Doc Rivers said that “there’s no secret” as to why the Los Angeles Clippers continue to blow big leads against the Denver Nuggets, saying it comes down to defensive intensity and free throws. “There’s no secret like potion that something happened. The two things that we didn’t do, clearly defensively, they shot almost 60% in […]
Doc Rivers Says ‘There’s Nothing Secret Or Magical’ About Winning Game 7s — Portal4News
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Kemba Walker and Jimmy Butler entered the NBA on the same night. They’ve paid their dues since the 2011 NBA draft. Butler is a five-time All-Star, Walker a four-time selection. Walker has the better scoring numbers, Butler the better defensive numbers. Butler leads with a style that’s often erroneously […]
Celtics’ Walker, Heat’s Butler waited years for East finals — The China Post, Taiwan
12:01 PM ET In a three-hour lunch meeting Friday in Milwaukee, Bucks co-owner and governor Marc Lasry made it clear to reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo that the franchise is willing to spend into the luxury tax to deliver him a championship supporting cast, sources told ESPN. The Bucks’ payroll will be close to the proposed […]
Sources: Bucks tell Giannis they’ll spend on cast — The Patriots Report
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The time off is welcome. But the waiting game hasn’t always been kind to the Lakers. The Western Conference Finals start was slid back to Friday, as the Lakers got a longer break to recover from a short but physical series against the Houston Rockets. It’s been a time to,…
Lakers bide their time again, waiting for their Western Conference Finals opponent — Daily News
Monstars vs. The Bad News Bears. Game 7. Winner gets LeBron. “I almost feel like we’re The Bad News Bears and I’m Coach Buttermaker,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone offered on the eve of Tuesday’s showdown with the big, bad Los Angeles Clippers. “We’re a team that nobody really looks at and takes us seriously. And…
Keeler: Kawhi’s a Monstar. The Nuggets are the Bad News Bears. And Michael Malone’s built an underdog that America’s falling in love with. — Daily News
One way or another, history. Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinal series between the second-seeded Clippers and third-seeded Nuggets will result either in the Clippers earning berth — at long, long last — in a conference final series for the first time in their franchise’s 50th season. Or the Nuggets will go down as…
Clippers down to their third swing at reaching Western Conference Finals berth — Press Telegram
CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jimmy Butler, 31; Dilshad Vadsaria, 35; Andrew Lincoln, 47; Robert Herjavec, 58. Happy Birthday: A desire for change will tempt you to move or rethink your direction this year. Take your time, and evaluate each scenario with discretion. Impulsiveness and stubbornness will be your downfall if you let emotions be…
Horoscopes Sept. 14, 2020: Jimmy Butler, take your time and evaluate each scenario with discretion — Times-Standard
The 76ers have had reported interest in Buddy Hield for a few months now, and Buddy has also been at odds with Kings management. The Kings famously took forever to give him an extension, and when they finally gave it to him, it was much lower than expected. Kings coach Luke Walton (the NBA’s worst […]
Buddy Hield to Philly? Is it Realistic? How Would it Help the 76ers? — Philadelphia Sports Chronicle
The Nuggets live somewhere between the brink and a prayer. Their idea of fun? Dancing on a knife’s edge. Without a net. Or so much as a first-aid kit.
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Following a hard-fought Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics that ended the Toronto Raptors‘ postseason in the second round, Kyle Lowry spoke candidly his team’s nearly 15-month run as defending NBA champions. “I enjoyed this year. The emergence of Pascal (Siakam). The emergence of Freddy (VanVleet). Just being around these guys, these young guys,” […]
Lowry reflects on memorable Raptors season: ‘I enjoyed this year’ — Portal4News
Following a hard-fought Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics that ended the Toronto Raptors‘ postseason in the second round, Kyle Lowry spoke candidly his team’s nearly 15-month run as defending NBA champions.
