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(TSX / STATS) -- The Seattle Storm hope to set the tone before heading out on a difficult stretch of road games when the Dallas Wings visit Seattle's KeyArena on Friday for a showdown between two teams in need of strong finishes to stay in the playoff hunt.
The Storm (9-12) sit in ninth place in the league standings after suffering a 68-60 road loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday. The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. The regular season ends the first week of September.
After Friday's game against the Wings, Seattle's next four contests are on the road, including stops at first-place Minnesota and third-place Connecticut.
"There's always a sense of urgency in the WNBA because the season is so condensed," forward Alysha Clark told the Seattle Times early in the week. "We had a lot of games in this first half that were close and we didn't finish them for whatever reasons. Coming back after the break, a focus for us is finishing games."
The Wings are in seventh place in the league standings and are coming off an 84-82 win over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday. Dallas guard Skylar Diggins-Smith scored 21 points, her sixth straight 20-plus-point performance.
Diggins-Smith was held to just 13 points in an 89-69 blowout loss to the Storm on July 1 in Dallas. The Wings made just 1 of 17 3-point attempts and had no answer for Seattle forward Breanna Stewart, who poured in 30 points. The Storm have won the last two meetings with the Wings.
The Wings received a boost from the return of second-year guard Aerial Powers, who missed the first 22 games of the season with ankle injuries. Powers scored nine points in 18 minutes of action in Dallas' win over the Fever.
"It was like Christmas," Powers told the Dallas Morning News after the game. "When I stepped out there I was a little nervous and finally like, 'Yes. I'm back here. I'm on the court.'"
Dallas is 4-7 on the road this season, but did win at Seattle last July.
The teams will face each other again on Aug. 4 in Dallas.
Showing posts with label Game Previews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Game Previews. Show all posts
Friday, July 28, 2017
Chicago looks to stay hot against Phoenix
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(TSX / STATS) -- The improving Chicago Sky hope to avoid a three-game series sweep when they host the slumping Phoenix Mercury on Friday at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.
After going 3-12 over their first 15 games, the Sky are now 5-2 in their past seven despite an 83-72 loss at Connecticut on Tuesday.
"We were not playing clean defense, we fouled too much, gave up offensive rebounds and we just didn't bring the defensive intensity," Sky guard Allie Quigley said.
Chicago (8-14) climbed to within one point in the third quarter but couldn't overtake Connecticut, which then went on to a 22-7 run to secure the win.
Quigley tops the Sky and is 10th in WNBA scoring at 16.8 points per a game. Courtney Vandersloot leads the league in assists (7.1 per game), while Jessica Breland is tops on the team in rebounds, averaging six per game.
Phoenix (11-10) has lost four straight and sits fifth in the WNBA. The top eight teams make the playoffs.
The Mercury are coming off a 99-91 overtime loss at Atlanta and are still without league scoring leader Brittney Griner, who averaged 27.5 points against Chicago in two previous meetings. The Mercury beat the Sky 99-91 on June 2 and 86-78 on June 16.
Griner bruised a bone in her left knee and sprained a right ankle in mid-July. She could be out up to four weeks.
"No one can replace Brittney Griner," Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said following the loss to the Dream. "We need all the post players to step up, no one in particular. We need the guards to step up because that's 22 points that we're missing. It's a team effort. All players have to step up to fill that hole."
Diana Taurasi, the WNBA's all-time scoring leader, has picked up the some of the slack in Griner's absence, producing a 32.5-point average in the past four games.
The Sky and Mercury are 8-8 in their past 16 meetings, and the Sky hold a 5-4 edge at Allstate Arena.
Chicago's days playing at the suburban arena are now numbered after the team announced this week that it would move back to Chicago with a five-year deal to play at Wintrust Arena near the McCormick Place exposition center starting in 2018.
The Sky played four seasons at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion before moving to Allstate Arena in 2010.
Chicago continues a short homestand on Sunday, hosting the New York Liberty. Phoenix plays host to the San Antonio Stars on Sunday.
(TSX / STATS) -- The improving Chicago Sky hope to avoid a three-game series sweep when they host the slumping Phoenix Mercury on Friday at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.
After going 3-12 over their first 15 games, the Sky are now 5-2 in their past seven despite an 83-72 loss at Connecticut on Tuesday.
"We were not playing clean defense, we fouled too much, gave up offensive rebounds and we just didn't bring the defensive intensity," Sky guard Allie Quigley said.
Chicago (8-14) climbed to within one point in the third quarter but couldn't overtake Connecticut, which then went on to a 22-7 run to secure the win.
Quigley tops the Sky and is 10th in WNBA scoring at 16.8 points per a game. Courtney Vandersloot leads the league in assists (7.1 per game), while Jessica Breland is tops on the team in rebounds, averaging six per game.
Phoenix (11-10) has lost four straight and sits fifth in the WNBA. The top eight teams make the playoffs.
The Mercury are coming off a 99-91 overtime loss at Atlanta and are still without league scoring leader Brittney Griner, who averaged 27.5 points against Chicago in two previous meetings. The Mercury beat the Sky 99-91 on June 2 and 86-78 on June 16.
Griner bruised a bone in her left knee and sprained a right ankle in mid-July. She could be out up to four weeks.
"No one can replace Brittney Griner," Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello said following the loss to the Dream. "We need all the post players to step up, no one in particular. We need the guards to step up because that's 22 points that we're missing. It's a team effort. All players have to step up to fill that hole."
Diana Taurasi, the WNBA's all-time scoring leader, has picked up the some of the slack in Griner's absence, producing a 32.5-point average in the past four games.
The Sky and Mercury are 8-8 in their past 16 meetings, and the Sky hold a 5-4 edge at Allstate Arena.
Chicago's days playing at the suburban arena are now numbered after the team announced this week that it would move back to Chicago with a five-year deal to play at Wintrust Arena near the McCormick Place exposition center starting in 2018.
The Sky played four seasons at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion before moving to Allstate Arena in 2010.
Chicago continues a short homestand on Sunday, hosting the New York Liberty. Phoenix plays host to the San Antonio Stars on Sunday.
Sparks look to add to woes of Stars
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(TSX / STATS) -- Despite a roster with three of the best players in the WNBA and wearing the crown as defending league champions, the Los Angeles Sparks have not been nearly as dominating this season as last, mostly due to their struggle to close out close games.
That hasn't stopped Los Angeles from forging the second-best record in the league, a mark on which it will look to improve when it squares off against the hapless San Antonio Stars on Friday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
The Sparks head to the Alamo City on the heels of a 68-60 home win over Seattle on Tuesday in which Candace Parker scored 17 points -- 14 of them in the first half -- and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Los Angeles (15-6), which finished off a four-game homestand, put away a late Seattle charge as Nneka Ogwumike scored eight of her 13 points in the final 7:58 of the game and took 10 rebounds. Los Angeles also got 14 points from Jantel Lavender and 11 off the bench from Riquna Williams.
Los Angeles' bench outscored Seattle's reserves 25-2 in the game and 47-2 over the past two meeting between the two teams.
"We played very well defensively (in the win over Seattle)," Sparks coach Brian Agler said. "The other thing is that we got 13 offensive rebounds, which is a high for us this year, which gave us opportunities. I like that and the direction we're moving, so we'll see how it plays out."
San Antonio (3-19) is still the only team in the WNBA without consecutive victories this season and has gone since July 2015 (when they defeated Indiana and Atlanta in consecutive home games) without back-to-back wins.
The Stars' most recent game was also Tuesday, when they crawled out of the gate and fell behind by as many as 19 points before making a late-game surge that was not nearly enough in an 85-76 loss at home to the Washington Mystics.
Any chance San Antonio had against the Mystics was doomed early on when it scored just nine points -- a season low for any quarter this season -- in the opening period. The Stars had a 3 1/2-minute scoreless stretch in the period and then failed to score for the final 2:09 of the quarter.
"In the second, third and fourth quarters, we were very aggressive -- that was a team that I could recognize," Stars coach Vickie Johnson said. "But the first quarter was very bad for us."
Kelsey Plum hit for 15 points for the Stars (3-19), the third straight game the league's top draft pick has scored in double figures. Dearica Hamby also scored 15 points, Kayla McBride hit for 12 points and Alex Montgomery grabbed 11 rebounds for San Antonio.
"That's what I was brought here to do," Plum said. "To try to create, to be aggressive, to score and to look for my teammates -- especially when we're down and there's nothing to lose. You have to get in the game and bring something, so I was trying to bring a spark."
The two teams played in Los Angeles on June 15 with the Sparks garnering an 80-75 win that allowed them to extend their winning streak against San Antonio to nine games. Parker (20 points), Chelsea Gray (19) and Ogwumike (16) combined for 55 points in that victory while Moriah Jefferson led San Antonio with 24 points off the bench.
The Stars have not defeated Los Angeles since July, 8, 2015, but have a 19-19 overall home record against the Sparks.
(TSX / STATS) -- Despite a roster with three of the best players in the WNBA and wearing the crown as defending league champions, the Los Angeles Sparks have not been nearly as dominating this season as last, mostly due to their struggle to close out close games.
That hasn't stopped Los Angeles from forging the second-best record in the league, a mark on which it will look to improve when it squares off against the hapless San Antonio Stars on Friday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
The Sparks head to the Alamo City on the heels of a 68-60 home win over Seattle on Tuesday in which Candace Parker scored 17 points -- 14 of them in the first half -- and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Los Angeles (15-6), which finished off a four-game homestand, put away a late Seattle charge as Nneka Ogwumike scored eight of her 13 points in the final 7:58 of the game and took 10 rebounds. Los Angeles also got 14 points from Jantel Lavender and 11 off the bench from Riquna Williams.
Los Angeles' bench outscored Seattle's reserves 25-2 in the game and 47-2 over the past two meeting between the two teams.
"We played very well defensively (in the win over Seattle)," Sparks coach Brian Agler said. "The other thing is that we got 13 offensive rebounds, which is a high for us this year, which gave us opportunities. I like that and the direction we're moving, so we'll see how it plays out."
San Antonio (3-19) is still the only team in the WNBA without consecutive victories this season and has gone since July 2015 (when they defeated Indiana and Atlanta in consecutive home games) without back-to-back wins.
The Stars' most recent game was also Tuesday, when they crawled out of the gate and fell behind by as many as 19 points before making a late-game surge that was not nearly enough in an 85-76 loss at home to the Washington Mystics.
Any chance San Antonio had against the Mystics was doomed early on when it scored just nine points -- a season low for any quarter this season -- in the opening period. The Stars had a 3 1/2-minute scoreless stretch in the period and then failed to score for the final 2:09 of the quarter.
"In the second, third and fourth quarters, we were very aggressive -- that was a team that I could recognize," Stars coach Vickie Johnson said. "But the first quarter was very bad for us."
Kelsey Plum hit for 15 points for the Stars (3-19), the third straight game the league's top draft pick has scored in double figures. Dearica Hamby also scored 15 points, Kayla McBride hit for 12 points and Alex Montgomery grabbed 11 rebounds for San Antonio.
"That's what I was brought here to do," Plum said. "To try to create, to be aggressive, to score and to look for my teammates -- especially when we're down and there's nothing to lose. You have to get in the game and bring something, so I was trying to bring a spark."
