NBL Canada Playoffs Review - Halifax Hurricanes vs Moncton Magic
This year's Atlantic Division finals would be contested by the Moncton Magic - whose previous playoff tie went all the way down to the wire - and the Halifax Hurricanes, who were yet to see defeat in the post-season, and as number one seeds had the home court advantage. While Halifax were ready to take down anyone who stood in their way of the championship, Moncton were not about to let their exceptional season come to an abrupt end.
The Magic tried to strike early in game one, but the Hurricanes were just too much for them. Outscoring them from all spots on the floor and outplaying them on the defence, the Hurricanes were on the warpath in game one. Behind an amazing game from Antoine Mason, who had 25 points, big work in the field from Tyrone Watson and Billy White and a great showing off the bench from Mike Poole, who contributed 19 points, Halifax led by nineteen at the end of the first quarter and dominated the rest of proceedings. Moncton were left shaken after a blowout performance from Halifax, who open the series with a win, 121-79.
In game two Terry Thomas opened the scoring for Moncton - making the first three of his 16 points in the quarter and 36 in the game. Corey Allmond also made a big contribution early on which saw the Magic take an 18-point lead over the Hurricanes. Halifax started to close the gap with fifteen points in just under four minutes, while Moncton’s front court made sure to keep the gap at double-digits.
Pressuring the Magic on offence, the Hurricanes clawed their way into the lead late in the fourth, with Ta’Quan Zimmerman making it an eight-point game. Zimmerman had a big show off the bench with 18 points, as did Poole who finished with fifteen in limited minutes. Moncton tried to salvage the game, but Zimmerman and Antoine Mason - top scorer with 33 points - made sure the comeback was complete. The Hurricanes win game two by ten points.
Eleven first quarter points from Billy White helped Halifax to an early lead, but after a fourteen-point unbeaten run from Moncton they were up by the same amount in the second. Helping to get Halifax back into the game was Mike Poole, who had 18 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, and Rhamel Brown with a good show on defence. Moncton, though, were cool and composed on offence, making the most of their looks and playing tough on the defensive end.
Juan Pattillo had an amazing game for the Magic with 31 points and 19 total rebounds, one of two players to make a double-double in the game along with Anthony Anderson, who had 18 points and 14 assists. They saw off the Hurricanes’ comeback attempt down the stretch, and got their first win of the tie, 107-96.
Halifax went up by fifteen after a fourteen unanswered points late in the first quarter of game four. Corey Allmond hit six threes and did well from the field to close the gap, and late in the third he and Jason Castille gave Moncton a six-point lead. Allmond led his team in scoring, ending the game with 22 points. Billy White and Rhamel Brown hit from the field to tie the scores, and Mike Poole's looks from outside to helped Halifax on to a seven-point lead with just over two minutes to go. Moncton could not make up the difference in time, and with Tyrone Watson putting up 22 points 10 rebounds for Halifax, they win the fourth game of the series by 94 points to 87.
Moncton tried to fight back after going nine down early on in game five. Good shooting from Halifax gave them a double-digit lead at half time. Helped out by Denzell Taylor’s work on defence and a great effort from the bench, Moncton reduced their arrears to four with just over eight minutes left in the game. After which Antoine Mason went wild on offence, making the last twelve of his 26 points in the game. Tyrone Watson and Rhamel Brown also added to the scoreline, keeping Halifax firmly in the lead. With Moncton unable to come up with a response down the stretch, Halifax ran home to victory by eight points and advance to their third consecutive NBLC finals with a 4-1 win in this series.
They await the winner of the London-St. John's tie, a report of which will appear here as soon as the results are in. All the latest news and updates can be found on the official NBL Canada website.
