Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs have won 18 consecutive games. Will the Thunder challenge them?/AP

18 wins in a row. The San Antonio Spurs are rolling.

Unbeaten in this year’s NBA playoffs, the Spurs swept the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers to reach the Western Conference finals. They’ve been unstoppable.

They haven’t been tested, either, but that’s all about to change Sunday.

Here come the Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Spurs have the best team, but the Thunder have the two best players in the series in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in James Harden.

So make no mistake. The Spurs will lose a game in this series, but will they lose the series?

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Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol better be up to the challenge of Kendrick Perkins (5) and Serge Ibaka or else./AP Photo.

Denver pushed them to the brink.

The Los Angeles Lakers needed a Game 7 at home and the return of Metta World Peace to outlast the Nuggets and advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

Up next? Durant. Westbrook. Harden.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have their Big 3 – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden - muscle and shot blocking on the inside and depth at power forward and center positions.

What they don’t have is Kobe Bryant, who in his 16th season is still the game’s best closer.

As great as Bryant is, he’ll need help to get past the Thunder.

Paging Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

By the way, watch the elbows World Peace and watch out for them Harden.

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(1). San Antonio Spurs (50-16)

1st round foe: (8) Utah Jazz (36-30)

Biggest concern vs. Jazz: With big boys Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, Utah can cause the Spurs problems in the paint.

Last 10: 10-0 (Won 10)

Strengths: The hottest team in the NBA, the Spurs have great chemistry, Tony Parker is playing at a very high level and they’ve got one of game’s best coaches in Gregg Popovich.

Weaknesses: Still wondering if this regular-season success is a product of the schedule? Are they really as good as they appear to be? What happens if Parker gets in foul trouble early?

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He's in a new uniform, but same foe awaits LeBron James in the NBA playoffs - the Boston Celtics./Photo by AP.

Goodbye Shield. Welcome back logo.

With the NFL Draft ending today, let’s talk NBA Playoffs.

The first round was good. Correction. It was great.

The Memphis Grizzlies stunned everyone except Charles Barkley in beating the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in six games, the Boston Celtics posted the only sweep in a first-round series and Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant has been the best player in the playoffs so far.

Now the conference semifinals are here. We’ve got the match up everyone wants (Miami Heat vs. the Celtics), the one we didn’t expect (Grizzlies vs. Thunder), the one that will end quickly (Atlanta Hawks vs. the Bulls) and the one that will last longer than it should (Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Dallas Mavericks).

Let’s do this:

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If Kobe Bryant wins a sixth NBA championship next season, can he then be on share the same stage with Michael Jordan?

The Los Angeles Lakers did it again.

Having been out of town and off work since Thursday’s Game 7 the Lakers won to win back-to-back NBA titles, I just got back at it today.

Very interesting Game 7, but the better team won the game and the series.

The Lakers have the best player in Kobe Bryant, the best coach in Phil Jackson and had home-court advantage.

Got a little help when Pau Gasol traveled on that inside bucket late in the game, but if Ron Artest can hit a 3-pointer in the clutch after building  town homes with all those bricks he was hoisting from behind the arc in this series, the Lakers were destined to win the game anyway.

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Kobe Bryant has lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the last three NBA Finals and become more of a leader during this stretch of success. He has a chance to win a fifth NBA championship ring this year.

Let’s get it on.

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are going to do it again. I know everyone wanted to see two-time NBA MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers (for now) and Kobe Bryant go at it, but hey, seeing two teams renew their rivalry is the NBA Finals isn’t too shabby.

In 2008, the Celtics took the Lakers out in six games and in the series-clinching Game 6, they just ran them out the building with a 131-92 victory.

Two years later, the Lakers and Celtics meet again, but this time, Los Angeles comes in as the defending champs and unlike 2008, it has the home-court advantage this time.

The two teams are essentially the same from when they faced each other in 2008. You’ve got the Big 3 for Boston and Kobe Bryant is still the best player between the two teams.

 Here are the differences.

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If the Lakers can't figure out the 2-3 zone, Suns coach Alvin Gentry will stick with it.

Did Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry seek advice from Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim about this or what?

The Suns’ 2-3 zone has made life miserable for the Los Angeles Lakers as they have tied the series, 2-2, after losing the first two games in Los Angeles. Game 5 is tonight in Los Angeles.

 I mean, we all know Boeheim is the master of the 2-3 zone on the collegiate level. Syracuse’s nickname is Orange and the Suns wear orange, too, right?

Phoenix gave up an average of 126 points in its two defeats against the Lakers. In their two wins, the Suns haven’t allowed more than 109 points in either game.

 Now the Lakers are still scoring a ton of points and Kobe Bryant can guy any defense, but here’s the problem.

1. The Suns are resting on defense, so to speak, in that zone, which helps their offense.

2. Since the Lakers don’t have a point guard that can penetrate and break the zone down, they just swing the ball around. The triangle offense is designed to go a man-to-man defenses, not zones. So Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown have to make open perimeter. Derek Fisher and Bryant can, but those other guys I just mentioned are not as money from deep.

3. The Lakers are an inside team and the zone allows Phoenix to help more in defending Pau Gasol. Even though the Suns are smaller, more bodies Gasol discourages the passer from throwing the ball in the paint.

On the wait to play in the playoffs: “It’s seemed pretty long, but it’s here now. I’m excited. It’s the best time of the year for basketball in this league. It’s an exciting time for myself and our team. … This is what I’ve waited for. I’ve been quoted the last few days. It’s what we play for in the regular season to prepare for this moment. It’s here.”

On finally having a full team: “It’s been a while. We’ve haven’t a full team for a while, honestly. Guys have been in and out of the line ups. Big players have been in and out of the lineup. So it’s great to finally have everybody healthy. This is the right time to have everybody healthy in the playoffs.”

On how Shaquille O’Neal looks basketball-wise: “He’s looked good. We’ve had a few practices and he’s got an opportunity to practice the last week. He looks pretty good an he’s ready to go.”

On expecting Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose to raise their level of play: “I expect everyone to raise the game. It’s the postseason. As far as raise their game, I don’t quite understand the question you’re asking, but it’s the postseason. They have no choice but to raise their game.”

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LeBron James scored 37 points in leading the Cavaliers past the Lakers on Thursday night.

After scoring 12 consecutive points in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s 93-87 win against the Los Angeles Lakers, James sat in his locker with his feet in ice and his knee wrapped in nice.

Still trying to figure out what he’s doing with his hair these days, but when you score 37 points, dish out  nine assists and grab five rebounds against the defending NBA champions, you can wear your hair anyway you like.

Here’s what James had to say after the game.

You talk about (closing games) all the time. You really commanded it in that last couple of minutes?
“Uh, that’s what it’s about. I know you guys are like what we waiting on and why we wait until the fourth quarter so much, but we know that’s money time. That’s when most of the games are won 85 percent of the time games are won in the fourth quarter. In our case, probably 95 percent of the time so it was a big game for us. We played well and we’ve just go to keep the momentum going.”

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Kobe Bryant's 31 points were not enough to lead the Lakers past the Cavaliers.

After his Los Angeles Lakers lost 93-87 at Cleveland to the Cavaliers, Kobe Bryant didn’t pull any punches when talking about his team after the game.

Were they more physical?
“Yeah. Their bigs were very active. Very physical. Wore us down.”

Disappointed to lose twice to them now?
Yeah. It was a test for us. We got another test here later on on this trip. See how we respond to it. Got another physical team in Boston. So it’s going to be interesting to see how we respond.”
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