The two teams played in Los Angeles on June 15 with the Sparks garnering an 80-75 win that allowed them to extend their winning streak against San Antonio to nine games. Parker (20 points), Chelsea Gray (19) and Ogwumike (16) combined for 55 points in that victory while Moriah Jefferson led San Antonio with 24 points off the bench.
The Stars have not defeated Los Angeles since July, 8, 2015, but have a 19-19 overall home record against the Sparks.
Dream face tall task against Lynx
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(TSX / STATS) -- The Atlanta Dream is coming off the type of win -- a back-and-forth, come-from-behind overtime victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday -- that can spark a late-season surge.
Following it up with an upset of the powerful Minnesota Lynx in Atlanta on Friday would certainly get the league's attention.
The Lynx own the best record in the WNBA at 17-2 and have won four straight games. Guard Lindsay Whalen hit a double-clutch, turnaround jumper to help Minnesota pull out a 76-75 win over the New York Liberty on Tuesday.
"We were fortunate to win the game," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters after the hard-fought victory.
The Dream (10-11) also got clutch play from their backcourt in the thrilling win over Phoenix. Atlanta trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half before rookie guard Brittany Sykes fueled a second-half rally.
Sykes finished with 20 points, including a layup with two seconds left to force overtime.
"She's a scorer; we utilized her ability to get to the basket," Dream coach Michael Cooper said. "I don't look at her as the rookie anymore. I look at her like a very good veteran. She's a confident young lady who could easily average between 20 and 25 points."
It was the third straight 20-point performance for Sykes, who is averaging 18.2 points since joining the starting lineup June 30.
Veteran point guard Layshia Clarendon also had a big game for the Dream, finishing with 15 points, nine assists and 10 rebounds. She was initially credited with 11 assists, which would have made her the sixth player in WNBA history to record a triple-double. However, after a league review, two of Clarendon's assists were rescinded due to a stat-keeper error.
While Cooper has praised his backcourt, he has been most pleased with the team's defense.
"One thing we're good at this year, as good as any team since I've been with the Dream, is our defense from sideline to sideline," Cooper said. "We're able to scramble, get to shooters, and get out there and contest shots."
The high-scoring Lynx, led by Whalen and Maya Moore, will test that defense. Minnesota has beaten the Dream six straight times and in nine out of the last 10 meetings overall.
(TSX / STATS) -- The Atlanta Dream is coming off the type of win -- a back-and-forth, come-from-behind overtime victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday -- that can spark a late-season surge.
Following it up with an upset of the powerful Minnesota Lynx in Atlanta on Friday would certainly get the league's attention.
The Lynx own the best record in the WNBA at 17-2 and have won four straight games. Guard Lindsay Whalen hit a double-clutch, turnaround jumper to help Minnesota pull out a 76-75 win over the New York Liberty on Tuesday.
"We were fortunate to win the game," Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve told reporters after the hard-fought victory.
The Dream (10-11) also got clutch play from their backcourt in the thrilling win over Phoenix. Atlanta trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half before rookie guard Brittany Sykes fueled a second-half rally.
Sykes finished with 20 points, including a layup with two seconds left to force overtime.
"She's a scorer; we utilized her ability to get to the basket," Dream coach Michael Cooper said. "I don't look at her as the rookie anymore. I look at her like a very good veteran. She's a confident young lady who could easily average between 20 and 25 points."
It was the third straight 20-point performance for Sykes, who is averaging 18.2 points since joining the starting lineup June 30.
Veteran point guard Layshia Clarendon also had a big game for the Dream, finishing with 15 points, nine assists and 10 rebounds. She was initially credited with 11 assists, which would have made her the sixth player in WNBA history to record a triple-double. However, after a league review, two of Clarendon's assists were rescinded due to a stat-keeper error.
While Cooper has praised his backcourt, he has been most pleased with the team's defense.
"One thing we're good at this year, as good as any team since I've been with the Dream, is our defense from sideline to sideline," Cooper said. "We're able to scramble, get to shooters, and get out there and contest shots."
The high-scoring Lynx, led by Whalen and Maya Moore, will test that defense. Minnesota has beaten the Dream six straight times and in nine out of the last 10 meetings overall.
Liberty, coming off tough loss, take on Fever
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(TSX / STATS) -- The New York Liberty will try to climb back above .500 when they visit the Indiana Fever on Friday night in Indianapolis.
New York (10-10) won two of its past three games but is coming off a one-point loss on the road to the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night. The contest against Indiana marks the Liberty's second game of a grueling five-game road trip that also features stops in Chicago, San Antonio and Los Angeles.
As the Liberty look to take another step forward in their pursuit of a playoff berth, Indiana (8-14) is hoping to regain its home-court advantage. The Fever lost four games in a row on their home court, with their last victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse coming June 15 against the Atlanta Dream.
New York coach Bill Laimbeer likes what he has seen from his players heading into their matchup against the Fever. He recently shuffled the lineup by moving Epiphanny Prince from point guard to shooting guard and placing Bria Hartley in the starting lineup at the point.
Center Tina Charles leads the Liberty with 20.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Prince is averaging 12.6 points per game to go along with a team-best 3.5 assists per contest.
"The structure that we have right now is good for us," Laimbeer told the team's official website. "We're pushing the pace better. We're getting easier baskets. We have good role definition."
Forward Candice Dupree leads Indiana with an average of 13.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Dupree was the Fever's lone representative in the All-Star Game last weekend.
Guards Erica Wheeler (11.1 points) and Tiffany Mitchell (10.5 points) also are averaging in double-digit scoring for the Fever. Guard Briann January is on the cusp of double digits with 9.9 points per game.
The Fever have lost seven of their past eight games to slip far out of the playoff race. However, players continue to battle hard during a difficult season that includes crowded flights on commercial airlines.
"I give our players a lot of credit, because I don't know how they do it," Fever president and general manager Kelly Krauskopf told the Indianapolis Star. "We take very early flights, depart at 6 or 7 a.m., to go between cities to play another game after we just played the night before. They're such troupers and good sports in terms of trying to find the time to get their rest and get enough sleep."
(TSX / STATS) -- The New York Liberty will try to climb back above .500 when they visit the Indiana Fever on Friday night in Indianapolis.
New York (10-10) won two of its past three games but is coming off a one-point loss on the road to the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night. The contest against Indiana marks the Liberty's second game of a grueling five-game road trip that also features stops in Chicago, San Antonio and Los Angeles.
As the Liberty look to take another step forward in their pursuit of a playoff berth, Indiana (8-14) is hoping to regain its home-court advantage. The Fever lost four games in a row on their home court, with their last victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse coming June 15 against the Atlanta Dream.
New York coach Bill Laimbeer likes what he has seen from his players heading into their matchup against the Fever. He recently shuffled the lineup by moving Epiphanny Prince from point guard to shooting guard and placing Bria Hartley in the starting lineup at the point.
Center Tina Charles leads the Liberty with 20.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Prince is averaging 12.6 points per game to go along with a team-best 3.5 assists per contest.
"The structure that we have right now is good for us," Laimbeer told the team's official website. "We're pushing the pace better. We're getting easier baskets. We have good role definition."
Forward Candice Dupree leads Indiana with an average of 13.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Dupree was the Fever's lone representative in the All-Star Game last weekend.
Guards Erica Wheeler (11.1 points) and Tiffany Mitchell (10.5 points) also are averaging in double-digit scoring for the Fever. Guard Briann January is on the cusp of double digits with 9.9 points per game.
The Fever have lost seven of their past eight games to slip far out of the playoff race. However, players continue to battle hard during a difficult season that includes crowded flights on commercial airlines.
"I give our players a lot of credit, because I don't know how they do it," Fever president and general manager Kelly Krauskopf told the Indianapolis Star. "We take very early flights, depart at 6 or 7 a.m., to go between cities to play another game after we just played the night before. They're such troupers and good sports in terms of trying to find the time to get their rest and get enough sleep."
Sun face tall task in Delle Donne, Mystics
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(TSX / STATS) -- Elena Delle Donne's return from an ankle injury helped put the Washington Mystics back on the winning path.
She will need help against the Connecticut Sun on Friday in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders at the Verizon Center in Washington.
Delle Donne recorded 29 points and 10 rebounds in Washington's 85-76 victory at San Antonio on Tuesday. The Mystics (13-9) outscored the Stars 25-9 in the first quarter and led by as many as 20 points.
"It's always tough after the All-Star break, you only get one practice," Delle Donne said. "To be on the road, it's difficult to get wins, so I am glad we came out with this one. I think there are things we can clean up, especially defensively, but still very happy with the focus we came out with."
Delle Donne missed two games and last week's All-Star Game but showed no signs of rust in her return.
"She was terrific from the start," Mystics coach Mike Thibault said. "She has had 10 straight days of treatments. ... Her legs came back a little bit. She is sore, but she showed great concentration on her shots. I thought she could have gotten to the free-throw line a few more times, but overall she did a good job."
Delle Donne, who averages 19.3 points per game, hopes to get support from Tayler Hill (13.9 points), Emma Meesseman (11.7) and Kristi Toliver (10.6) -- Washington's other double-figure scorers.
The Sun (13-9) dominated the Chicago Sky 93-72 on Tuesday. Alyssa Thomas recorded 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Jonquel Jones had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and ex-Mystic Jasmine Thomas scored 17.
Connecticut and Washington split two meetings this season with each winning at home. The Sun took the most recent matchup 96-92 on July 8 as Jones had 22 points and nine rebounds.
"You know I'm so proud of the team tonight," Sun coach Curt Miller said after the win earlier this month.
Connecticut rallied from 22 points down with 5:04 left in the third quarter.
"That's a huge win, and in the manner that it happened is pretty incredible," Miller said. "Some are saying that this is the largest comeback in franchise history, so tremendous second half. The thing that I'm most pleased about is that they stuck together, they didn't panic, we didn't have to change a lot of basketball X's or O's while we made subtle adjustments."
The leading scorers for the Sun are Jones (15.6 points per game), Jasmine Thomas (14.7), Alyssa Thomas (13.9) and Courtney Williams (12.4).
(TSX / STATS) -- Elena Delle Donne's return from an ankle injury helped put the Washington Mystics back on the winning path.
She will need help against the Connecticut Sun on Friday in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders at the Verizon Center in Washington.
Delle Donne recorded 29 points and 10 rebounds in Washington's 85-76 victory at San Antonio on Tuesday. The Mystics (13-9) outscored the Stars 25-9 in the first quarter and led by as many as 20 points.
"It's always tough after the All-Star break, you only get one practice," Delle Donne said. "To be on the road, it's difficult to get wins, so I am glad we came out with this one. I think there are things we can clean up, especially defensively, but still very happy with the focus we came out with."
Delle Donne missed two games and last week's All-Star Game but showed no signs of rust in her return.
"She was terrific from the start," Mystics coach Mike Thibault said. "She has had 10 straight days of treatments. ... Her legs came back a little bit. She is sore, but she showed great concentration on her shots. I thought she could have gotten to the free-throw line a few more times, but overall she did a good job."
Delle Donne, who averages 19.3 points per game, hopes to get support from Tayler Hill (13.9 points), Emma Meesseman (11.7) and Kristi Toliver (10.6) -- Washington's other double-figure scorers.
