets up close and personal with Blues goalie Brent Johnson while scoring the game winner in overtime. The Avalanche won the series 4-1 to secure their second trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in six years. REUTERS

Sakic's goal, his ninth of the playoffs, came while St. Louis defenseman Alexander Khavanov served a four-minute penalty for high-sticking, called with 2:16 left in regulation. The hit left Colorado forward Milan Hejduk bloodied, prompting the double minor.

Khavanov said he lifted his stick to protect himself, and St. Louis coach Joel Quenneville was equally frustrated with the critical call.

"This stage of the game is not a good time to go there," Quenneville said. "I had some issues. An overtime power play puts you at a disadvantage, and that turned out to be the deciding factor. We can argue it, and I don't want to in this forum."

Patrick Roy was phenomenal again. He finished with 28 saves, including several big ones in the third period. In a three-minute span, Roy stopped Pierre Turgeon, Keith Tkachuk, Sean Hill, Pavol Demitra, and Scott Young to preserve a 1-1 tie.

Colorado will play the winner of the Devils-Penguins match-up. The Devils lead that series 3-1.

Playoff Results from May 21, 2001