Basketball On The Internet.

THERE are times I shake my head in despair at the NBA but the playoffs rarely fall into that category.

Not that it adds much but I am happy to join the chorus singing the praises of this extraordinary first round which has seen and will see tomorrow, five of the eight series go the full seven-game distance.

In the East, Miami cleaned up Charlotte 4-0 and Washington waved away Chicago 4-1.

But Indiana took until today to KO Atlanta 92-80 for a 4-3 series win and Brooklyn and Toronto have a seventh game tomorrow to determine which team survives and which one heads for the golf course.

In the West, only one series was settled inside seven games but that took Damian Lillard’s triple on the buzzer for Portland to escape Houston 99-98 and clinch the series 4-2.

The Trail Blazers had 0.9 of a second to run that last play and Lillard not only got a wide open look but had time to get his feet right so that he stepped into the pass completely in rhythm.

That one shot most likely will cost Rockets coach Kevin McHale his job.

San Antonio, with our own Patty Mills and Aron Baynes, went down in Game 6 in Dallas and tomorrow will finish their Texas tryst with the series at 3-3.

Game 6 was a gem too with Mills almost leading the most unlikely win.

Subbed back in with 20 seconds left for “garbage time” as the Spurs trailed 105-111, he sprinted the ball upcourt and fed an assist to Danny Green for a three.

Monta Ellis made two free throws for the Mavericks to push it back to 113-108 but Mills again rushed the ball forward and stuck a three of his own for 111-113.

An Ellis turnover gave Patty one last shot for the win but – unlike his shot for the Boomers against Russia at the London Olympics – this one didn’t go down.

Still, it was one hell of a finish and only topped off by Lillard’s jump-from-your-seat triple which gave Portland its series.

The Los Angeles Clippers today finally put away the Andrew Bogut-less Golden State Warriors 126-121 to win their Western Conference series 4-3, with former owner Donald Sterling in the process given a whole new meaning for the word “disenfranchised”.

Mr Reliable, Kevin Durant, led Oklahoma City home 120-109 to eliminate Memphis Grizzlies 4-3.

Probably the only downside is knowing either the Nets or Raptors will be heading into the playoffs second round while we won’t get to see the highly entertaining Warriors or Grizzlies again this season.

As for why I sometime despair at the NBA?

The flopping.

The travels – there was a video floating around on Facebook this week where Miami’s Dwyane Wade caught the ball at the top of the key and shuffled his feet eight times … EIGHT … for no call.

The preferential treatment.

And the fact so many kids today want to emulate the skill, flair and showmanship of NBA ballers without a moment’s attention to the fundamentals of basketball.

But eh, I am a dinosaur.

Roll on the second round!

It has much to live upto.