Los Angeles Lakers 99, Oklahoma City Thunder 96 (Thunder lead series 2-1)

Game 1 was the blowout, the startling realization that the Oklahoma City Thunder remained a championship-level force to be reckoned with, even after a week-long layoff. Game 2 was the ugly nail-biter, the one that Los Angeles let get away. Game 3? It wasn’t perfect. But it was fantastic, end-to-end playoff basketball.

There were quibbles, to be sure. Thunder coach Scott Brooks probably shouldn’t have left Derek Fisher try to guard Kobe Bryant after Kobe’s entrance in the fourth quarter; Kevin Durant will get criticism for the pass he made (to Serge Ibaka, in the game’s third-to-last possession); Ibaka will get criticism for the pass he didn’t make (to Durant or Russell Westbrook with the Thunder down three with three seconds left); and Kobe Bryant’s ability to goad referee Marc Davis into putting him at the line on a phantom foul late in the fourth quarter. There were mistakes.

[Photos: Lakers get back in series with win over Thunder]

Kobe, though, earned just about every other trip to the line. He hit double-figure free-throw attempts by the end of the third quarter, and did not fall victim to the low-percentage looks down the stretch like he did late in Game 2 (save for one instance, that led directly to OKC going up five in the middle of the fourth as Kobe admired his follow through). One drive and score over both Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka in the fourth probably saved Los Angeles’ season. Whine all you want over the Lakers shooting 42 free throws and Kobe hitting 18 of 18, but by my count he earned all but four of those 18 (both on phantom fouls versus James Harden), and the Lakers earned this win.

Andrew Bynum was fantastic defensively, hedging and moving bodies on the interior, making up for a tough night from the floor (2 for 13) by playing so well on the other end and hitting 11 free throws of his own. Pau Gasol was once again given afterthought status, but still added a team-high (tied with Kobe) six assists, with Los Angeles dishing an assist on 14 of the its 16 first-half baskets.

The Thunder have some rotation issues to work through. Derek Fisher entered the game early (just six minutes in) because Brooks wasn’t happy with Russell Westbrook’s energy level to start the game, and that was probably a good move. But eventually playing James Harden only 29 minutes and letting Fisher get burned on Bryant’s two warm-up jumpers in the fourth quarter was a misstep. Westbrook still has an astonishing two turnovers in 96 combined minutes of play in this series, but he also managed to create only one assist for a teammate on Friday.

And yet, there they were. Kevin Durant with a 3-pointer to tie it with just a few ticks left, just a little to the side.

As much as we dug this game, it’s unfortunate we’ll have to see these two teams suit up again on Saturday night, because a back-to-back (and Los Angeles’ 11th game in 20 days) rarely produces a good batch of basketball on the second end — even dating back to the 1990s in non-lockout years. Three games in, and with just 21 hours separating the final buzzer from the opening tipoff of Game 4, these teams are probably just all adjusted out. They know what they have to do.

And we know what we have to do. Watch.

***

Philadelphia 76ers 92, Boston Celtics 83 (series tied 2-2)

If I told you before the Sixers and Celtics tipped off on Friday night that the 76ers would win by a 92-69 score, you’d probably be a little surprised — especially considering Boston’s dominant turn in Game 3. But it certainly wouldn’t have been the craziest idea, considering how Boston’s offense can come and go, and that the 76ers were working in the midst of a must-win situation.

If I point out that the Sixers spotted the Celtics a 14-0 lead to start the game? Then things get a little dicey. Everyone expected this to be a long series, and in a long series everyone gets their blowout win, so, is this, perhaps, Philadelphia’s blowout win? Even if the C’s seemed well on their way to a blowout win in the opening quarter.

An odd game, obviously. Philadelphia showed absolutely no interest in playing smart basketball from the outset, matching tough perimeter jumpers with frantic, nervous play. Boston relented, though, after its hot start. The C’s gave up too many turnovers, which allowed Philadelphia the chance to leak out in transition and chip away at the lead. Still, with Paul Pierce hitting from the outside and Andre Iguodala struggling mightily, Boston led by 18 in the third.

Then the Celtics went small. For some reason.

[Related: Celtics collapse in Game 4 after succumbing to Sixers' 'trick']

Brandon Bass is no great shakes, but the team missed his ability to connect on jumpers while he was on the bench in the second half. Ray Allen was murderously bad on both ends — missing four of six shots after starting the series by hitting 48 percent of his looks and getting beat continuously on defense. Sometimes by two different players on the same possession, after the Celtics switched. It was not fun to watch.

