NBA: Wild win carries 76ers to 3-0 lead over Nets

The Philadelphia 76ers pushed the Brooklyn Nets to the brink of elimination on Thursday as the Golden State Warriors clawed back in their NBA playoff series against Sacramento with a 114-97 rout of the Kings.

A rugged clash in Brooklyn featured two ejections and a controversial kick from Joel Embiid, who nevertheless remained in the game.

Philadelphia's MVP candidate scored just 14 points but pulled down 10 rebounds and produced a crucial block with eight seconds remaining that helped the Sixers hang on for a 102-97 victory.

When the dust settled the Sixers had a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series -- the Nets well aware that no NBA team has come back from 3-0 down to win a best-of-seven set.

Across the country in San Francisco, the reigning champion Warriors avoided a 3-0 hole despite the absence of star Draymond Green, who was suspended one game for stamping on Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis in Game 2.

The Warriors, who were 33-8 at home in the regular season, led wire-to-wire, pushing the advantage to as many as 23 points to cut the series deficit to 2-1.

The Phoenix Suns, fueled by Devin Booker's 45 points, were also up 2-1 after a 129-124 victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 36 points. Center Kevon Looney pulled down 20 rebounds -- including nine offensive boards -- winning the battle with Sabonis.

Sabonis scored 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Kings, who were led by De'Aaron Fox's 26 points.

"Losing both games (in Sacramento) was a tough way to start," said Curry, leader of the Warriors' four-title dynasty but who had never before been down 2-0 in a series.

Curry said the Warriors were stung by Green's suspension but knew "we couldn't change the decision that we knew was wrong.

"But," he added, "if we could come out and win tonight and change the momentum of the series, that gives us an opportunity to make it about basketball."

Embiid controversy 

While Curry believes the Warriors have put the Green stamping debate behind them, there will be plenty of discussion around Game 3 of the Sixers-Nets series.

Down by five with 2:15 to play, the Sixers surged home. Tyrese Maxey scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, his step-back three-pointer with 44.7 seconds left giving the Sixers a 99-96 lead.

Spencer Dinwiddie cut the deficit by one with a free throw and looked headed for a game-tying layup when Embiid soared up to reject the shot and the Sixers held on.

Nets coach Jacque Vaughn expressed frustration that Embiid was even in the game at that point, marvelling that he wasn't ejected when he aimed a kick from the floor at Nic Claxton's groin as the Nets player stepped over him in the first quarter.

Embiid had hit the deck when he tangled with Claxton as the Nets player threw down an alley-oop dunk.

"For a guy to intentionally kick someone in an area that none of us want to be kicked at or toward, and for him to continue to play -- I've never seen that before," Vaughn said.

Sixers star James Harden was tossed late in the third quarter after piling his shoulder and arm into Royce O'Neale's body on a drive to the basket.

And Brooklyn's Claxton was ejected early in the fourth when he picked up a second technical foul for a muscle-flexing taunt of Embiid.

"We stayed together," Embiid said of the key to the hard-fought victory. "We kept playing through everything that was going on."

'Natural reaction' 

Harden was steaming at his ejection -- for a flagrant 2 foul -- over what he insisted was a normal basketball play.

"When somebody's draped over you like that defensively, it's just a natural basketball reaction," he said.

Mikal Bridges led the Nets with 26 points and Dinwiddie added 20, but Brooklyn are in danger of being swept for the second straight season.

Embiid, who went to the locker room briefly in the first quarter and could be seen limping later in the game, said the Sixers need to be better in Saturday's game four -- and that he'd be ready.

"I took a lot of shots today, but I'm fine," he said.

In Los Angeles, the Clippers had to make do without star Kawhi Leonard, who was ruled out with a knee sprain as they returned home after splitting the first two games with the Suns in Phoenix.

It was a heavy blow for a team already without injured star Paul George, and even 42 points from Norman Powell and 30 points from Russell Westbrook weren't enough against a Suns team that had 28 points from Kevin Durant.

Agence France-Presse

Bucks blow past Celtics for 2-1 series edge

The Milwaukee Bucks used a run late in the third quarter to take the lead for good, then rode balanced scoring to keep the host Boston Celtics at arm's length throughout the fourth period en route to a 123-116 victory Friday night in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Up 2-1 in the best-of-7 set, the top-seeded Bucks will seek a third consecutive win when the clubs meet again Monday night in Boston.

The Celtics scored 10 of the game's first 12 points and led for most of the first half, going up by as many as 12 at one point.

However, the Bucks caught up on two free throws by Khris Middleton at the 4:25 mark of the third period and then took a lead they never relinquished at 81-79 when George Hill dropped in a layup on their next possession.

Hill (two) and Middleton (one) combined for three subsequent 3-pointers in what turned into a 16-3 burst that produced a 93-82 lead near period's end.

