Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

The Atlanta Hawks shocked a lot of people beating the Boston Celtics 83-74 on Sunday to win Game 1 of the series.

The Celtics were without Ray Allen for the game and got off to a very slow start while Atlanta looked fresh.

The Hawks were led by Josh Smith who scored 22 points to go with 18 rebounds and four assists and completely outplayed Kevin Garnett.

In the fourth quarter with frustrations high, Boston’s Rajon Rondo was ejected from the game after arguing a call and then bumping referee Marc Davis.

It is expected now that Rondo will be suspended for Game 2 and possible Game 3 because of the incident.

Rondo had 20 points and 11 assists in the game and surely the Celtics will have a much tougher time beating the Hawks in this series without him.

If the suspension is just one game and Rondo and Allen return for a Game 3 at home, the series shouldn’t be viewed as completely over but it will be tougher than most thought for the Celtics to advance to the second round.

Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Clippers pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks in NBA history late Sunday night. The Clippers ended their Game 1 with the Memphis Grizzlies on a 28-3 run to stun a Memphis crowd and win 99-98.

Chris Paul had 14 points and 11 assists and scored the final two points of the game at the free throw line with 24 seconds left.

Nick Young made three consecutive three-pointers for the Clippers during the run and led the team with 19 points.

The Clippers came into the game with not a lot of playoff experience and it showed as the Grizzlies immediately jumped out to a big lead.

Memphis of course had the great run last year in the playoffs and were looking as good as any team thus far in the playoffs this year.

The Grizzlies may have had a little fool’s gold though with their percentage from beyond the arc making 11-of-16 threes before going cold in the final minutes of the game.

This series promised to be one of the best first round matchups and with the Clippers stealing Game 1 on the road it probably will live up to that.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will play Game 2 tonight against the Dallas Mavericks. It will be the second game in a TNT double-header with the Miami Heat and New York Knicks playing first. Orland and Indiana will also tip Game 2 tonight on NBA TV.

The Thunder looked great in the final quarter against Dallas coming back to win thanks to Kevin Durant’s game-winner but they will have to play with the same intensity they showed in the fourth quarter for 48 minutes to ensure another victory.

Miami blew out New York badly in Game 1 but all the Knicks have to do is steal Game 2 and they’ve done their job of getting homecourt. After the Clippers-Grizzlies game, a complete flip-flop of fortunes in the Miami-New York series doesn’t seem as farfetched.

Indiana – like Memphis – blew what should have been an easy Game 1, home win to Orlando. The Magic scored the final 11 points of Game 1 to win.

The Pacers showed a sizable inside advantage with no Dwight Howard and Roy Hibbert blocking nine shots in the game but he also only scored eight points. The Pacers will need to find more reliable offense to get by the Magic tonight.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 92-77 Monday night, dropping them out of first place in the Western Conference standings.

The Thunder lose the season series to the Clippers 3-1. Los Angeles has given Oklahoma City their last two losses.

Oklahoma City played their worst half of the season tonight in the third and fourth quarters scoring just 25 points. Remember Kevin Durant scored 20 points in the fourth quarter alone two nights ago.

Tonight, Durant scores 24 but is 0-for-7 from three-point land. He and Russell Westbrook each turned the ball over five times.

Westbrook is held to just nine points breaking a streak of 50-straight games in which the duo has scored in double-digits. Westbrook was 4-for-16 from the floor and had just three assists.

Serge Ibaka was the lone bright spot for Oklahoma City especially in the third quarter keeping their hopes alive for the night with his work on the offensive glass. Ibaka scored 12 points in the game to go with eight boards (five offensive).

The game would again belong to Chris Paul who had his fingerprints all over everything good for the Clippers. Paul had 12 points and 10 assists but seemed to do much more getting Westbrook out of rhythm and getting Nick Young involved, who scored 19 off the bench.

Blake Griffin had another great game against the Thunder again passing well with six assists to go with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

The Thunder played poorly but missed a lot of shots they normally will hit. Those shots were jump shots though and that is the issue with this team, their reliance on making jump shots.

Tonight was a physical battle and Oklahoma City needed to match that efficiently scoring inside and couldn’t. It’s not the end of the world but a matchup in the playoffs against the Clippers might not be ideal for this Thunder team.

James Harden is going to need to wake up soon. He scored just 12 points and has been averaging about that over the last 10 games. An Oklahoma City NBA Finals appearance would require something closer to 17-5-5 from Harden.

The Thunder (44-17) are on to their third game in this five-game road streak on Wednesday when they will take on Phoenix (32-29).

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (1-game losing streak)
106.8 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
100.0 Defensive Efficiency (12th)
95.8 Pace (5th)
56.9 True Shooting % (1st)
51.1 Rebound Rate (8th)

Clippers (1-game losing streak)
104.3 Offensive Efficiency (6th)
103.0 Defensive Efficiency (21st)
91.8 Pace (27th)
52.8 True Shooting % (14th)
51.9 Rebound Rate (3rd)

It was not a pretty effort by the Thunder last night losing in Utah 97-90. The game really wasn’t even that close with Utah pulling away beginning in the second quarter and Oklahoma City only nearing a comeback with some desperation threes.

Tonight the Thunder will play the Clippers for the first time since this happened.

That was one of the more memorable games of this regular season up to its point and not just because of Blake Griffin’s dunk.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The matchup was very impressive to watch with the athletes that both teams had and talent of the teams. A late second quarter three-point barrage from the Clips would propel them enough ahead to prevent a Thunder comeback (which still almost happened).