Philly just chipped. Evan Turner was awful from the floor (5 of 22) but he hit six of his nine free throws, and Lou Williams was the star of stars with 15 points off the bench while somehow registering eight assists in an incredibly ugly game. And after starting the game 2 of 8, Andre Iguodala hit 3 of 4 in the fourth quarter to somehow give the Sixers 33 points in the game’s final 12 minutes. Sixty-one points in the second half for Philly after managing just 31 in the first half. Astonishing.

And yet, somehow during the entire run, I was a little nonplussed. Because Boston is so bad offensively and so banged up, it almost felt normal. Kevin Garnett has probably been the best player in the postseason thus far, but he’s also had to hit his fair share of tough makes in the playoffs — and those tough makes weren’t going down. Toss in the 17 Boston turnovers, both forced and unforced? It just makes sense.

Philly was desperate, but somehow they kept their nerve even in an easy spot to back down with both the early and third-quarter deficits. That’s a credit to Doug Collins, and each member of that Sixers rotation. This team had every right to bow down after being dominated in a fourth consecutive quarter (dating back to Wednesday’s Game 3, in the second quarter), and yet the team gave us a tidy (if borderline unwatchable) best-of-three series to pay attention to over the next week.

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Friday was a pretty good day for the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Not only did Justin Verlander come within two outs of his third career no-hitter in a 6-0 shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson provided some interesting fireworks for the home crowd before the game even started.

Johnson warms up with a couple hacks, the third swing provides a blooper not unlike the Josh Harrison single that ended Verlander’s potential gem, and then … wham! Swing #5 heads out to the bullpen.

Not surprisingly, Johnson has been a baseball guy for a long time. The former centerfielder grew up in Tyrone, Ga., with a love for the game and didn’t play football for the first time until the seventh grade. “My mom wouldn’t let me play,” Johnson told the Lions’ official website just one day before his BP dinger. “I always wanted to play, but she wouldn’t let me when I was little. She was afraid I’d get hurt.”

Baseball was something Johnson did from a much earlier age. “I know more baseball history than I know football history,” he said. “I’ve always been a Ken Griffey fan … [Fred] McGriff was my dude. He had long arms and used to have his own baseball camp — I remember all of that.”

Johnson was contacted by the Tigers and asked to throw out the first pitch of the Pirates game, with the added perk that he could grab a bat as well. He did the same in 2007, and he’s the second Lions player to do so this season — quarterback Matthew Stafford (a pitcher in high school) had the honor on April 22.

Johnson remembers pitching as well (“My best pitches were slider and cut fastball — cut fastball was my best”) but he really wanted to knock one out of there.

The man known as “Megatron,” quite possibly the best receiver in the game, recently agreed to a huge new contract — $132 million over eight seasons, with $60 million guaranteed. It’s a testament to his ridiculous talent and work ethic that his own coach, Jim Schwartz, has said that Johnson may be underpaid.

“Calvin’s one of those guys that, and we’ve said this about a few guys in our building now, that whatever you pay him is not enough,” Schwartz said at the presser announcing the deal.

Of course, he didn’t have to pay to get into the park, but if he did, Johnson would have had enough scratch to treat the receiver buddies he took along.

“Me and the fellas get to go to the game. We’ll have a good time. We get to meet the team, that’ll be fun.”

“I love hitting home runs,” he said very prophetically, just a few hours before he did just that. He then gave a signed football to manager Jim Leyland, who may have wondered if Johnson was available to hit clean-up.

Mike Leach is not only a swashbuckling master of the high seas, apparently he’s also quite the marksman in the deep woods of Alberta, Canada.

Leach tweeted he was going bear hunting with former Cal quarterback and outdoor sports enthusiast Mike Pawlawski and on Thursday he reported that he captured a trophy — a 7-foot, 350-pound black bear.

Of course, there are no pictures. Pawlawski posted a shot on his Twitter page from his scope as they were looking for black bears (see above), but no images of the downed bear itself. Perhaps Leach didn’t want PETA knocking on his door or perhaps it’s a fish (bear) tale.

I think if Mike Leach claims he shot a bear, he probably shot a bear. So to recap, in the past couple weeks, Leach has signed books, hosted a live chat on Reddit, signed more books and shot a bear.