The Sun (13-9) dominated the Chicago Sky 93-72 on Tuesday. Alyssa Thomas recorded 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Jonquel Jones had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and ex-Mystic Jasmine Thomas scored 17.
Connecticut and Washington split two meetings this season with each winning at home. The Sun took the most recent matchup 96-92 on July 8 as Jones had 22 points and nine rebounds.
"You know I'm so proud of the team tonight," Sun coach Curt Miller said after the win earlier this month.
Connecticut rallied from 22 points down with 5:04 left in the third quarter.
"That's a huge win, and in the manner that it happened is pretty incredible," Miller said. "Some are saying that this is the largest comeback in franchise history, so tremendous second half. The thing that I'm most pleased about is that they stuck together, they didn't panic, we didn't have to change a lot of basketball X's or O's while we made subtle adjustments."
The leading scorers for the Sun are Jones (15.6 points per game), Jasmine Thomas (14.7), Alyssa Thomas (13.9) and Courtney Williams (12.4).
Friday, July 14, 2017
Recap: White, Robinson power Heat past Clippers
Juan Carlos Blanco, RotoWire
A trio of 20-point performances helped the 12th-seeded Miami Heat rally to upset the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Clippers 91-84 in the Las Vegas Summer League playoffs Thursday at Thomas and Mack Center.
Second-year big-man Okaro White totaled 23 points and eight rebounds, undrafted point guard Justin Robinson finished with 22 points, six assists and four steals and Gian Clavell scored 20 points as Miami (4-1) overcame a 10-point first-quarter deficit to outscore the Clippers in each of the next three quarters.
The Clippers (3-1) outshot the Heat, 44 to 41.7 percent, and led on the boards, 44-36, but were outscored in the second half, 51-41.
Brice Johnson, a 2016 first-round pick, led the Clippers with 13 points and six rebounds. Jamil Wilson scored 11 points and Kendall Marshall added 10 points, four assists and four rebounds.
Miami advances to play the Memphis Grizzlies in the quarterfinals.
A trio of 20-point performances helped the 12th-seeded Miami Heat rally to upset the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Clippers 91-84 in the Las Vegas Summer League playoffs Thursday at Thomas and Mack Center.
Second-year big-man Okaro White totaled 23 points and eight rebounds, undrafted point guard Justin Robinson finished with 22 points, six assists and four steals and Gian Clavell scored 20 points as Miami (4-1) overcame a 10-point first-quarter deficit to outscore the Clippers in each of the next three quarters.
The Clippers (3-1) outshot the Heat, 44 to 41.7 percent, and led on the boards, 44-36, but were outscored in the second half, 51-41.
Brice Johnson, a 2016 first-round pick, led the Clippers with 13 points and six rebounds. Jamil Wilson scored 11 points and Kendall Marshall added 10 points, four assists and four rebounds.
Miami advances to play the Memphis Grizzlies in the quarterfinals.
Friday, June 9, 2017
Warriors look to finish off sweep of Cavaliers
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(TSX / STATS) -- CLEVELAND -- One team is trying to make history, the other desperately hoping to avoid a repeat of it.
The Golden State Warriors hold a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals over the Cleveland Cavaliers and can finish the sweep for their second title in three seasons with a win in Game 4 on Friday night.
The Warriors aren't just looking for another championship. They've won 15 straight playoff games, and can become the first team in NBA history to navigate the playoffs without a loss.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, were swept out of the Finals 10 years ago this month. It was LeBron James' first Finals, and his team was sawed in half by the San Antonio Spurs, who were in the midst of a streak of three titles in six seasons.
Seven Finals and three championships later, James is facing the same fate.
"I think it's just part of my calling to just go against teams in the midst of a dynasty," James said on Thursday. "This has been the best team in our league the last three years. They won a championship, and last year it was the greatest regular-season team we had played, probably one of the best postseason teams that everybody's ever seen as well, but we were just able to overcome that. And they're playing like one of the best teams once again."
James, who is averaging a triple-double in the 2017 Finals (32 points, 12.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists), and the Cavs edged the Warriors in Game 7 last year after falling behind 3-1, becoming the first team to ever overcome such a deficit in the Finals. No NBA team has ever recovered from a 3-0 hole in the playoffs.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who played for a couple dynasties himself with the Chicago Bulls and Spurs, was on the 72-win Chicago team in 1996 that built a 3-0 lead over the Seattle SuperSonics in the Finals. Seattle took the next two games before losing in Game 6.
"In the end you just want to win," Kerr said. "The other stuff doesn't really matter. People can talk about it in historical context, but you just get it done, win the series and let everybody else talk."
The Warriors have been led in the Finals by Kevin Durant, the ground-shaking free-agent acquisition from last season who was the 2014 MVP and has perhaps reshaped the Golden State-Cleveland rivalry forever.
Durant lost to James and the Miami Heat when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 Finals, and didn't make it back until this year.
Durant is averaging 34 points in this series and scored 14 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3 -- a 118-113 win for the Warriors in which they trailed by six with three minutes left. He has also taken pressure off of Stephen Curry, who struggled in the first two Finals series against Cleveland but has been brilliant this time around.
The Warriors signed Durant to a two-year, $55 million deal, and before the ink was dry they were an immediate favorite to beat the Cavs in the Finals. Now, there's one more win to come before the prophecy comes true.
"I didn't envision anything but just being around good people and getting better every single day," Durant said. "That's exactly what happened throughout the season. I didn't talk to these guys when I made my decision and say we better make it to The Finals and be up in the series around this time, this exact date, or I'm not coming.
"I mean, it was just let's just have some fun playing ball, let's just all get better and let's see what happens."
The Warriors popped champagne inside the bowels of Quicken Loans Arena in 2015, having clinched the series in six games. The Cavs could at least momentarily stall Golden State's momentum, and keep their visitors' locker room dry, by breaking up the Warriors' perfect playoffs with a win Friday.
But after a draining loss to the Warriors in Game 3, the Cavs will have to guard against a letdown, not to mention Golden State's vaunted lineup that was built to dominate for years.
"We'll see what happens," James said. "Obviously you never know what's going to happen, but as it stands right now, they look pretty good, as far as the future."
(TSX / STATS) -- CLEVELAND -- One team is trying to make history, the other desperately hoping to avoid a repeat of it.
The Golden State Warriors hold a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals over the Cleveland Cavaliers and can finish the sweep for their second title in three seasons with a win in Game 4 on Friday night.
The Warriors aren't just looking for another championship. They've won 15 straight playoff games, and can become the first team in NBA history to navigate the playoffs without a loss.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, were swept out of the Finals 10 years ago this month. It was LeBron James' first Finals, and his team was sawed in half by the San Antonio Spurs, who were in the midst of a streak of three titles in six seasons.
Seven Finals and three championships later, James is facing the same fate.
"I think it's just part of my calling to just go against teams in the midst of a dynasty," James said on Thursday. "This has been the best team in our league the last three years. They won a championship, and last year it was the greatest regular-season team we had played, probably one of the best postseason teams that everybody's ever seen as well, but we were just able to overcome that. And they're playing like one of the best teams once again."
James, who is averaging a triple-double in the 2017 Finals (32 points, 12.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists), and the Cavs edged the Warriors in Game 7 last year after falling behind 3-1, becoming the first team to ever overcome such a deficit in the Finals. No NBA team has ever recovered from a 3-0 hole in the playoffs.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who played for a couple dynasties himself with the Chicago Bulls and Spurs, was on the 72-win Chicago team in 1996 that built a 3-0 lead over the Seattle SuperSonics in the Finals. Seattle took the next two games before losing in Game 6.
"In the end you just want to win," Kerr said. "The other stuff doesn't really matter. People can talk about it in historical context, but you just get it done, win the series and let everybody else talk."
The Warriors have been led in the Finals by Kevin Durant, the ground-shaking free-agent acquisition from last season who was the 2014 MVP and has perhaps reshaped the Golden State-Cleveland rivalry forever.
Durant lost to James and the Miami Heat when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 Finals, and didn't make it back until this year.
Durant is averaging 34 points in this series and scored 14 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3 -- a 118-113 win for the Warriors in which they trailed by six with three minutes left. He has also taken pressure off of Stephen Curry, who struggled in the first two Finals series against Cleveland but has been brilliant this time around.
The Warriors signed Durant to a two-year, $55 million deal, and before the ink was dry they were an immediate favorite to beat the Cavs in the Finals. Now, there's one more win to come before the prophecy comes true.
"I didn't envision anything but just being around good people and getting better every single day," Durant said. "That's exactly what happened throughout the season. I didn't talk to these guys when I made my decision and say we better make it to The Finals and be up in the series around this time, this exact date, or I'm not coming.
"I mean, it was just let's just have some fun playing ball, let's just all get better and let's see what happens."
The Warriors popped champagne inside the bowels of Quicken Loans Arena in 2015, having clinched the series in six games. The Cavs could at least momentarily stall Golden State's momentum, and keep their visitors' locker room dry, by breaking up the Warriors' perfect playoffs with a win Friday.
But after a draining loss to the Warriors in Game 3, the Cavs will have to guard against a letdown, not to mention Golden State's vaunted lineup that was built to dominate for years.
"We'll see what happens," James said. "Obviously you never know what's going to happen, but as it stands right now, they look pretty good, as far as the future."
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Warriors-Cavaliers Preview
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CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves in the same place through two games in the NBA Finals they were at this point last season.
Blown out in Games 1 and 2 by the Golden State Warriors, looking for something to change in the first home game before the series is over for all intents and purposes.
Things turned out OK for the Cavs in 2016. They won Game 3 by 30 points and eventually became the first team in NBA history to recover from a 3-1 deficit to win the Finals.
"You understand the journey and how much of the energy it took from a mental and physical standpoint in order to come back from something like that," said Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving. "But you know it's definitely possible."
The Warriors have outscored Cleveland by 41 points through two games. They've blown the doors off of LeBron James and company in both games in the third quarters, outscoring the Cavs by 13 points in Game 1 and 11 on Sunday.
Kevin Durant wasn't wearing a Golden State jersey while his current teammates collapsed in last year's Finals. He has scored 71 points through two games. Harrison Barnes, the player Durant replaced in the Warriors' lineup, scored 65 for the whole series.
Durant is a former MVP in the prime of his career who was added to a roster that won an NBA-record 73 games last season before the stunning Finals defeat. He is partnered with Stephen Curry, a two-time MVP who has scored 60 points through two games and is coming off a triple-double in Game 2.
And the Warriors point to Game 3 as the initial turning point.
"I think it was the nature with which they won that game, the force that they brought," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "They blew us out. I don't remember what the final score was, but it wasn't close. And I thought that gave them confidence, gave their crowd confidence.
"We came back and won Game 4 in a great effort and had them right where we wanted them, but I think Game 3 gave them that confidence, and obviously everything changed in Game 5."
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said he is sticking with shooting guard J.R. Smith in the starting lineup despite his struggles. Smith has scored just three points in two games on 1-of-6 shooting.
Then again, Smith was scuffling through the first two games of last season's Finals and came back with 20 points in Game 3.
"I have the same confidence level I've had since I started playing this game," Smith said. "I feel like I can make any and every shot. I feel like I'm going to -- feel like I'm going to play well every time I step on the floor. Obviously that doesn't happen every time.
"My confidence has never dwindled, lacked, chipped, nothing. I feel like when I'm on the floor, I mean obviously Bron is Bron, but I feel like I'm one of the best players on the floor."