“I enjoyed this year. The emergence of Pascal (Siakam). The emergence of Freddy (VanVleet). Just being around these guys, these young guys,” Lowry told reporters moments after the 92-87 defeat. “Now we got a couple free agents, I’m going to be really happy for these guys that’s going out into free agency and going to get paid.”
The Raptors’ roster could look considerably different entering the 2020-21 season, with key rotation pieces VanVleet, Serge Ibaka, and Marc Gasol all set to hit unrestricted free agency. VanVleet, in particular, is expected to garner significant interest and a hefty payday on the open market.
Though Lowry is disappointed his team is leaving Orlando despite having “more to give,” the floor general expressed bittersweet emotions about finally flying home.
“I get to go see my babies, man. I’ve been going damn near three months without seeing my kids,” Lowry said. “I don’t want to be going home, I really don’t, and I know my kids don’t want me to be home because they want their daddy to win another championship, but I get to go see my babies.”
The All-Star point guard finished his 14th NBA season with averages of 19.4 points, 7.5 assists, and five rebounds across 58 regular-season games. The 34-year-old went on to average 17 points, 5.6 assists, and 6.3 rebounds in 11 postseason contests.
Lowry is under contract with the Raptors through the 2020-21 campaign.Tags:
The Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they’ll face the Miami Heat. At the moment, we know when three of those games will be played.
Celtics-Heat Eastern Conference Finals Will Tip Off Tuesday Night — CBS Boston
The Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they’ll face the Miami Heat. At the moment, we know when three of those games will be played.
Well, for the most part, at least. We don’t know exactly what time some of those games will be played, but we do have some dates. So we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.
Game 1 of the Celtics-Heat Eastern Conference Finals will tip off on Tuesday night, Sept. 15, but the time of that game depends on the Clippers-Nuggets Western Conference Semifinals. If the Nuggets force a Game 7, then the Celtics and the Heat will tip off at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. If Los Angeles closes out Denver on Sunday afternoon, then Boston and Miami will tip off at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
After a late night Friday, everyone should be rooting for a Game 7 in the Clippers-Nuggets series.
Game 2 of the Celtics-Heat series is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17, with the time TBD. Game 3 is set for Saturday, Sept. 19 at 8:30 p.m., according to NBA.com.
Nothing after that is on the docket yet, but chances are the NBA will keep its every-other-day schedule, meaning Games 4-7 would be Monday (Sept. 21), Wednesday (Sept. 23), Friday (Sept. 25) and Sunday (Sept. 27). You know, if Games 5-7 are necessary.
The Celtics needed seven games to send the defending champion Toronto Raptors home, while the Heat moved on after dispatching the Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the second-round. Like Boston, Miami swept their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. Miami is 8-1 in the playoffs after going just 3-5 in its seeding games.
One of those seeding-game wins came against the Celtics, a 112-106 victory on Aug. 4 without Jimmy Butler. The Celtics won their two matchups against the Heat during the regular season.
“I know we always think we’re going to win every game we play,” Jayson Tatum said of the upcoming series. “We didn’t come down here just for the first and second rounds. We didn’t really pay attention to outside noise, whether we were favorite or not. That doesn’t matter to us. It’s all about the guys in that locker room. We know what we’re capable of, we just got to get out there and do it.”
“We’re going to just take our time, rest our bodies up, take a few days and get prepared for a great team,” added Kemba Walker. “Those guys, they balled last series. Those guys are nothing but players.”
Sign In Marcus Smart did Marcus Smart things. Again. The Toronto Raptors cut the Boston Celtics’ 10-point lead to two points, taking over momentum and, even more importantly, having the opportunity to tie up the game with 58 seconds left. Toronto’s Pascal Siakam hauled in a defensive rebound after Jayson Tatum’s drive to the rim…
Celtics Notes: Marcus Smart Explains What Happened On Game-Altering Block — NESN.com
Marcus Smart did Marcus Smart things. Again.
