Basket Ball / Sports

Chris Paul helps Phoenix dominate Denver in Game 2, take 2-0 series lead

The Phoenix Suns pulled out a dominant 123-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the second-round series. The victory was the fifth straight for Phoenix this postseason. Chris Paul led the way for the Suns with 17 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers. Paul’s assist-to-turnover ratio in the series is now a staggering 26-1. Devin Booker also added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the surging Suns.

Phoenix appeared to be a step faster than Denver on both ends of the floor in the second game, as it got virtually whatever it wanted on the offensive end while simultaneously making things difficult defensively for Denver. All five Suns starters scored in double figures,  compared to only two for the Nuggets’ first five. Freshly minted MVP Nikola Jokic paced the Nuggets with 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, but his production wasn’t nearly enough, especially with minimal help from the guys around him. Moving forward, Nuggets coach Mike Malone is going to have to figure out a way to get his team going, particularly Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., who combined for just 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting in Game 2.

The only good news for the Nuggets right now is that the series if about to shift to Denver for Games 3 and 4. There, the Nuggets will obviously look to play better than they were able to do in Phoenix. Unfortunately for Denver, the math isn’t on its side. A total of 430 playoff series have started 2-0, and only 28 times has the team that gained the early advantage failed to win the series, per Land of Basketball. That’s less than seven percent of the time. The most recent example of this occurred in the first round this year, as the Los Angeles Clippers bested the Dallas Mavericks in seven games after dropping the first two games of the series. So, it’s not an impossible feat, but it is an unlikely one. The Nuggets …

Basket Ball / Sports

Bucks sweep Heat, advance to second round of 2021 NBA playoffs

Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied a triple-double with 20 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds, Brook Lopez added 25 points and Bryn Forbes continued his hot shooting with seven triples as the Milwaukee Bucks knocked off the Miami Heat 120-103 in Game 4 to complete a first-round sweep of Miami. Jimmy Butler had 12 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for the Heat in the loss.

Milwaukee was expected to struggle with the team that eliminated them from last season’s bubble, but the Bucks showed why they’re a contender for the 2021 NBA title. They covered the spread (-5) easily in a Game 4 they struggled in before the second half.

The Heat jumped out to an early 22-12 advantage and maintained their lead for much of the first half. Miami held a 66-57 lead after Bam Adebayo scored the opening bucket of the third quarter but the Bucks made a major push, going on a 34-19 run to close the frame and hold a 91-85 lead. Miami missed 15 shots in the third quarter.

Antetokounmpo kept Milwaukee humming with two baskets and two assists to open the fourth quarter while the Heat continued to go cold from the floor. Miami missed 13 shots in the fourth quarter, including five attempts from deep.

The Bucks now await the winner of the Nets-Celtics series, with Boston getting Game 3 after Jayson Tatum’s 50-point explosion. Milwaukee will get some additional rest before its second round series.…

Basket Ball / Sports

Nba Playoff Updates

Nets vs. Celtics score: Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving in perfect sync as Brooklyn takes 2-0 lead

 

In Game 1, Brooklyn’s Big 3 of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving took eight 3-pointers each. In Game 2, they took 12 total shots each. The balance these guys are showing, the feel for playing in harmony, is incredible when you consider they only suited up for eight total games together during the regular season.

On Tuesday, Durant led the way with 26 points, while Harden finished with 20 and Irving 15. They shot a collective 20-for-36 from the field, including 7-of-13 from beyond the arc and 14-for-14 from the free-throw line. Because the stars are playing such an efficient, balanced brand of offense, the Nets were able to get everyone involved in Game 2 to the tune of 31 team assists. When you have this kind of individual scoring and you’re still racking up 30-plus assists, you’re really onto something.

 

Through the first seven minutes on Tuesday, Harris was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc for 16 points. He finished the first half 5-for-7 from deep for 22 points in 15 minutes. He was a plus-29 for the game.

Harris would be a fantastic shooter and player on any team, but with all the attention that Durant, Harden and Irving command, he’s borderline unfair on the Nets. No shooter who hit 47.5 percent of his 3s in the regular season (as Harris did on over six attempts per game) should get the number of open looks that Harris gets, but what other choice does Boston, or any other defense for that matter, have?

Harris found his looks in a variety of ways. In transition:

Obviously, the Celtics need Tatum to do more than play; they need him to play like a superstar if they want to have a chance to get back in this series. Tatum finished Game 2 with nine points on 3-of-12 shooting. Suffice it to say, that’s not going to get it done.

Tatum

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Basket Ball / Sports

NBA Playoff Recaps

Bucks vs. Heat score, takeaways: Milwaukee tops Miami in Game 2 after tying record for 3-pointers in a quarter

The Milwaukee Bucks made quick work of the Miami Heat on Monday night after a record-tying first quarter as Milwaukee knocked down 10 3-pointers in the opening frame, matching the NBA playoff record set by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. After 12 minutes of action at Fiserv Forum, the Bucks owned a 26-point lead and they never looked back as Milwaukee ultimately dominated Miami throughout the game to come away with a 132-98 victory.

In the end, Milwaukee knocked down 22 3-pointers as a team with Byrn Forbes leading the charge from beyond the arc with six made 3-pointers of his own. While Forbes led all bench scorers with 22 points, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo who paced the Bucks on the offensive end as he finished the win with 31 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. On the other end of the spectrum, the Heat struggled mightily from beyond the arc after setting a franchise playoff record for made 3-pointers in Game 1. That cold spell proved to be enough to decide this one as Miami was never really in it after the opening eight minutes of play.

With the win, Milwaukee takes a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series. Things will shift to Miami for Game 3, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night with TNT handling the broadcast. Here are the three most important takeaways from Milwaukee’s Game 2 victory.

 

The Bucks are switching so much more now that no single defender is ever responsible for what an opposing scorer does, but Antetokounmpo has exceeded all expectations against Butler so far, and that switching has protected him from chasing Butler over screens, an area in which he struggles.

Nuggets beat Blazers 128-109 to even series

Jokic scored 38 points to overcome a 3-point shooting barrage from Damian Lillard and the Nuggets evened the first-round series by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 128-109 on Monday night in …