James is averaging a triple-double through two games, with 28.5 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Twice during his career he has led the Cavs back from an 0-2 deficit in a playoff series -- in the 2007 Eastern finals against Detroit and of course last season.
James, who actually ended his protest of NBA podium interviews after Tuesday's practice by again taking reporters' questions on stage, said losses take "a mental toll."
"It's something I am accustomed to," James said. "It's something that I feel like is -- that it's OK for me to kind of always go back and know that I can refocus. I can get my guys ready, get myself ready. But you hate to continue to put yourself in these positions."
The Warriors are 14-0 to start the postseason. They're the first NBA team to ever do it. With a win in Game 3 they would pass the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins for the most consecutive playoff wins by any major professional sports team.
For what it's worth, no team has ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA playoffs. The Warriors are two wins from sweeping all four rounds, including the last one, against the defending champs.
"We want 15-0," Kerr said. "That's what we want. Are we 14-0 right now? We want 15-0. That's what we want. We literally have never once mentioned 16-0. To me it's a miracle that it's even a possibility. It's so hard to do.
"But we are here, we're more focused on what happened last year like in terms of we were up 2-0 and we came here and the series shifted. That's the important lesson, not any historical benchmarks or anything like that."
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Warriors, Cavaliers begin Round 3
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OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors both believe they have more to offer than in years past as they meet for the third consecutive year in the NBA Finals beginning Thursday night.
The Warriors, by virtue of having compiled the best record in the league during the regular season, will host Game 1. They hold the home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series.
Golden State also enjoyed the home-court edge in the 2015 and 2016 Finals, capturing the title two years ago on Cleveland's home floor in Game 6 before watching the Cavaliers celebrate in Oakland after Game 7 last season.
Having been held scoreless over the final 4:39 of the decisive Game 7 last year, the Warriors made the biggest splash of the NBA offseason when they signed high-scoring Kevin Durant in free agency.
Golden State has looked stronger than ever this postseason, having recorded consecutive four-game sweeps over the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs, becoming the first team in NBA history to reach the Finals with a 12-0 record.
Durant replaces Harrison Barnes, whose offensive struggles played a big role in the Warriors' failure to repeat as champions in 2016.
Despite often being left unguarded as the Cavaliers focused on stopping Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Barnes shot 5 of 32 over the final three games as Cleveland rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the series.
Durant is shooting 89 of 160 (55.6 percent) so far in the playoffs, connecting on at least half his shots in each of his past six games.
The first-year Warrior is aware the Cavaliers, who made a 12-1 run through the Eastern Conference playoffs, have been impressive defensively in the postseason. They have limited the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics to 45 percent shooting, ranking third in that category during the playoffs after being barely average (16th, 45.8 percent) in the regular season.
"They stepped it up a level in the playoffs defensively," Durant said of the Cavaliers. "It's not like there's going to be a lot of wide-open shots out there. But if we move the basketball and move our bodies, I think anybody can find a crack in the defense or some space to make a shot. But we've just got to take care of the basketball."
Three-point shooting played a critical role in Cleveland's success against the Warriors last June. The Cavaliers made 37.6 percent of their threes in their four wins, as opposed to just 26.1 percent in their three losses.
With in-season acquisition Kyle Korver having hit 22 of his 53 shots from beyond the arc (41.5 percent), the Cavaliers have been the most accurate 3-point shooting team in the 2017 playoffs, connecting on 43.5 percent.
"It's amazing. Especially since this is Year 14 for me, for this to happen now, this means so much," Korver said of his first trip to the Finals. "You work all summer, you work all season for so many years in a row hoping to get to this point. I don't think it's sunk in all the way yet, but it's really special."
Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday, also in Oakland.
The scene shifts to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 on June 7 and June 9.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors both believe they have more to offer than in years past as they meet for the third consecutive year in the NBA Finals beginning Thursday night.
The Warriors, by virtue of having compiled the best record in the league during the regular season, will host Game 1. They hold the home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series.
Golden State also enjoyed the home-court edge in the 2015 and 2016 Finals, capturing the title two years ago on Cleveland's home floor in Game 6 before watching the Cavaliers celebrate in Oakland after Game 7 last season.
Having been held scoreless over the final 4:39 of the decisive Game 7 last year, the Warriors made the biggest splash of the NBA offseason when they signed high-scoring Kevin Durant in free agency.
Golden State has looked stronger than ever this postseason, having recorded consecutive four-game sweeps over the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs, becoming the first team in NBA history to reach the Finals with a 12-0 record.
Durant replaces Harrison Barnes, whose offensive struggles played a big role in the Warriors' failure to repeat as champions in 2016.
Despite often being left unguarded as the Cavaliers focused on stopping Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Barnes shot 5 of 32 over the final three games as Cleveland rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the series.
Durant is shooting 89 of 160 (55.6 percent) so far in the playoffs, connecting on at least half his shots in each of his past six games.
The first-year Warrior is aware the Cavaliers, who made a 12-1 run through the Eastern Conference playoffs, have been impressive defensively in the postseason. They have limited the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics to 45 percent shooting, ranking third in that category during the playoffs after being barely average (16th, 45.8 percent) in the regular season.
"They stepped it up a level in the playoffs defensively," Durant said of the Cavaliers. "It's not like there's going to be a lot of wide-open shots out there. But if we move the basketball and move our bodies, I think anybody can find a crack in the defense or some space to make a shot. But we've just got to take care of the basketball."
Three-point shooting played a critical role in Cleveland's success against the Warriors last June. The Cavaliers made 37.6 percent of their threes in their four wins, as opposed to just 26.1 percent in their three losses.
With in-season acquisition Kyle Korver having hit 22 of his 53 shots from beyond the arc (41.5 percent), the Cavaliers have been the most accurate 3-point shooting team in the 2017 playoffs, connecting on 43.5 percent.
"It's amazing. Especially since this is Year 14 for me, for this to happen now, this means so much," Korver said of his first trip to the Finals. "You work all summer, you work all season for so many years in a row hoping to get to this point. I don't think it's sunk in all the way yet, but it's really special."
Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday, also in Oakland.
The scene shifts to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 on June 7 and June 9.
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Cavaliers look to finish off Celtics
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BOSTON -- Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue, whose Cleveland Cavaliers are one win away from an NBA Final rematch with the Golden State Warriors, said Wednesday coaching against the Boston Celtics without Isaiah Thomas has presented a whole different set of obstacles.
Obstacles different even than the Warriors, who await the winner of the Eastern Conference Final.
"The stuff they're running, it's harder to defend than Golden State's (offense) for me, as far as the actions and all the running around and all the guys who are making all the plays, so it's a totally different thing," Lue said. "Like, they hit the post, Golden State runs splits and all that stuff but these guys are running all kinds of (stuff). And Brad (Stevens has) got them moving and cutting and playing with pace and everybody is a threat."
That's why, when asked whether he is thinking about a possible third straight title meeting with the Warriors, Lue, whose team is up 3-1 on Boston, said, "You can't. As much as you want to, it's not over.
"(The Celtics are), like I told you guys before, it's like we're preparing for a whole new team. Like, we didn't know what they were going to run. Isaiah (Thomas) goes down and they're running a totally different offense than we prepared for so it's been tough on us. And defensively, they're a lot better. They don't have a lot of weak links to go to, to go at.
The Celtics left TD Garden after their Game 2 beat-down anything but sure they could give their fans at least one more home game. Then they found out for sure their star, Thomas, was done for the year.
Thursday night, the Boston fans do in fact get another home game as the injury-riddled Celtics try to send the series back to Cleveland for Game 6.
A win and LeBron James goes to his seventh straight finals and the Cavs will see a team that is 12-0 in these playoffs.
The Celtics pulled off the improbable comeback upset in Game 3 before Kyrie Irving and James combined to bring the defending champions back from 16 points down to win Game 4 Tuesday night.
Irving, who scored a career-playoff-high 42 points, rolled his left ankle with 1:49 left in his 21-point third quarter but is expected to play Thursday.
"I've twisted my ankle so many times that plays like that, you have two choices, either you can sit there and kind of wallow in the sorrow of you twisting your ankle or capture the moment," Irving said.
With Thomas already gone, the Celtics played without Amir Johnson in Game 4 because a shoulder injury suffered in the third game. He and Jae Crowder (groin) are listed as probable for Game 5 while rookie Jaylen Brown (hip pointer) is questionable.
Asked about suffering his injury, Irving said, "My adrenaline is still going at this point, so I'm pretty sure when I get home my body will probably hate me, but it's the magnitude of the moment and what's at stake, and I wasn't coming out for any margin. I wasn't coming out.
"I knew how much we needed this game and how much my teammates needed me and the importance of me leading these guys as well as 'Bron.
"I'm saying to myself, 'They cannot tie up this series. They cannot. We cannot go to Boston 2-2 and then it becomes almost an even series."
The Celtics have to know they let one get away Tuesday night, but may well have just fallen victim to the fatigue that resulted from the dramatic -- and totally unexpected -- win in Game 3.
"The first half we played some of the best basketball we played all season," Brown said of Game 4, "against one of the best teams in basketball."
They did. And they built a 16-point lead, before the Cleveland stars, more notable Irving, stole the game right back.
"We had really good athletes, quick guys that make things tough on people, guarding him, and he was able to raise up and make a lot of tough shots," said Stevens. "He was able to get by us and make tough shots in the paint. Again, sometimes I think that -- I'll go look at it and see all the things that we did wrong, but I think it's more of a tip-your-hat kind of thing with those two guys tonight."
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
James, Cavaliers aim to rebound in Game 4 vs. Celtics
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CLEVELAND -- Forget playing like he had throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.
If LeBron James was even a shell of his usual self in Game 3 against the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers would be up 3-0 in the conference finals and beginning to size up the Golden State Warriors for what would be an NBA Finals rematch.
Game 4 is Tuesday in Cleveland.
"No blame. We're all to blame," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said Monday, a day after his team was stunned 111-108 by the Celtics. "We lost; it happens. For a guy who played great for five straight months, he's got to have a bad game sooner or later. He's human. He didn't shoot the ball well. It wasn't his ordinary game. But Kevin (Love, 28 points) and Kyrie (Irving, 29 points) had it going early and they played well, so it kind of got him out of rhythm a little bit in that first half. That's no excuse."
It wasn't just James' 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting that killed Cleveland, although it was surprising, given the 68 points he'd scored in the first two games of this series. It was his shocking inactivity in the fourth quarter against the Celtics, given his historic efforts against them and Jae Crowder -- who typically defends James.
James took just three shots in that fourth quarter and missed them all. He didn't get to the free-throw line.
"He's got to be aggressive, get downhill, play like he's been playing, play confident," said Cavaliers teammate and friend J.R. Smith, who scored 13 points with eight rebounds in Game 3.
"That's what I always think, when people of his stature or people like him, you've got to play confident the whole night and play aggressive. It's the Eastern Conference finals. It's not enough for him. For what he does, what he brings, it's not enough. He knows that. We know that. Just expect him to be better in Game 4."
According to cleveland.com, James' teams are 1-10 in the playoffs when he scores 15 or fewer points. Perhaps foreshadowing what's to come from him in Game 4, James is averaging 24.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in the nine playoff games following such a loss (the 10th game will be Tuesday).