The Toronto Raptors cut the Boston Celtics’ 10-point lead to two points, taking over momentum and, even more importantly, having the opportunity to tie up the game with 58 seconds left.
Toronto’s Pascal Siakam hauled in a defensive rebound after Jayson Tatum’s drive to the rim was off the mark. Siakam found teammate Norman Powell, who took the ball the length of the floor, committed to going to his left when he got to half court only to see Smart matching him stride-for-stride.
Smart then did what he always does. He made arguably the most important play of the game, blocking Powell at the rim and saving a game-altering basket. (You can watch the play here.)
He explained what was going through his mind after the Celtics’ claimed the 92-87 win in Game 7, ultimately advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
“As soon as Norman caught the ball, instantly I remembered last game where that exact same play came full court and he got the and-1 in the same type of standard where, close game, and it put them up I think three,” Smart said, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “So, when he caught the ball in my mind I’m just telling myself ‘He has to dunk it. I’m not going to give him no foul, I’m just going to meet him up top and see who wins that battle.’
“I bet on myself 100 percent of the time,” Smart continued. “And I’m first team All-Defense for a reason. I believe that wholeheartedly.”
Smart contributed three steals to go along with his one block. He also helped the Celtics defense force 18 turnovers with 12 steals as a team. That specific play, however, was what stuck out in the minds of head coach Brad Stevens and Kemba Walker.
“I thought two best plays of the night were Smart’s block and Tatum’s (offensive) rebound,” Stevens said, per NBC Sports Boston. “Those were both incredible effort plays by two of our best players.
“The hustle, the block, the toughness,” Stevens added of Smart. “He had a couple loose balls, he almost came up with another couple rebounds there towards the end of the game. Yeah, I mean he’s a huge part of our team. He’s a huge part of organization.”
Walker said much of the same.
“That block was, that block was so special. It was unreal,” Walker said. “This is why he’s first team All-Defense. He shows it night in and night out. He made so many huge plays tonight. A lot of the things he does just goes unnoticed. But that kid, he’s special. He’s on a different level on the basketball court.”More:Celtics Wrap: Boston Wins Game 7 Vs. Raptors, Advances To East Finals
Here are some other notes from Friday’s win:
— Of note, the other play Stevens was referencing was Tatum’s offensive rebound after a missed foul shot by Grant Williams. It helped Tatum go back to the free throw line, where he made one of two to give the Celtics a 90-87 lead with 34.9 second left.
— Despite a slow start from Walker, who took just two shots in his first 17 minutes, the point guard finished strong by scoring eight of his 14 points in the fourth.
Stevens was happy to see Walker play well down the stretch, as well as advance to his first conference finals.
“I’m really happy for him. He deserves to experience this,” Stevens said of Walker. “He’s everything that’s good about basketball. He loves the game, he’s a great teammate. He doesn’t care if he gets any of the glory, like he’s just a special guy. Guys like that deserve to play on these stages, for all the marbles and I’m glad he gets to keep doing it.”
— Rookie Grant Williams was forced to play some key minutes down the stretch when center Daniel Theis fouled out. And he did so admirably, playing strong defense on what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer by Toronto’s Fred VanVleet.
“He’s not even a rookie the way he plays, the way he sees the game, the way he comes in the game and brings energy,” Smart said of Williams. “For him to come in the game like that, Game 7, a rookie, to come up with that play, the fact that he was even in the mix to come up with that rebound was incredible.”
— Celtics’ fans may have had their hearts skip a beat with 9:40 left in the fourth quarter when Jaylen Brown went down with what looked to be a knee injury.
Brown never left the game, explaining that he was able to stay in due to his adrenaline. He admitted he was feeling the injury a bit more after the game.
The Celtics will take the floor next Tuesday for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports ImagesMore NBA:Gordon Hayward, Marcus Smart Among Celtics Who React On Twitter After Win
The post Celtics Notes: Marcus Smart Explains What Happened On Game-Altering Block appeared first on NESN.com.
The view from left field 