Interesting series

The Cavaliers absolutely dominated that game last night in Washington. It's hard to believe the Wizards were actually winning after the first quarter, and extended the lead to six in the second. But after Boobie Gibson's three-pointer with 5:35 to go in the first half gave the Cavs a 43-41 lead, they never looked back. Our guys outscored the Wiz 21-7 the rest of the quarter, and the Washingtonians never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

After that domination, it's hard to believe these same two teams played such an up-and-down series. The margins of victory were: Cavs by 7, Cavs by 30, Wizards by 36, Cavs by 3, Wizards by 1, Cavs by 17. And Cleveland eliminates Washington for the third year in a row. It was a real battle, marked by hard fouls (of which LeBron James took most of the brunt), 13 technicals, one ejection and one suspension.

Of course, LeBron atoned for his missed shot that would have won Game 5, scoring his third career playoff triple-double (27 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists). He was a monster in that game. As Zydrunas Ilgauskas put it, the Cavs always have a chance because "We have LeBron on our team, and there are 30 other teams, or 29, who don't. That's the biggest difference."

Wally Szczqzxzerbiak, who couldn't buy a basket for a couple of months after the Cavs traded for him, seemingly couldn't miss last night, and wound up with 26 points. He and Boobie (22 points) combined for 10 treys.

And maybe DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler will learn to keep their mouths shut. But I'm guessing not.

It's also hard to believe we don't know who we're playing next yet. Really, the HAWKS taking the CELTICS to seven games? If Atlanta were to win somehow, this would be the biggest series upset in NBA history. Remember 1994, when Dikembe Mutombo's Nuggets became the first eight-seed to beat a one-seed, and it was Shawn Kemp's Supersonics? Remember the image of Mutombo lying on the floor at the end of the deciding game, holding the ball over his head in unbridled glee? Those Nuggets went 42-40 that year, to Seattle's 63-19, a 21-game difference in the standings. That's a big upset, no question.

But these Hawks went 37-45, to Boston's 66-16. That's a 29-game spread, for those who aren't good at subtraction. The Hawks are one of the worst teams to even make the playoffs in recent memory, and the Celtics basically ran roughshod over the league. The fact that Garnett, Allen, Pierce and company didn't send the Hawks home a few days ago is incredible by itself; never mind the idea that the Hawks might actually win. That's why they play the games, I suppose. But whoever wins Game 7 tomorrow, we can at least hope they'll be worn out when the Cavs get them.