Who released the dogs? For those who thought NBA playoff games were meant to be hotly contested defensive games, think again. The Heat defeated the Nets 111-89 last night and the Clippers just as easily defeated the Suns, 122-97.

On this light day of action, I’m skipping a free play, but I’ll have free plays Friday through Sunday. After last night’s 4-0 sweep in all sports (including my free play winner), I have a HUGE Thursday booked in the MLB. Since winning my LEGEND Play last Saturday against the Dodgers, I’ve stretched my current MLB streak to 6-1 (or 85.7% winning). On Thursday, I have two 15* plays, an Afternoon Delight plus a Rivalry Classic tonight against the Red Sox/Yankees. I’m also featuring one of my exclusive Las Vegas Insider Plays, which opened the month of May, 3-0!

Five of the eight second round games have now been decided by 12 or more points (four by at least 22 points!) with six of the eight games going over the total. That continues a top trend that has seen 15 of the last 18 playoff games skyrocket over the total. Home teams are 5-3 to open the second round (3-5 ATS) and the “zig-zaggers” now have a perfect 4-0 in the second round after closing out the first round with a 0-8 runs ATS.

Three of the four series are tied at 1 after two games with only the Pistons leading 2-0 (over the Cavs). Perhaps the bettors knew what they were doing, as Detroit opened as a 20-1 favorite to win their series over Cleveland, while Miami, Phoenix and San Antonio opened as 2-1 favorites over New Jersey, Los Angeles. Clippers and Dallas, respectively.

Wednesday summary

The Heat jumped out to a 25-4 lead over the Nets last night, en route to a 41-19 first-quarter lead. Miami made 10 of its first 13 shots, while New Jersey missed nine of its first 11. Dwayne Wade scored 17 of its 31 points in that first quarter and Miami shot 52.7 percent as a team (after shooting just 39 percent). .1 percent in Game 1). Shaq added 21 for Miami, as it was easy for him to avoid foul trouble in this one.

New Jersey’s Richard Jefferson now showed ill effects from his ankle and/or heel problems, scoring 16 points. However, New Jersey shot just 40 percent as a team, after shooting 48.6 percent in their 12-point Game 1 victory. The loss ended the Nets’ four-game winning streak, a streak in which they had allowed just 88 points per game.

The Clippers also beat the Suns last night, opening up a 38-22 lead in the first quarter and not looking back in a 122-97 blowout. All five starters posted double-digit figures for the Clipps (even defensive specialist Ross had 11!), led by Elton Brand’s 27 (10 rebounds). LA dominated on the inside, outscoring the Suns 57-26, including 19-5 on the offensive end. The Suns are now 0-4 in this year’s postseason when they fail to score 100 points and 5-0 when they pass the century mark.

The playoffs opened on April 22 and there have been 19 straight days of playoff action, but God (or maybe it’s David Stern?), he has no playoff games scheduled for tonight.

MLB ratings

For the second day in a row, 11 of the 15 MLB games went over the run total (who let the dogs out, part 2). Tuesday night it was the American League that provided most of the scoring punch as all seven of their games were over, but last night it was the National League’s turn as seven of eight senior circuit games topped the totals. racing. Ten teams had at least a dozen hits (12 did on Tuesday), led by the Marlins and Mets, who had 17 hits.

The longest active win-loss streaks in MLB came to an end last night. The Phillies, whose nine-game winning streak was the team’s longest since they won 13 straight in 1991, lost to the Mets, 13-4. Meanwhile, the Cubs ended their eight-game losing streak by beating the Giants 8-1. The eight runs scored by Chicago were just one run short of what the team had scored during its eight-game losing streak combined (it had been outscored 42-9)!

Heading into Thursday’s 11-game schedule, the Dodgers own the longest active winning streak in MLB at five straight and the Astros own the longest active losing streak at six. One of those streaks has to end today (barring rain), as the Dodgers host the Astros in the final game of a three-game series at 3:10 ET. Three games are on TV this Thursday, the Cubs vs. the Giants (3:35 ET on WGN), the Braves vs. the Marlins (7:05 ET on TBS) and the Red Sox vs. the Yankees (7:05 ET on ESPN2). ) .

The Yankees beat the Red Sox 7-3 last night after seeing Schilling lead by three runs. Mussina won his fifth straight game for the Yankees as they beat the Red Sox for the first time this year after losing 7-3 on May 1 at Fenway and 14-3 Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. New York is 19-12 and Boston is 20-13, so the winner of tonight’s game heads into the weekend in first place in the AL East. It’s Wakefield vs. Chacon tonight, with NY under-$1.35 favorite (10 1/2).

closing note

In his heyday, Arsenio Hall had a segment on his late-night TV show that he called, “things that make you go hmmmmmm!” Consider Geoff Petrie’s statement the other day when Sacramento’s president of basketball operations announced the firing of the team’s head coach, Rick Adelman. In part, Petrie said, “I came to the conclusion that continuing this way was simply not feasible.”

For the record, Adelman took over the Kings in the strike year of 1998-99. He led the Kings to a 27-23 record that year and a playoff berth. Over the past seven seasons, he’s led the Kings to an average of 52.6 wins per season and this year he led the Kings to their eighth consecutive postseason. By the way, only the Pacers and Spurs (both with nine straight playoff appearances) have longer active streaks.

How had the Kings fared before Adelman’s arrival? Well, since moving to Sacramento for the 1985-86 season, the Kings had made just two playoff appearances in the 13 years prior to Adelman’s arrival in 1998-99, averaging 29.7 wins per season! I suppose it is reasonable to see why Petrie concluded that “it is not feasible to continue in this way”.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Ness Notes is available Monday through Friday at 1:00 ET.