James is 20-0 in playoff series in which his team won the first two games, and the Cavaliers are 14-0 in those sets. James hasn't lost a playoff series against an Eastern team since the second round in 2010, when the Celtics knocked out Cleveland in six games.
James had one of his worst playoff games ever in that series -- in Game 5, at home, he scored 15 points on 3-of-14 shooting and the Cavaliers were blown out. The Celtics took Game 6 and the series.
Cleveland still has control in these conference finals and is 13-2 in its last 15 playoff games at Quicken Loans Arena.
"I mean, a game like that just happens," Lue said. "You move on and hopefully be better the next game. It's not something we're going to hang our head on. But we definitely understand that this (Boston) team is not going to quit, they're going to fight, they're going to compete."
The Celtics have to fight on without leading scorer Isaiah Thomas, who is out for the remainder of the playoffs with a hip injury. His teammates celebrated with Thomas via FaceTime following their Game 3 win. They all know not to expect the same, unusually tame James in Game 4.
"I think he's going to be aggressive," said Avery Bradley, who scored 20 points and made the game-winning 3-pointer. "I mean, LeBron James understands how to play the game, and he understands what this team needs from him. He's most likely going to be a lot more aggressive. It's our job to make sure that we defend him as best we can and just make every -- take other guys out of the game."
Boston trailed 2-0 in the first round against Chicago, but won the next four. This is a whole different deal, however, facing the defending champions without their own best player in Thomas.
And now there may be more adversity for the Celtics. Coach Brad Stevens told the Boston Globe that forward Amir Johnson has a sprained right shoulder and is questionable for Game 4. Johnson was replaced in the starting lineup for Game 2 by Gerald Green, but after a 44-point loss and with Thomas out, Stevens went back to Johnson in Game 3.
Stevens would rather play Kelly Olynyk (15 points in Game 3) and Jonas Jerebko (10 points) than Johnson anyway.
"We always believe in ourselves," said Avery Bradley, who scored 20 points and made the game-winning 3-pointer in Game 3. "It's not always the outcome that we want, but that's part of the game.
"You're going to have ups and downs. You obviously hear people saying that it's all about how you respond, and we don't feel like people believed in us and counted us out, but that just put another chip on our shoulder, which I think is good. And I hope we can continue to play with that chip on our shoulder and come out the same way next game."
Stevens looked beyond the scoring numbers James put up in Game 3.
"Well, one of the things, as you go back and watch the film, I thought LeBron made a lot of the right plays," Stevens said. "When you've got guys that are all on fire the way they are, the right basketball play is to find them. He just made it over and over.
"The guy is a tremendous basketball player. He makes the right play over and over, and he thinks the game, he sees the game. He's a really good defender. He can read situations. So I thought he was pretty darned good. But like I said last night, I'm not going to be critical of the best player in the world."
Monday, May 22, 2017
Warriors look for knockout punch vs. Spurs
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If there is anything that can stop, or even slow, Golden State on the way to its third straight trip to the NBA Finals, it hasn't been found yet by the three teams the Warriors have faced so far in the playoffs.
On Monday, the short-handed San Antonio Spurs, injury-ravaged losers of the first three games of the Western Conference finals, will take one more shot at beating Golden State when the teams square off for Game 4 of their best-of-seven series.
No team in NBA playoff history has come back to win a series after losing the first three games. The chances that the Spurs, with or without injured star forward and erstwhile MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard, can do so are monumental, at best.
Leonard is a near-certainty to miss the contest due to an ankle injury. Fellow Spurs forward David Lee (knee) also could sit out.
The Warriors rolled to a 120-108 win on Saturday behind 33 points from Kevin Durant, 17 of which came consecutively during the third quarter after the Spurs closed within 69-65. Golden State's wave and wave of talented players came alive when the Warriors were needed the most, and -- all the great coaching and proper preparation aside -- San Antonio just couldn't muster a meaningful response.
"For us to win, we have to play at a 10 level and they have to play at a 7," San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili said after the loss in Game 3. "We know it's going to be very tough. We don't know what's going to happen with Kawhi, so we have to be out there, compete, feel good about yourself, give everything you have, and if it's enough, great. If it's not, great, too."
Golden State has now won all 11 games in this postseason -- it swept the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz before taking the first three games in the conference finals -- and has garnered victories in 26 of its past 27 overall contests.
"As players, you want to go out there and win as much as possible and play as great as you can," Durant said when asked about the Warriors' domination. "Whatever happens with the score happens. So, we leave that to the fans who feel upset. If you don't like it, don't watch it."
About the only chance the Spurs would seem to have to extend the series past Monday to a Game 5 in Oakland on Wednesday would stem on some level of complacency by Golden State. If Stephen Curry's comments after Game 3 are to be believed, it's more likely that the Warriors will go for the knockout punch and their third straight series sweep in Game 4.
"I'm not surprised that we are up 3-0 -- our goal is to win every game we play," Curry said. "Obviously, sometimes it doesn't happen like that, but we've answered a lot of challenges throughout the course of the playoffs and learned a lot of lessons, obviously through winning.
"But against the Spurs, they challenge you no matter who is out there, and you've got to play well to beat them. So, we obviously know Game 4 is going to be even tougher, with the chance to close it out. They're going to go down swinging, so we have to really come in focused and with a lot of energy to get it done on Monday."
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said Sunday after the team's practice that he does not expect Leonard to play on Monday.
"It wouldn't make much sense," Popovich said. "If (Leonard) was unable to play yesterday, I don't think there's going to be a miraculous healing by tomorrow."
If this is the end of the line for the Spurs, it has been a memorable -- if incomplete -- campaign. San Antonio is a team no opponent can take for granted, so writing off the Spurs is hard, even with these dire circumstances.
"I've been saying this the whole time -- the Spurs are not just going to lay down for us," Warriors acting coach Mike Brown said. "The building is going to be energized. The group is going to be ready to play, so we have to make sure that we come out and we play the right way."
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Celtics face deeper hole minus top scorer vs. Cavs
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CLEVELAND -- Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas is done for the playoffs with the right hip injury that cost him the second half of a 44-point loss in Game 2 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Celtics announced Saturday that Thomas, their leading scorer, was out after reaggravating a "right femoral-acetabular impingement with labral tear."
Even if he had returned to Game 2 with his hip strain, or if he could've played against the Cavaliers on Sunday in the third game of this lopsided Eastern Conference final, Thomas alone is not enough to bridge the gap between Cleveland and Boston.
LeBron James and the Cavs have so thoroughly dominated the series they now lead 2-0, with Game 3 headed for their building at 8:30 p.m. ET
"Not 44 points' worth," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Friday after his team's historic 130-86 loss to Cleveland in Game 2, when asked if a healthy Thomas could've made a difference. "But I don't want to put that on any one guy. I think ultimately they were terrific, we were poor. You've got to be able to pick up the slack certainly when other guys aren't available. But they were tremendous.
"They've taken advantage of us both nights."
Celtics team physician Dr. Brian McKeon said, "Isaiah has worked tirelessly to manage this injury since it first occurred" in March, and "the swelling increased during the first two games against Cleveland, and in order to avoid more significant long-term damage to his hip, we could no longer allow him to continue."
Marcus Smart started the second half of Game 2 in place of Thomas.
The Cavaliers' win in Game 2 was the most lopsided in Eastern Conference finals and in franchise history. It was also the worst playoff loss for Boston -- the most decorated franchise in the NBA -- at home in team history.
James notched his eighth straight playoff game of at least 30 points, and did it in a 2017 playoff-low 33 minutes.
The Cavs won the first two games in this series by an average of 28.5 points. Sure, the number was skewed by the 44-pointer Friday in Game 2, but Game 1 really wasn't close, either.
Thomas aggravated the hip strain in Game 6 of Boston's conference semifinal win over Washington. He was limited to two points in Game 2, and in Game 1 scored 17 on 7-of-19 shooting from the field.
Already overmatched, Boston seems incapable of competing with a healthy Cavs bunch without Thomas and the 28.9 points per game he averaged during the regular season.
"He's not second-team All-NBA for no reason, top three in the league in scoring," Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. "So he's a tough cover. The things they run for him put you in bad positions and tough positions, especially with Al Horford being a stretch five. That's why I'm pleased most of all with our defense and how we just kept reacting and kept moving and kept scrambling."
Lue was in no mood after Friday's win to look past this series.
"I don't care if you win by 200 points," Lue said. "It's one game, and we know this team is a very scrappy team."
The Celtics, after all, did lose the first two games at home to Chicago in the first round and recovered to win the series in six games. Of course, the Bulls lost Rajon Rondo to a broken thumb in Game 2 and the Celtics had Thomas at full tilt, playing like crazy to honor the memory of his sister who died in an auto accident.
This is a totally different scenario. It usually is when James is involved.
James is 73 points from passing Michael Jordan as the NBA's leading scorer in the playoffs. Hem has scored at least 25 points in every game this postseason and is trying to become the first since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970 to score 30 in nine straight playoff games.
James is 20-0 when he leads 2-0 in a playoff series. The Cavs are 14-0. Together, they need one more win to set an NBA record for consecutive postseason wins, and would become only the third team in league history to start the playoffs 11-0.
"We can get better," James said. "That's the positive for our ballclub. There's no complacency with us right now. There shouldn't be. It's the postseason. But we like where we're headed and the direction we're headed right now."
CLEVELAND -- Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas is done for the playoffs with the right hip injury that cost him the second half of a 44-point loss in Game 2 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Celtics announced Saturday that Thomas, their leading scorer, was out after reaggravating a "right femoral-acetabular impingement with labral tear."
Even if he had returned to Game 2 with his hip strain, or if he could've played against the Cavaliers on Sunday in the third game of this lopsided Eastern Conference final, Thomas alone is not enough to bridge the gap between Cleveland and Boston.
LeBron James and the Cavs have so thoroughly dominated the series they now lead 2-0, with Game 3 headed for their building at 8:30 p.m. ET
"Not 44 points' worth," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Friday after his team's historic 130-86 loss to Cleveland in Game 2, when asked if a healthy Thomas could've made a difference. "But I don't want to put that on any one guy. I think ultimately they were terrific, we were poor. You've got to be able to pick up the slack certainly when other guys aren't available. But they were tremendous.
"They've taken advantage of us both nights."
Celtics team physician Dr. Brian McKeon said, "Isaiah has worked tirelessly to manage this injury since it first occurred" in March, and "the swelling increased during the first two games against Cleveland, and in order to avoid more significant long-term damage to his hip, we could no longer allow him to continue."
Marcus Smart started the second half of Game 2 in place of Thomas.
The Cavaliers' win in Game 2 was the most lopsided in Eastern Conference finals and in franchise history. It was also the worst playoff loss for Boston -- the most decorated franchise in the NBA -- at home in team history.
James notched his eighth straight playoff game of at least 30 points, and did it in a 2017 playoff-low 33 minutes.
The Cavs won the first two games in this series by an average of 28.5 points. Sure, the number was skewed by the 44-pointer Friday in Game 2, but Game 1 really wasn't close, either.
Thomas aggravated the hip strain in Game 6 of Boston's conference semifinal win over Washington. He was limited to two points in Game 2, and in Game 1 scored 17 on 7-of-19 shooting from the field.
