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Written by Darren Odellot   
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
Utah Jazz Won Game 4 at Home


The story of the “Wizard of Oz” taught a valuable lesson: there is no place like home. For most of the remaining teams competing in this year’s NBA Playoffs, their home court was the key to success. Out of eight teams, only one has lost in their official arena. The Western Conference saw Utah, Los Angeles, San Antonio and New Orleans playing their best games in their respective courts. The Eastern Conference, meanwhile, has Detroit, Boston, and Cleveland protecting their turf. Orlando was the only team that relinquished the advantage of playing for a very supportive home crowd.

The Utah Jazz, owners of the best home record this season, was manhandling the Los Angeles Lakers as if they were not the best team in the West. The fourth game of their series showed the Jazz’s raw power in their arena. Their 123-115 win may have been achieved during overtime but they were successful in fending off each run made by Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers. Utah’s Deron Williams was the star of Game 4 as he tallied 29 points to go along with 14 assists. His buddy Carlos Boozer had 14 points and 12 rebounds to help the team to win.

Meanwhile, Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs exploited the weaknesses of their opponent, the New Orleans Hornets, by using a better defensive match-up. The Spurs could not be beaten by the Hornets on their home court and a lopsided victory was achieved. Duncan had 22 points and 15 rebounds while his team’s super guards Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker had 15 and 21 points respectively. The Hornets, on the other hand, were unable to give good support for their superstar Chris Paul. He had 23 points and 5 assists while only two of his teammates were able to score in double digits.

In the East, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers had some revenge on this season’s best NBA team, the Boston Celtics. The Cavs won in their Game 3 match-up with an impressive 108-84 beating. James led the team with 21 points and 8 assists. He also had help from Delonte West who also scored 21. For the Celtics, Kevin Garnett was the main man. He scored 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, part of the Celtics’ Big Three along with Garnett, failed to do much impact on this game. They had a sub-par performance but they expect to be better on Game Four.

The Detroit Pistons were able to steal a game from the Orlando home court. In their Game 4 match-up, the Pistons escaped with a 99-98 victory while missing the services of their point guard Chauncey Billups. Leading the Pistons was Richard Hamilton with 32 points. The Orlando Magic got their lift from Hedo Turkoglu who scored 20 points. The series is now 3-1 with Detroit having a comfortable lead. The home court advantage is essential in all the match-ups and a road victory is crucial during these trying times.



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