How the Thunder and Clippers saved the 2nd round

The start of the second round was a parade of blowouts that left us with little drama late in games, little excitement and minimal intrigue after an epic first round. Even Thunder/Clippers, which we always knew had 'classic' potential written all over it, started slowly with a couple of routs.

That all changed Friday in L.A., with OKC and the Clips giving us the type of thriller we became accustomed to over the first two weeks of these playoffs.

This series probably features four of the top-10 players in the league, and while even just a couple of them getting hot is enough entertainment, when they all get going as they did on Friday, it's an absolute treat to sit back and watch.

In Game 3, Kevin Durant had 36 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Russell Westbrook flirted with a second straight triple-double, finishing with 23 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds. Blake Griffin had 34 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks, and Chris Paul turned in another Godly offensive performance with 21 points, 16 assists and zero turnovers. Some games in the second round haven't had any big individual performances because stars have sat early in the middle of blowouts - this game had four.

There were 19 lead changes, 13 ties, the teams remained within five points of each other for most of the night and the biggest lead overall was a measly eight.

You also want to see some bad blood to constitute a true playoff classic. Between Griffin being bloodied by a Serge Ibaka elbow, Kevin Durant saying that he doesn't like friend Chris Paul on the court and Paul then opening his halftime interview by saying he doesn't "give a damn what he's talking about out there," you can tell that blood is starting to boil as these two star-studded teams approach the midway point of what's expected to be a seven-gamer.

Lastly, in a series that features so many superstars, let alone All-Stars, and in a close game that sees those stars dominate, you want to see the big names taking and making big shots late. And with the Clippers closing the gap to one point with just over two minutes to go, the Thunder and fans watching got exactly what they came looking for:

Great basketball, close games, exciting finishes, big time performances and big shots - that's what the NBA playoffs are about, and that's what it seemed almost every first round game included. The second round hasn't been nearly as entertaining, and one need only look at Friday's first game of the ESPN double-header as evidence. The Pacers skunked the Wizards by 22 points in a game that saw both teams shoot less than 42 percent, a 34-33 halftime score and Washington scoring just 63 points total.

It was the bottom of the barrel for an already disappointing week of games. Then the Thunder, Clippers and their boat load of stars came together to inject some life into what had been a lifeless round up to that point.

If nothing else, at least we now know we can count on one of these four series to deliver something resembling the thrill of the first round.