Already overmatched, Boston seems incapable of competing with a healthy Cavs bunch without Thomas and the 28.9 points per game he averaged during the regular season.
"He's not second-team All-NBA for no reason, top three in the league in scoring," Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. "So he's a tough cover. The things they run for him put you in bad positions and tough positions, especially with Al Horford being a stretch five. That's why I'm pleased most of all with our defense and how we just kept reacting and kept moving and kept scrambling."
Lue was in no mood after Friday's win to look past this series.
"I don't care if you win by 200 points," Lue said. "It's one game, and we know this team is a very scrappy team."
The Celtics, after all, did lose the first two games at home to Chicago in the first round and recovered to win the series in six games. Of course, the Bulls lost Rajon Rondo to a broken thumb in Game 2 and the Celtics had Thomas at full tilt, playing like crazy to honor the memory of his sister who died in an auto accident.
This is a totally different scenario. It usually is when James is involved.
James is 73 points from passing Michael Jordan as the NBA's leading scorer in the playoffs. Hem has scored at least 25 points in every game this postseason and is trying to become the first since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970 to score 30 in nine straight playoff games.
James is 20-0 when he leads 2-0 in a playoff series. The Cavs are 14-0. Together, they need one more win to set an NBA record for consecutive postseason wins, and would become only the third team in league history to start the playoffs 11-0.
"We can get better," James said. "That's the positive for our ballclub. There's no complacency with us right now. There shouldn't be. It's the postseason. But we like where we're headed and the direction we're headed right now."
Saturday, May 20, 2017
Leonard iffy as Spurs host Warriors in Game 3
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It is put-up-or-shut-up time for San Antonio when the Spurs face the red-hot Golden State Warriors on Saturday in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
San Antonio is trailing 2-0 in the best-of-seven series and has looked completely lost after star forward Kawhi Leonard reinjured his left ankle midway through the third quarter of Game 1. The Spurs were up by as many as 25 points in that contest before losing 113-111 and then, with Leonard unavailable because of the injury, were steamrolled 136-100 in Game 2.
Both of those games were in Oakland, and the Spurs are hoping that the series shift to the Alamo City will change the momentum. Leonard's return would help bolster that change but, even after six full days of rest and rehabilitation, he was listed by the team as questionable for Game 3.
Leonard originally sustained the ankle injury in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets. He is averaging 27.7 points on 52.5 percent shooting, to go along with 7.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the postseason.
Leonard said Friday at the Spurs' shootaround that he will make the decision on his playing status.
"I will have a lot of input," Leonard said. "If I feel good, I'm going to play. Part of that is just seeing if I can run and at least be myself on the court. I don't want to hobble around or shoot off-balance shots. I just want to be able to push with both legs."
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said he was not planning any contingency plans for his team in case Leonard decides he can't play.
"Either Kawhi is going to play, or he's not," he said. "Everything else, you just work on what you want to work on."
The Warriors are expecting Leonard to play Saturday and are readying to handle the boost he and the change of venue could give the Spurs.
"I'm 100 percent sure he's going to play," Golden State's Kevin Durant said after practice Friday. "I haven't talked to anybody, but that's just my gut. It's Game 3 at home, and he's got a few days of rest on that ankle. They're a way better team, obviously, with him on the court. They pose a different threat."
Lost in all the talk about Leonard's injury is Golden State's overall excellent play, especially in Game 2, and the Warriors' ability to step things up when needed. Golden State has won all 10 of its games in the postseason, sweeping Portland and Utah and now taking the first two games from San Antonio.
Warriors acting coach Mike Brown was happy to see his team stroll to an easy win, but understands that things are going to be a lot more difficult moving forward. Game 4 will also be in San Antonio, on Monday, and two Spurs wins would put the series back on track.
"Steve (Kerr) told our guys before Game 2 that we've got to come out and play with a sense of urgency from the beginning," Brown said of his ailing boss' address to the team in the locker room before the game. "Give all of our guys credit. That was the message to the team afterward, too, going into Game 3.
"Think Game 1 was tough?" Brown added. "Oh, down in San Antonio, it's going to be more than a dogfight. Game 3 is going to be tough for us."
Not everything has gone the Warriors' way in this series. San Antonio outrebounded Golden State 49-40 in Game 2, and the Spurs' 22 offensive rebounds were the most the Warriors have surrendered in any game this season. San Antonio also had a significant rebounding advantage in the first two quarters of Game 1 before Leonard's injury.
Golden State's Andre Iguodala (left knee soreness) and Zaza Pachulia (right heel contusion) are listed as questionable for Saturday's Game 3. Iguodala participated in practice Friday and appears closer to a return than Pachulia at this point.
It is put-up-or-shut-up time for San Antonio when the Spurs face the red-hot Golden State Warriors on Saturday in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
San Antonio is trailing 2-0 in the best-of-seven series and has looked completely lost after star forward Kawhi Leonard reinjured his left ankle midway through the third quarter of Game 1. The Spurs were up by as many as 25 points in that contest before losing 113-111 and then, with Leonard unavailable because of the injury, were steamrolled 136-100 in Game 2.
Both of those games were in Oakland, and the Spurs are hoping that the series shift to the Alamo City will change the momentum. Leonard's return would help bolster that change but, even after six full days of rest and rehabilitation, he was listed by the team as questionable for Game 3.
Leonard originally sustained the ankle injury in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets. He is averaging 27.7 points on 52.5 percent shooting, to go along with 7.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the postseason.
Leonard said Friday at the Spurs' shootaround that he will make the decision on his playing status.
"I will have a lot of input," Leonard said. "If I feel good, I'm going to play. Part of that is just seeing if I can run and at least be myself on the court. I don't want to hobble around or shoot off-balance shots. I just want to be able to push with both legs."
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said he was not planning any contingency plans for his team in case Leonard decides he can't play.
"Either Kawhi is going to play, or he's not," he said. "Everything else, you just work on what you want to work on."
The Warriors are expecting Leonard to play Saturday and are readying to handle the boost he and the change of venue could give the Spurs.
"I'm 100 percent sure he's going to play," Golden State's Kevin Durant said after practice Friday. "I haven't talked to anybody, but that's just my gut. It's Game 3 at home, and he's got a few days of rest on that ankle. They're a way better team, obviously, with him on the court. They pose a different threat."
Lost in all the talk about Leonard's injury is Golden State's overall excellent play, especially in Game 2, and the Warriors' ability to step things up when needed. Golden State has won all 10 of its games in the postseason, sweeping Portland and Utah and now taking the first two games from San Antonio.
Warriors acting coach Mike Brown was happy to see his team stroll to an easy win, but understands that things are going to be a lot more difficult moving forward. Game 4 will also be in San Antonio, on Monday, and two Spurs wins would put the series back on track.
"Steve (Kerr) told our guys before Game 2 that we've got to come out and play with a sense of urgency from the beginning," Brown said of his ailing boss' address to the team in the locker room before the game. "Give all of our guys credit. That was the message to the team afterward, too, going into Game 3.
"Think Game 1 was tough?" Brown added. "Oh, down in San Antonio, it's going to be more than a dogfight. Game 3 is going to be tough for us."
Not everything has gone the Warriors' way in this series. San Antonio outrebounded Golden State 49-40 in Game 2, and the Spurs' 22 offensive rebounds were the most the Warriors have surrendered in any game this season. San Antonio also had a significant rebounding advantage in the first two quarters of Game 1 before Leonard's injury.
Golden State's Andre Iguodala (left knee soreness) and Zaza Pachulia (right heel contusion) are listed as questionable for Saturday's Game 3. Iguodala participated in practice Friday and appears closer to a return than Pachulia at this point.
Friday, May 19, 2017
James, Cavs look to take 2-0 lead on Celtics
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BOSTON -- LeBron James offered a rather ominous comment after his Cleveland Cavaliers won the opener of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night.
"I don't even think we played that great tonight," James said after the Cavs cruised to a 117-104 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Despite not playing "that great," the Cavaliers took over home-court advantage in the series and look to get a two games to none lead Friday night at TD Garden.
James was, well, James in Game 1. He continued his dynamic playoff run with 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a wire-to-wire victory.
To make it tougher for Boston, James had help and the Cavaliers hit 28 of their first 45 shots and coasted, doing so in a game where Kyrie Irving, who usually kills the Celtics, scored just 11 points.
"They put you in a bad matchup almost every time down the floor," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Thursday.
Kevin Love, looking like the Kevin Love from his Minnesota days, fired in a career-playoff-high 32 points, including four 3-pointers in the third quarter, and grabbed 12 rebounds. Tristan Thompson had a career-playoff-best 20 points and nine boards.
The win was the Cavs' 12th straight in the playoffs, dating back to the last three games of the finals last year. James has scored 30 points in seven straight games as he looks to visit the finals for the seventh straight season.
"There's gonna be some adjustments made from both sides," James said Thursday. "We have to be ready for it. Obviously, we don't know the exact adjustments but we know they're gonna make adjustments. That's what good teams do and we have to be ready for anything they bring to the table."
One thing the Celtics would love to bring to the table is more offense from Isaiah Thomas. Boston's little big man, who named All-NBA second team Thursday. (James made his 11th straight first team.) Thomas was hounded by the Cavs in the opening game, scoring just 17 points. He did have 10 assists and became the first Celtic since Rajon Rondo in 2012 with back-to-back playoff double-doubles.
"I'm very confident. I believe in these guys," Thomas said. "We just gotta protect our home court in Game 2 and get the win."
Games 3 and 4 are in Cleveland Sunday and Tuesday.
"LeBron's been playing so well that we really haven't had the chance to feature Kevin, but we've been talking and he's been ready," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. "Tonight was a huge performance from him. We needed that."
James is averaging 34.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game in these playoffs.
"Amazing, but he's better than when I first got into the league," said Stevens, in his fourth year in the league and now 0-5 against James and the Cavs in the postseason.
The Celtics, who lost the first two games of their first-round series with the Chicago Bulls at home, had won five straight at home since then before losing the opener of this series.
"We got the shots we wanted on the offensive end almost all of the first half," Thomas said, noting the Cavs were rested while his team had just come off a seven-game series with the Washington Wizards. "We got what we wanted, we just couldn't capitalize on it. I think that was a big reason why our defense was let down as well.
"It's tough to continue to keep playing hard even though we need to when you don't see shots fall."
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Celtics look to upset James-led Cavaliers
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BOSTON -- It was five years ago that LeBron James walked into TD Garden and amassed 45 points and 15 rebounds in a Game 6 victory that avoided the Miami Heat's elimination from the postseason.
Many feel that was the first real signature event in what was already a proud career, as the Heat won Game 7 at home and then captured the championship.
"Now that you've brought it to my attention, yeah, I would say that," Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue, a Celtics assistant in that 2012 series, said Tuesday as his team prepared to go to Boston for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Wednesday night.
"Coming back home, up 3-2 and having a chance to close them out. Played a great series and we thought we had a chance to win that series. LeBron came in and had 45 points, think he made six 3s and he was just determined that he wasn't going to let his team lose."
James, looking to be the first player since Boston's Bill Russell (in the 1960s) to go to seven straight finals, opens his sixth playoff series against the Celtics -- the most he has played against any team.
Boston advanced with a 115-105 Game 7 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night and then won the NBA draft lottery for the first time Tuesday.
