NBA Playoffs Blog – Page 25 – NBA Blog

Ryan Anderson excited to reach 2nd round

Here’s the Houston Chronicle with some insight on Rockets forward Ryan Anderson, who isn’t used to reaching the second round of the playoffs and is obviously excited about it:

Rockets forward Ryan Anderson found himself in the second round for just the second time in his career, having advanced past the first round in his first playoff experience, but never since.

Anderson reached the second round with the 2009-10 Orlando Magic, but lost in six games to the Boston Celtics, the eventual Eastern Conference champions. Back in the second round, Anderson, a nine-year veteran, sought to appreciate the opportunity that has not come often.

Raptors eliminate Bucks from NBA Playoffs

Thursday night in Milwaukee, the Raptors beat the Bucks 92-89 to win Game 6 and the first round playoff series. Toronto will now play the Cavs, with Game 1 scheduled for Monday in Cleveland. Here’s the Toronto Sun reporting on tonight’s series-clinching victory:

The real test came in the second half when the Raptors had built the lead up to 25 and looked home and cooled out only to watch the Bucks chip away at the lead as the Raptors offence, which had been running so efficiently bogged down like it never has before. The ball wasn’t just sticking. It was stuck and it stayed that way for the final half of the third quarter and the first eight or nine minutes of the fourth.

The run was 34-7 and if panic didn’t set in it was moments away from doing so.

“I don’t know what happened, but all of a sudden they woke up, made a great run and took over the game, had the momentum, had the crowd behind them,” Patrick Patterson said. “We were just discombobulated. A little too selfish on the offensive end, not communicating on the defensive side and they took advantage of that.”

Keeping the panic from overtaking the entire Raptors team was no easy feat and took just about every voice on the bench.

The team leaders, DeRozan and Lowry, were getting plenty of credit for that but so too was Cory Joseph, the only guy outside of Serge Ibaka who has taken an NBA playoff run all the way to its final game.

George Hill clutch from FT line for Jazz

Here’s the Desert News reporting on the Jazz and their first round playoff series vs the Clippers:

Despite being an 80 percent free-throw shooter during the regular season, George Hill came into Tuesday night’s playoff game in Los Angeles as the fifth-best foul shooter for the Jazz during the playoffs. So perhaps he was a good choice for the Clippers to put at the line in the closing seconds with the Jazz clinging to precarious leads.

Hill went to the line with 10.8 seconds left and the Jazz up by three points and again with 4.0 seconds left and his team up by two. In both cases, Hill coolly swished both free throws to allow the Jazz to hang on for a 96-92 victory.

Afterward, Hill said he welcomed the opportunity to be put on the line in a pressurized situation and said he goes through it every day in practice.

“Most definitely — we have a shooting competition every day in practice to see who’s the best free-throw shooter,” he said. “We’ve got a belt that we give out to the best free-throw shooter for the month. It’s been in my locker, Gordon’s locker and Joe Ingles’ locker most of the year. So we take a challenge in that.”

Jusuf Nurkic returns from injury for Blazers

Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, who was part of the big Trail Blazers turnaround that took place when he arrived from the team in trade from the Nuggets, has a fracture in his leg but is returning much earlier than anticipated and will be playing hurt against the Warriors. Here’s CSNNW reporting:

From doubtful to starting! The Bosnian Beast is back!

The Trail Blazers announced Nurkić will play in Game 3 vs. the Golden State Warriors at the Moda Center Saturday night.

Nurkic fractured fibula in his right leg on March 28th and was expected to miss at least two weeks before he was re-assessed.

Before the series, Nurkić told reporters, “if it was up to me I’d play right now.”

Blake Griffin injury update

The L.A. Clippers announced that forward Blake Griffin will miss the remainder of the 2017 NBA Playoffs with an injury to the plantar plate of his right big toe suffered during the Clippers’ 111-106 win over the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of their Western Conference First Round Playoff series.

Griffin will be re-evaluated upon the team’s return to Los Angeles and will see foot and ankle specialist Dr. Richard Ferkel.