Didn’t he get a head coaching job at Washington State?

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Any website can post “offseason grades” for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn’t know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That’s right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse’s mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll breaks down his team’s offseason moves.

PETE CARROLL: What an awesome day! The sun is shining! The birds are chirping! Let me give a shout out to all the folks at The Circle Perk coffee shop for working so hard to keep all of us energized! And to all the crossing guards making sure kids get to school safely! And to the Seattle-area sewer workers: you guys are the thin line that separates good citizens from their own filth, and I cannot thank you enough!

Fans really need to get amped about our three-way quarterback battle. The front-runner is Matt Flynn, who got America totally stoked in that awesome Packers-Lions game in Week 17. Next, there’s rookie Russell Wilson, who is short but fiery. Isn’t that right, Russell?

RUSSELL WILSON: Grrrrrr…

PETE CARROLL: I love this kid! He’s like a feral cat! And finally, there’s Tarvaris Jackson, the Taylor Hicks of NFL quarterbacks. You don’t like him, you keep expecting him to lose, and then bang! He finds a way to win a starting job, if not many games.

But enough about the offense. Let’s talk defense!! We are going to have one of the best front sevens in the NFL!! Defensive tackle Jason Jones had a great, if quiet, season for the Titans last year. First-round pick Bruce Irvin may have seemed like a reach, but that is only because West Virginia had this crazy idea that a 245-pound speedster was a good fit at defensive end. I like my defensive ends Red Bryant-sized! When I am not being enthusiastic about everything, you can find me in my office drawing up creative defenses, and Irvin is going to be everywhere the offense doesn’t expect him to be!!!

Irvin and Wilson had awesome rookie camps. In fact, all of the rookies had awesome camps, as did our parking lot attendants and the people who work so hard to make sure the office wastebaskets are clean enough to guzzle energy drink out of!! Let me dedicate my Song of the Day to the rookies: “Dog Days are Over” by Florence + the Machine! That’s right: I’m a 60-year old man who listens to Florence + the Machine!!! Nicky Minaj, too! And don’t forget Ke$ha, who is tiny and has a nasty attitude, just like Russell Wilson!!!

RUSSELL WILSON: Grrrr…

PETE CARROLL: Excellent growling, buddy!! Sure, not everything is mega-awesome just yet. We have work to do on the offensive line, where newcomers Frank Omiyale and Deuce Lutui will compete for reps. Lutui is a vegan now. How cool is that!?!? He’s a 340-pound vegan, which is why we have converted two of our practice fields into quinoa farms. We also signed Alex Barron, who was famous for his false starts when he played for the Rams. I am not sure where he fits, but if he becomes an Extreme Juicer or militant locavore, I will make sure he has a place on this roster!!!!!

Okay, it’s time for my Pilates, then yoga, some transcendental meditation, a frozen yogurt, a brisk jog around the lake while jamming to Adele, and two hours of Happy Days reruns!!!! You guys have been an ultra-super audience!!!!! I love the 12^th man!!!! I love the Seahawks!!!!!! I love America!!!!!! I love life!!!!!! This is going to be the best football season ever!!!!!!

I have to go now. Russell Wilson is gnawing on Tarvaris Jackson’s leg, and Lutui is grazing in the rhododendrons.

Tanier’s Team Reports:
Indianapolis Colts | St. Louis Rams | Minnesota Vikings | Tampa Bay Buccaneers| Cleveland Browns | Washington Redskins | Jacksonville Jaguars | Miami Dolphins | Carolina Panthers | Arizona Cardinals

Like the “Write the Future” ad/short film that debuted before the 2010 World Cup, Nike has once again assembled a mess of footballers for a bombastic, three-minute bit of Euro 12 advotainment that will air during the all-adidas Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

What starts out as a match between the Netherlands and France (with Pep Guardiola taking notes in the stands for some reason), is invaded by a third squad that multiplies quickly. Neymar, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta, Mesut Ozil, Mario Gotze and even LeBron James appear throughout the frenetic clip, but the climactic punchline is saved for Cristiano Ronaldo. And that’s when the premise gets ridiculous. Like Ronaldo would ever be disheartened by having to wear a shirt that’s too small.

At the end of the video (on the Internet version), the viewer is asked to “find the tunnels,” which leads to a second, interactive film and may or may not set you up to be set on fire by Mario Balotelli.