"That felt pretty good," Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck said. "It felt like winning Game 7 last night. There's a lot of good feelings around the Celtics right now.
The Celtics took advantage of the Cavs virtually taking the final month off to grab the top seed in the conference. But the Cavs, 8-0 in these playoffs (Boston is 8-5), are clearly the favorites as they hope to repeat as NBA champions.
Asked after Monday night's game what it will take for his team to beat Cleveland, Boston guard Marcus Smart said, "Perfection."
"What a special opportunity to get a chance to compete against them," said Boston coach Brad Stevens, whose Celtics lost to the Cavs in four straight games two years ago.
"At the end of the day, the Celtics are our next opponent and ... they're a worthy opponent," James said Tuesday. "We have to game plan every game; we have to game plan for what they bring to the table. And when we have to mentally focus on our challenges that we have every game."
In 29 playoff games against the Celtics, James' teams are 17-12. He is averaging 29 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists in those games. He also comes in with six straight 30-point games in this year's playoffs and is the first player ever to amass 275 points, 70 rebounds and 50 assists in the first eight playoff games of a season.
"LeBron's been playing at such a high level, why would you go away from that?" Lue said. "Let's ride it while he's been playing great. Kevin (Love) understands that, Kyrie (Irving) understands that, all the guys understand it. We'll do a better job getting Kevin involved, getting him more touches. But LeBron's playing at such a high level, it was hard to kind of go away from that. We're just all about winning and in order to win you've got to sacrifice."
James showed up at Tuesday's media gathering wearing a T-shirt that had a leprechaun with a halo over its head on it. That happens to be his high school mascot, but was it also a sign the Boston leprechaun will soon be a dead and thus an angel?
"You guys are trying to create story lines," James said. "The only story line is Celtics vs. Cavs and who can win this series."
In the fourth game of that previous series, Boston's Kelly Olynyk knocked Kevin Love out of the postseason by ripping his arm back and creating a shoulder injury. Olynyk then did what looked like the same thing to Robin Lopez -- and was then involved in an incident in the Wizards series.
After a questionable screen, he was shoved by Kelly Oubre Jr., leading to a one-game suspension for Oubre, but also leading to Draymond Green, who knows a thing or two about dirty plays, calling Olynyk "a dirty player."
Monday night, Olynyk, who denies playing dirty, was just a great player, scoring a career-playoff-high 26 points to help send the Wizards home.
"If Kelly doesn't go nuts and they throw in a couple more 3s, we're not talking about the next step," said Stevens.
The Cavaliers won the season series with the Celtics 3-1, winning both home games and splitting the games in Boston.
James averaged 29.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game this season against Boston, while Celtics scoring leader Isaiah Thomas posted 29.5 points and 6.5 assists per game against the Cavs.
"They ain't (giving) us a chance in this series," Thomas said Monday. "They ain't (giving) us a chance when we was down 2-0 to Chicago. We got the No. 1 seed, they didn't give us a chance. They don't ever give us a chance and we keep going. We don't care about what others say."
Al Horford, brilliant in these playoffs, added, "Everyone's going to roll with the champs until somebody beats them."
Thomas, who has ridden a physically and emotional roller coaster in these playoffs, says he is banged up and there's no time to rest up for the powerful Cavaliers, who haven't played since May 7.
"I'm hurting but it's the playoffs, so there's no excuses," he said, adding it's "My whole body" that hurts.
BOSTON -- It was five years ago that LeBron James walked into TD Garden and amassed 45 points and 15 rebounds in a Game 6 victory that avoided the Miami Heat's elimination from the postseason.
Many feel that was the first real signature event in what was already a proud career, as the Heat won Game 7 at home and then captured the championship.
"Now that you've brought it to my attention, yeah, I would say that," Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue, a Celtics assistant in that 2012 series, said Tuesday as his team prepared to go to Boston for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Wednesday night.
"Coming back home, up 3-2 and having a chance to close them out. Played a great series and we thought we had a chance to win that series. LeBron came in and had 45 points, think he made six 3s and he was just determined that he wasn't going to let his team lose."
James, looking to be the first player since Boston's Bill Russell (in the 1960s) to go to seven straight finals, opens his sixth playoff series against the Celtics -- the most he has played against any team.
Boston advanced with a 115-105 Game 7 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night and then won the NBA draft lottery for the first time Tuesday.
"That felt pretty good," Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck said. "It felt like winning Game 7 last night. There's a lot of good feelings around the Celtics right now.
The Celtics took advantage of the Cavs virtually taking the final month off to grab the top seed in the conference. But the Cavs, 8-0 in these playoffs (Boston is 8-5), are clearly the favorites as they hope to repeat as NBA champions.
Asked after Monday night's game what it will take for his team to beat Cleveland, Boston guard Marcus Smart said, "Perfection."
"What a special opportunity to get a chance to compete against them," said Boston coach Brad Stevens, whose Celtics lost to the Cavs in four straight games two years ago.
"At the end of the day, the Celtics are our next opponent and ... they're a worthy opponent," James said Tuesday. "We have to game plan every game; we have to game plan for what they bring to the table. And when we have to mentally focus on our challenges that we have every game."
In 29 playoff games against the Celtics, James' teams are 17-12. He is averaging 29 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists in those games. He also comes in with six straight 30-point games in this year's playoffs and is the first player ever to amass 275 points, 70 rebounds and 50 assists in the first eight playoff games of a season.
"LeBron's been playing at such a high level, why would you go away from that?" Lue said. "Let's ride it while he's been playing great. Kevin (Love) understands that, Kyrie (Irving) understands that, all the guys understand it. We'll do a better job getting Kevin involved, getting him more touches. But LeBron's playing at such a high level, it was hard to kind of go away from that. We're just all about winning and in order to win you've got to sacrifice."
James showed up at Tuesday's media gathering wearing a T-shirt that had a leprechaun with a halo over its head on it. That happens to be his high school mascot, but was it also a sign the Boston leprechaun will soon be a dead and thus an angel?
"You guys are trying to create story lines," James said. "The only story line is Celtics vs. Cavs and who can win this series."
In the fourth game of that previous series, Boston's Kelly Olynyk knocked Kevin Love out of the postseason by ripping his arm back and creating a shoulder injury. Olynyk then did what looked like the same thing to Robin Lopez -- and was then involved in an incident in the Wizards series.
After a questionable screen, he was shoved by Kelly Oubre Jr., leading to a one-game suspension for Oubre, but also leading to Draymond Green, who knows a thing or two about dirty plays, calling Olynyk "a dirty player."
Monday night, Olynyk, who denies playing dirty, was just a great player, scoring a career-playoff-high 26 points to help send the Wizards home.
"If Kelly doesn't go nuts and they throw in a couple more 3s, we're not talking about the next step," said Stevens.
The Cavaliers won the season series with the Celtics 3-1, winning both home games and splitting the games in Boston.
James averaged 29.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game this season against Boston, while Celtics scoring leader Isaiah Thomas posted 29.5 points and 6.5 assists per game against the Cavs.
"They ain't (giving) us a chance in this series," Thomas said Monday. "They ain't (giving) us a chance when we was down 2-0 to Chicago. We got the No. 1 seed, they didn't give us a chance. They don't ever give us a chance and we keep going. We don't care about what others say."
Al Horford, brilliant in these playoffs, added, "Everyone's going to roll with the champs until somebody beats them."
Thomas, who has ridden a physically and emotional roller coaster in these playoffs, says he is banged up and there's no time to rest up for the powerful Cavaliers, who haven't played since May 7.
"I'm hurting but it's the playoffs, so there's no excuses," he said, adding it's "My whole body" that hurts.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Leonard out, Spurs fuming ahead of Game 2 vs. Warriors
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OAKLAND, Calif. -- San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich shifted the attention of the Western Conference finals away from his team's problems Monday and squarely onto what he labeled the unsportsmanlike means by which the Golden State Warriors grabbed an early lead in the best-of-seven series.
While disclosing that Kawhi Leonard would be held out of Game 2 on Tuesday night, Popovich blasted Warriors center Zaza Pachulia for contact on the Spurs star that the coach compared to manslaughter.
"This is (baloney). It can't be, 'Oh, this was inadvertent; he didn't have intent,'" Popovich said less than 24 hours after Pachulia, attempting to defend a 3-pointer, stepped underneath Leonard and caused an ankle injury that will keep the Most Valuable Player candidate out of Game 2, and perhaps longer.
Leonard underwent an MRI on his left ankle/foot Monday. It came back negative, which keeps the door open for him to return when the series shifts to San Antonio on Saturday.
"Who gives a (darn) what his intent was?" Popovich continued. "Have you ever heard of manslaughter? You still go to jail, I think, when you're texting and you end up killing somebody, but may have not intended to do that.
"All I care is what I saw. All I care about is what happened. And the history there exacerbates the whole situation and makes me very, very angry."
Popovich went on to cite three examples of unsportsmanlike acts Pachulia, formerly of the Dallas Mavericks, performed on his players.
One involved former Spurs big man David West, who is currently one of Pachulia's teammates on the Warriors.
West sidestepped the issue when asked about it at practice Monday, labeling Pachulia a guy who plays "hard."
If the goal of the accusation was to get people talking about anything other than the historic collapse of the Spurs in Game 1, Popovich succeeded. The only Warrior who wouldn't get sucked in was Draymond Green, but even his silence on the issue raised additional questions when he was perceived not to have had his teammate's back.
Warriors coach Mike Brown went as far as to accuse San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge of similar tactics against Stephen Curry on Sunday.
You never would have known the Warriors were riding the incredible high of having erased a 20-point halftime deficit with the third-biggest comeback in NBA playoff history.
"So, Game 2?" Green queried at one point, attempting to change the subject.
Playing brilliantly on both ends of the floor, the Spurs led the series opener 78-55 after Leonard had made his two free throws following the Pachulia foul with 7:53 left in the third quarter.
Leonard never played again, and a team that had scorched the Warriors for 78 points in 28 minutes was held to 33 in the final 20.
Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili was brutally honest afterward, fearing his team had just lost Game 2 as well.
"It's the toughest part," he said when asked to project the Spurs' ability to bounce back. "It's very hard to react from a game like this. I always prefer to lose by 20 ... in which case the home team relaxes a little bit, feels good about themselves, and we are hurt, we are angry. (But) the opposite happened.
"We played an outstanding game for a half and a little bit. Then they came back. They overplayed us. They were more aggressive. They made more shots. So if it wasn't bad enough, we lost our best player that was struggling already with a bad ankle. So it's hard to see the positives, even though we were 20-something up. A very bad outcome of the game."
The status of Warriors super-sub Andre Iguodala for Game 2 remained up in the air Monday after he underwent an MRI on his sore left knee.
Iguodala sat out the second half on Sunday, although Brown insisted afterward it was more of a coach's decision than a necessity.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich shifted the attention of the Western Conference finals away from his team's problems Monday and squarely onto what he labeled the unsportsmanlike means by which the Golden State Warriors grabbed an early lead in the best-of-seven series.
While disclosing that Kawhi Leonard would be held out of Game 2 on Tuesday night, Popovich blasted Warriors center Zaza Pachulia for contact on the Spurs star that the coach compared to manslaughter.