Of late the Thunder have been in a funk struggling to find consistency as the season is hitting that point where some teams including the Thunder are coasting.

Returning home tonight with the memory of the last meeting expect both teams to come out and play hard.

Both teams will feature new additions in the game with the Clippers acquiring Nick Young at the trade deadline and giving away only Brian Cook and the Thunder potentially suiting up Derek Fisher, who is expected to sign with the team later tonight and is rumored to of already passed a physical.

Los Angeles poses a sizable advantage inside and is one of the better rebounding teams in the league. If they can be effective on the glass then it will make life very difficult for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City can play efficiently at a much higher tempo than the Clippers and it will surely be of emphasis for them to get out on the break. Stacked against them is one of the best game-managers in the NBA in Chris Paul and he will probably try and slow things down.

The Clippers won the first meeting thanks to great three-point shooting. Assuming we don’t see a repeat of that the Thunder shouldn’t have a ton of problem defending Los Angeles’ offense, which basically turns into nothing but pick-and-roll by the end of the game.

The fire power that Oklahoma City has in its big three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden are all going to be tough for the Clippers to matchup. The Clippers weakness is defense on the wing while the offensive isolation prowess of Oklahoma City starts from that position.

It will be a fun matchup no matter what. The Thunder are in need of a well-played game but so are the Clippers. A playoff atmosphere is expected as the teams tip at 8 p.m. EST.

Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE

The biggest names this trade deadline stayed put. Dwight Howard will remain with the Orlando Magic through next season. The Lakers did not deal Pau Gasol and the Nets kept Deron Williams.

A few contenders did make some noise and one team let the world know they would begin tanking. Let’s start with the 3-team deal that broke just after 3 p.m.

Nuggets, Clippers, Wizards

Denver received JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf, Washington received Nene, Brian Cook and a pick and Los Angeles received Nick Young. Other players and picks might be included.

The Nuggets get rid of Nene who perennially is at the top of the league in field goal percentage. The Nuggets have had trouble finding a closer in games and Nene was one guy they could go to for offense. Now they have McGee who is basically a head case but with tons of talent. Maybe George Karl can help with that.

Nene to Washington might be a good fit over there to help John Wall out. McGee and Young were the main headcases over there and it’s definitely somewhat of a plus to get rid of them.

The Clippers have needed a shooting guard all season and they get a talented one in Young without giving away much. While he may have attitude problems you have to think Chris Paul could help with that.

Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers made it clear that they have given up on the season. Not too long ago the Blazers were the most feared team by me as a potential playoff matchup with the Thunder. Today they dealt Marcus Camby and Gerald Wallace for Hasheem Thabeet, Jonny Flynn, Shawne Williams and Mehmet Okur.

They sent Camby to the Rockets for Thabeet, Flynn and a future second-round pick. They sent Wallace to New Jersey for Williams, Okur and a top-3, protected first-round pick.

The Blazers also fired head coach Nate McMillan.

Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers addressed a few needs today and parted ways with one of the all-time Lakers greats, at least according to their fans. The Lakers sent Derek Fisher and a first-round pick (via Dallas) to Houston for Jordan Hill.

Los Angeles also sent Luke Walton, Jason Kapono and a first-round pick to Cleveland for Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga. The Lakers have upgraded Fisher to Sessions who is one of the more underrated point guards in the NBA. Sessions however is a player that needs the ball in his hands a lot to be productive, but nonetheless is an upgrade from Fisher.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs will reunite with Captain Jack. San Antonio sent Richard Jefferson and a conditional first-round pick to Golden State for Stephen Jackson.

Jackson played for the Spurs from 01-03 and won the NBA title with the team in the 2002-03 season as a starter. Jackson played with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili on those teams and was very clutch during their playoff run in 2003.

Jackson was traded from Milwaukee two days ago to Golden State in the Monta Ellis deal.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets have added Camby and Fisher and a first-round pick while giving up no one in their rotation. Houston is fresh off a victory against the Thunder and beat the team with the best-record in the West two out of four times this season.

Camby paired with Samuel Dalembert will be a tough interior presence in blocking shots and rebounding on both ends. Fisher will also bring some experience and leadership. The Rockets will be a scary matchup for anyone once the playoffs role around if they can get healthy.

Greg Smith-US PRESSWIRE

New Jersey Nets

The Nets got rid of a few players that rarely play and a first-round pick to get Wallace from Portland. Wallace is a great chemistry guy who can fit in anywhere on a basketball court. Wallace looked like the key ingredient for Portland this year and last as they looked to make a playoff run.

The Nets now have Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez. This could help them land Dwight Howard in a few ways whether it be adding Wallace into a deal to try and get Howard eventually or enticing him more so to come because Williams and Wallace would be nice players around him.

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers quietly added Leandro Barbosa from the Toronto Raptors. They sent the Raptors a second-round pick and also received point guard Anthony Carter in the deal.

Indiana has been a pleasant surprise this season and could appear in the second round of the playoffs this year. Barbosa is a nice pickup for them adding depth and scoring to their backcourt. Barbosa also has been in the top 10 in isolation scoring in the NBA the past two seasons.

As expected the Oklahoma City Thunder did not make any moves during the trade deadline. There wasn’t a lot out there for them and they didn’t have much they would be willing to part ways with. San Antonio, Houston, the Clippers and the Lakers all made moves to improve and that could spell some trouble for the Thunder.