The mood following the game was lively, but like a class that finished one exam and has to trek down the hall to the next final, there was a certain focus, even among the relief. Damian Lillard led the way with 28 points and Mason Plumlee hit 3 of 4 free throws in the closing seconds to seal the deal.
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However, Rivers’ heroics would not be enough as the Clippers went down 106-103 and were eliminated from playoff contention. “Jamal was the one who…Jamal believed in me, man. Come a long way”.
“I’ve been so proud of Austin”, Crawford said.
“We know what we’re capable of”, Green said. I was happy with how we executed down the stretch. “We didn’t panic. We did the necessary things to win the game”. First, Chris Paul fractured his right hand, then Blake Griffin injured his left quadriceps. Green averaged 13.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists in the first round against Houston, bouncing back from a lackluster performance in the lone loss. “It was fantastic to coach them”. An emotional point guard went up to the stage and what we saw was a truly authentic display of emotion from a player who truly left it all out on the court.
“I’ve never cussed in a press conference but he played his ass off”, Crawford told reporters.
For the Celtics to improve upon this past season, they will need Thomas to continue elevating his play as well as the play of those around him.
If the Portland Trail Blazers win on Friday night, they will advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs where they will meet the reigning-NBA Champion, Golden State Warriors. In the second half, the Raptors took five shots off Lowry passes, shooting 2-of-5.
Plumlee was fouled and made both free-throw attempts to make it 105-103 with 14.7 seconds to play.
Lillard made a pair at the line to push the difference to 103-97 with 1:37 left. Rivers’ 42-foot hurl at the buzzer fell short.
Stotts said it was an option going into Game 1 vs. the Clippers but they just wanted to see how things went before tweaking things. Coaches and players sound this trope all the time: It’s so hard to win in the National Basketball Association. We knew they’d compete, and they did. They have similar styles and I expect the series to be high scoring and fun to watch.
Luc Mbah a Moute’s three-point play and J.J. Redick’s 3-point shot gave the Clippers a 58-53 advantage early in the third quarter.
The Trail Blazers became the first team to overcome a 2-0 deficit since Memphis came back against the Clippers in the first round in 2013.
Amid the injuries that took Paul and Griffin out of the playoffs, was the rebounding prowess of Clippers center DeAndre Jordan.
Austin Rivers bleeds through his stitches after Game 6 in Portland. Curry is kind of a wild card here because he’s an unreliable prognosticator of his own injuries, but I think he’s gonna be out most of this series as he tries to find his rhythm coming off two injuries so it’s *more* likely that the worst case happens.
But the Blazers’ ascendant backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum suppressed them in the fourth quarter Friday, with Lillard finding McCollum open for three-pointers on the wing twice in the final five minutes. None are premier scorers, nor are they players teams fear beating them. “And this playoff series, we had different guys stepping up as well and tonight they were huge for us not just offensively but defensively as well”.
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At around the 6:50 mark in the first quarter, Portland Trailblazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu unintentionally elbowed Rivers in the eye. Paul George came up big again with 21 points and 11 rebounds while the Raptors’ highly touted back court of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry played well below expectations. A merry-go-round of multiple offensive actions created a drive-and-dish for Lillard, who found McCollum for a 3-pointer with a little over four minutes remaining.