"This is (baloney). It can't be, 'Oh, this was inadvertent; he didn't have intent,'" Popovich said less than 24 hours after Pachulia, attempting to defend a 3-pointer, stepped underneath Leonard and caused an ankle injury that will keep the Most Valuable Player candidate out of Game 2, and perhaps longer.
Leonard underwent an MRI on his left ankle/foot Monday. It came back negative, which keeps the door open for him to return when the series shifts to San Antonio on Saturday.
"Who gives a (darn) what his intent was?" Popovich continued. "Have you ever heard of manslaughter? You still go to jail, I think, when you're texting and you end up killing somebody, but may have not intended to do that.
"All I care is what I saw. All I care about is what happened. And the history there exacerbates the whole situation and makes me very, very angry."
Popovich went on to cite three examples of unsportsmanlike acts Pachulia, formerly of the Dallas Mavericks, performed on his players.
One involved former Spurs big man David West, who is currently one of Pachulia's teammates on the Warriors.
West sidestepped the issue when asked about it at practice Monday, labeling Pachulia a guy who plays "hard."
If the goal of the accusation was to get people talking about anything other than the historic collapse of the Spurs in Game 1, Popovich succeeded. The only Warrior who wouldn't get sucked in was Draymond Green, but even his silence on the issue raised additional questions when he was perceived not to have had his teammate's back.
Warriors coach Mike Brown went as far as to accuse San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge of similar tactics against Stephen Curry on Sunday.
You never would have known the Warriors were riding the incredible high of having erased a 20-point halftime deficit with the third-biggest comeback in NBA playoff history.
"So, Game 2?" Green queried at one point, attempting to change the subject.
Playing brilliantly on both ends of the floor, the Spurs led the series opener 78-55 after Leonard had made his two free throws following the Pachulia foul with 7:53 left in the third quarter.
Leonard never played again, and a team that had scorched the Warriors for 78 points in 28 minutes was held to 33 in the final 20.
Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili was brutally honest afterward, fearing his team had just lost Game 2 as well.
"It's the toughest part," he said when asked to project the Spurs' ability to bounce back. "It's very hard to react from a game like this. I always prefer to lose by 20 ... in which case the home team relaxes a little bit, feels good about themselves, and we are hurt, we are angry. (But) the opposite happened.
"We played an outstanding game for a half and a little bit. Then they came back. They overplayed us. They were more aggressive. They made more shots. So if it wasn't bad enough, we lost our best player that was struggling already with a bad ankle. So it's hard to see the positives, even though we were 20-something up. A very bad outcome of the game."
The status of Warriors super-sub Andre Iguodala for Game 2 remained up in the air Monday after he underwent an MRI on his sore left knee.
Iguodala sat out the second half on Sunday, although Brown insisted afterward it was more of a coach's decision than a necessity.
Monday, May 15, 2017
Celtics aim to ride home-court edge vs. Wizards in Game 7
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BOSTON -- Will the banners, the history, save the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals?
Or will the Washington Wizards, who are trying to reach the conference finals for the first time since 1979, come into TD Garden and record the first road win in 11 games this season between two teams that have exchanged all kinds of unpleasantries throughout the year?
The answer will come Monday night, when the series comes down to one game. The winner moves on to oppose the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East finals beginning Wednesday.
"We believe we should be playing against Cleveland, and beat Cleveland and go to the championship," Boston's Avery Bradley said.
Celtics great Bill Russell, arguably the greatest winner in the history of the four major sports, never lost one a winner-take-all game. In fact, he was 10-0 in Game 7s in the NBA and also won two NCAA titles and an Olympic gold medal -- and his banner will be looking down on the Red Auerbach court for this rather important contest.
The Wizards pulled even with a 92-91 victory Friday that was easily the best game of the series. It came down to the final seconds, and the NBA admitted that the Celtics should have had an extra second for a final shot.
"I could take another dribble," said Boston's Isaiah Thomas, who missed a hurried shot just before the buzzer. "I could have gotten past (Markieff) Morris, probably. A little bit, got a little bit more separation. But it is what it is. We can't worry about that. It just sucks that they came out with it and said we should have had another second."
That can't be fixed -- so Boston, aiming for its first conference finals appearance since 2012, will have to win it at home.
This is a week that is fairly important in the current and future history of the Boston franchise. In addition to Game 7 on Monday, the draft lottery in which the Celtics will receive no worse than the fourth pick via the Brooklyn Nets is Tuesday, ahead of what they hope will be Game 1 of the conference finals against the champion Cavaliers.
The Wizards, who won Game 6 after the Celtics showed up at the arena wearing black funeral clothing, have other ideas.
They come in determined to win at TD Garden for the first time since 2014. Washington has endured eight consecutive losses, five this season, on the Celtics' home floor.
The Wizards go as their two guards -- John Wall and Bradley Beal -- go. Wall has overcome some shooting droughts to be outstanding throughout, and he hit the 3-pointer that won Game 6. He is averaging 27.9 points in the playoffs, and Beal is averaging 23.8 points. Both are tough to stop.
"Now those guys are not babies anymore. They're closers," teammate Ian Mahinmi told the Washington Post. "They're proven closers."
Mimicking what the Wizards had done before a regular-season game, the Celtics wore black into the Verizon Center for Game 6, and it may have backfired and helped add fire to the home team. Still, the Wizards were facing elimination and needed a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left and the added drama of the final seconds to finish it off and bring it back to Boston.
"Don't come to my city wearing all black talking about it's a funeral," Wall said on ESPN after that game. "We worked too hard for this."
And there's more work to be done by both of these teams. One will advance Monday night, the other will go home and watch.
"Man, I don't believe in pressure," said Thomas, who has ridden an emotional and physical roller coaster while averaging 25.1 points in the playoffs. "I work too hard to be scared of any type of pressure."
Friday, May 12, 2017
Wizards look to protect home court, force Game 7
Stats, LLC
WASHINGTON -- The Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards have played nine times this season, including five games in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The home team is 9-0.
That bodes well for the Wizards with Game 6 on their court Friday night. It won't matter the location if the Celtics' role players produce as they did in the previous meeting.
Boston leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 following a 123-101 romp over Washington on Wednesday. Avery Bradley scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half and fueled a 16-0 run in the first quarter that gave the Celtics all the breathing room they needed. The margin never dipped below eight over the final 41 minutes.
"The great start got us going on both ends of the floor, and we have to be that type of team," said Bradley, who scored 12 points combined in Games 3 and 4. Washington, which dominated the first quarter for most of the series, won both games at home by average of 23 points.
"We had yet to get a good start this entire series. Tonight we were able to start the right way," Bradley said. "Everyone was prepared, and that is what it's all about. We're a team, and it's going to take a team effort to be able to beat the Washington Wizards."
Isaiah Thomas, Boston's leading scorer in the playoffs, remained the focus of Washington's defense. The Wizards were content to let his teammates beat them. They didn't in Washington's wins, but with the point guard playing more of a distributor role, other Celtics came alive with the series back in Boston. Al Horford had 19 points and seven assists, while Jae Crowder matched Thomas with 18 points.
The Celtics shot 65 percent from the field in the first quarter and 53 percent overall, including 16 of 33 on 3-point attempts.
"As a basketball player, you got to read what the defense is giving you, and they're really having two to three guys on me at all times," said Thomas, who had a game-high nine assists Wednesday.
Part of what worked for Boston involved beating Washington at its own up-tempo game with 15 fastbreak points in the first quarter.
"We were on the floor. We weren't getting back in transition from the corners," Washington coach Scott Brooks lamented. "We didn't have the focus we had to have going into this game. We knew that they were going to come out aggressive, and they did.
"Everyone knows that once you make some easy shots, the next shots become easier. We outplayed them the (in Games 3 and 4), and they outplayed us (in Game 5). Hopefully, we can come back and play a much better game Friday."
The Wizards cruised at home thanks to runs of 22 and 26 consecutive points. They won't need such a dominant surge to force a Game 7, but they will need a better effort than what they delivered Wednesday. Washington shot 38.5 percent from the field and a dismal 7 of 29 from beyond the arc. All-Star guard John Wall had 21 points but a playoff-low four assists.
"I really don't think we relaxed, I think they kinda surprised us," Wall said of the lackluster start. "When we took shots, they started leaking out and getting out. They made adjustments, it must have been something they saw in the film, and they killed us with it in the first quarter. We kinda took their fastbreak point away from there, but guys were already in the rhythm of making shots. When we aren't making shots, we let it affect us defensively."
Kelly Oubre Jr. returned from a one-game suspension following a Flagrant 2 foul in Game 3 to score 13 points off the bench, but Washington's other reserves shot 3 of 16 from the field.
WASHINGTON -- The Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards have played nine times this season, including five games in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The home team is 9-0.
That bodes well for the Wizards with Game 6 on their court Friday night. It won't matter the location if the Celtics' role players produce as they did in the previous meeting.
Boston leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 following a 123-101 romp over Washington on Wednesday. Avery Bradley scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half and fueled a 16-0 run in the first quarter that gave the Celtics all the breathing room they needed. The margin never dipped below eight over the final 41 minutes.
"The great start got us going on both ends of the floor, and we have to be that type of team," said Bradley, who scored 12 points combined in Games 3 and 4. Washington, which dominated the first quarter for most of the series, won both games at home by average of 23 points.
"We had yet to get a good start this entire series. Tonight we were able to start the right way," Bradley said. "Everyone was prepared, and that is what it's all about. We're a team, and it's going to take a team effort to be able to beat the Washington Wizards."
Isaiah Thomas, Boston's leading scorer in the playoffs, remained the focus of Washington's defense. The Wizards were content to let his teammates beat them. They didn't in Washington's wins, but with the point guard playing more of a distributor role, other Celtics came alive with the series back in Boston. Al Horford had 19 points and seven assists, while Jae Crowder matched Thomas with 18 points.
The Celtics shot 65 percent from the field in the first quarter and 53 percent overall, including 16 of 33 on 3-point attempts.
"As a basketball player, you got to read what the defense is giving you, and they're really having two to three guys on me at all times," said Thomas, who had a game-high nine assists Wednesday.
Part of what worked for Boston involved beating Washington at its own up-tempo game with 15 fastbreak points in the first quarter.
"We were on the floor. We weren't getting back in transition from the corners," Washington coach Scott Brooks lamented. "We didn't have the focus we had to have going into this game. We knew that they were going to come out aggressive, and they did.
"Everyone knows that once you make some easy shots, the next shots become easier. We outplayed them the (in Games 3 and 4), and they outplayed us (in Game 5). Hopefully, we can come back and play a much better game Friday."
The Wizards cruised at home thanks to runs of 22 and 26 consecutive points. They won't need such a dominant surge to force a Game 7, but they will need a better effort than what they delivered Wednesday. Washington shot 38.5 percent from the field and a dismal 7 of 29 from beyond the arc. All-Star guard John Wall had 21 points but a playoff-low four assists.
"I really don't think we relaxed, I think they kinda surprised us," Wall said of the lackluster start. "When we took shots, they started leaking out and getting out. They made adjustments, it must have been something they saw in the film, and they killed us with it in the first quarter. We kinda took their fastbreak point away from there, but guys were already in the rhythm of making shots. When we aren't making shots, we let it affect us defensively."
Kelly Oubre Jr. returned from a one-game suspension following a Flagrant 2 foul in Game 3 to score 13 points off the bench, but Washington's other reserves shot 3 of 16 from the field.
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