Griffin averaged 21.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 61 regular season games in 2016-17, and averaged 25.0 points per game in the first two games of the Clippers’ Playoff series vs. the Jazz.

Blake Griffin out for remainder of NBA playoffs

Yet another Blake Griffin injury, at the worst possible time. The Clippers will be without their star power forward for the remainder of the playoffs. Here’s the LA Times reporting:

This season will finish similar to the last, with a sidelined Blake Griffin on the bench in street clothes.

Only this isn’t the same old story for the Clippers.

The most critical offseason in the franchise’s history has come early, courtesy of news that Griffin will miss the remainder of the playoffs because of damage to the plantar plate on his big right toe.

Chris Paul and Doc Rivers promised the Clippers will be ready to take on Utah Jazz in Game 4 of their opening-round playoff series Sunday, but this is something more far-reaching than that.

The Clippers are staring ahead into the unknown.

No Steve Kerr or Kevin Durant tonight for Warriors

Here’s the Bay Area News Group reporting on the Warriors, who will be missing some key pieces tonight but still have everybody they should need to look like their usual selves:

The Warriors will be without their coach and star small forward for Game 3 in Portland on Saturday night, plus a pair of other rotation pieces.

Steve Kerr will not coach because of an illness. Kevin Durant will be sidelined for a second straight game because of a calf strain, the team announced. Matt Barnes (foot sprain) and Shaun Livingston (hand contusion) also remain out.

Rajon Rondo injured: broken thumb

Just when things were looking up for the Chicago Bulls, surprisingly up 2-0 in their postseason series against the No. 1 East seed Boston Celtics, guard Rajon Rondo has been lost to injury.

Rondo injured his right hand in Game 2 at Boston on Tuesday night, and underwent a subsequent exam and x-rays that confirmed a thumb fracture.

Surgery is not required for this injury, and he is out indefinitely.

According to the Chicago Tribune, “Jerian Grant will start in Rondo’s place. “My teammates have confidence in me,” he said Friday. Jimmy Butler will be the primary ballhandler. “I’ve been doing it all year,” Butler said.”

Isaiah Thomas plays through personal tragedy

Shortly before the start of the playoffs, Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas found out some tragic personal news. Here’s the Boston Herald reporting:

Isiah Thomas plays through personal tragedy

Just one day after losing his sister in a tragic car crash, NBA star Isaiah Thomas chose to play with the Boston Celtics in their first playoff game. Although he was clearly devastated, sobbing on the bench before the game, Thomas had a longtime friend and teammate supporting him.

Fellow Celtics player Avery Bradley was spotted putting his arm around the 28-year-old point guard as he cried during the pregame shoot around. The two athletes grew up together in Tacoma, Washington, before becoming NBA teammates.

After learning that his 22-year-old sister, Chyna J. Thomas, died in a one-car crash in Tacoma early on Saturday morning, the basketball player opted to play on Sunday. He ended up scoring 33 points, although the team lost to the Chicago Bulls.

“It says a lot about him,” Bradley said after the game, according to NBA.com.

Rudy Gobert suffers knee injury

The Utah Jazz enjoyed a big win in Game 1 of their first round playoff series in L.A. against the Clippers, but their star center suffered a knee injury just seconds into the game. Here’s the Deseret News reporting:

The Utah Jazz’s first playoff game in five years couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start.

It couldn’t have had a better finish — well, almost.

Despite playing all but 17 seconds without defensive terror Rudy Gobert, the Jazz took a 1-0 first-round series lead over the Los Angles Clippers with a shocking 97-95 win at Staples Center after veteran forward Joe Johnson dropped in a stunning game-winning floater at the buzzer…

Seconds into the organization’s first playoff game since 2012, Hayward made a pass that sailed way above Gobert’s head into the Staples Center crowd.

It wasn’t a bad pass. Normally, in fact, the pass would’ve been right on target.

Problem was, Gobert wasn’t standing up. The 7-foot-1 center was crawling on the court in agony, having just injured his left knee while setting a screen for Hayward.