The Celtics never threatened over the final 12 minutes, with Middleton and Pat Connaughton burying 3-pointers and Giannis Antetokounmpo contributing eight points to a fourth-quarter pull-away.

Only a generally meaningless 13-5 game-closing flurry by the Celtics made the final score deceptively close.

Coming off a 29-point performance in Game 2, Antetokounmpo was even better in Game 3, leading all scorers with 32 points. Half his scoring came on a 16-for-22 night at the free throw line.

Antetokounmpo completed a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds, and he also contributed a game-high eight assists.

Hill (21 points) and Connaughton (14) combined for six 3-pointers and 35 points off the Milwaukee bench, while Middleton chipped in with 20 points and Nikola Mirotic 13 in the balanced attack.

The Bucks outshot the Celtics 50.6 percent to 43.2 percent.

All five Boston starters scored in double figures, led by Kyrie Irving with 29 points.

Jayson Tatum had 20 points, Jaylen Brown 18, Al Horford 17, Marcus Morris 16 and reserve Gordon Hayward 10 for the Celtics, who split games with the Bucks at home in the regular season.

Tatum grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Celtics rally past Pacers for 2-0 series lead

Jayson Tatum buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 50.8 seconds remaining Wednesday night, allowing the host Boston Celtics to overcome a late Indiana Pacers flurry and pull out a 99-91 victory in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

With the fourth-seeded Celtics having successfully held serve on their home court to go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven set, the fifth-seeded Pacers will host Games 3 and 4 on Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

Indiana blew a 12-point, fourth-quarter lead. However, the Pacers appeared primed to even the series when Wesley Matthews and Bojan Bogdanovic combined for three 3-pointers in a 70-second spurt, allowing Indiana to retake a 91-89 advantage with 2:16 to go.

But the Pacers didn't score again, and the Celtics finally did when Tatum drilled his third 3-pointer of the game for a one-point lead in the final minute.

After Matthews couldn't connect on a 3-point try at the Indiana end, Gordon Hayward dropped in a layup with 12.1 seconds remaining to increase the Boston lead to 94-91.

The Pacers then turned over the ball with a chance to tie, and the Celtics pulled away with a 3-point play by Tatum and two late free throws by Hayward.

The Celtics scored the game's final 10 points.

Kyrie Irving, who sparked an earlier fourth-quarter comeback, finished with a game-high 37 points for the Celtics, who won the opener 84-74 on Sunday.

Tatum totaled 26 while Hayward added 13.

Boston forward Al Horford, who had been iffy for the game after missing the morning shootaround due to an illness, was able to put in 37 minutes, contributing a game-high 10 rebounds and four points to the win.

Bogdanovic used four 3-pointers as the base for his team-high 23 points for the Pacers, who outscored the Celtics 39-33 from beyond the arc.

Thaddeus Young chipped in with 15 points, while Darren Collison and Tyreke Evans had 13 apiece for Indiana.

The Pacers led for most of the first three quarters, going up by as many as eight in the first half and by 12, 77-65, on a Myles Turner shot with 1:04 remaining in the third period.

Evans made it a 12-point game again with a 3-pointer 40 seconds into the final period before Boston tightened the screws defensively and scored the game's next 16 points to go up 86-82.

Irving hit consecutive 3-pointers, the second of which put the Celtics ahead, and then dropped in a 2-pointer to increase the lead to four.

Matthews ended a nearly eight-minute Indiana drought with a 3-pointer with 3:26 to play to get the Pacers back within one and set up the tight finish.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Miami Heat clinch top spot in Eastern Conference

Miami Heat clinch top spot in Eastern Conference

Heat 108, Hornets 89

Two days after having their 27-game win streak snapped the Miami Heat were quickly back to their winning ways pounding the New Orleans Hornets 108-99 on Friday to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

LeBron James led the Heat (57-15) with a game high 36 points, including 28 in the opening half, while Dwyane Wade had 17 and Norris Cole added 12 from off the bench.

The Heat took out their anger on the Hornets after they were beaten by the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday bringing the second-longest win streak in American professional sports history to a screeching halt.

The Heat streak ended six short of the NBA record of 33, set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

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Celtics 118, Hawks 107

Paul Pierce recorded a triple-double, Jeff Green scored 27 points and Jason Terry chipped in with 24 to carry the Boston Celtics to a 118-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

The win moved the Celtics to within 1 1/2 games of the Hawks for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff seeding.

Pierce had 18 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds as the Celtics won their second straight after a five-game losing streak.

It was the 10th career triple-double for Pierce and his third this season.

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Timberwolves 101, Thunder 93

Nikola Pekovic had 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 101-93 upset of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Ricky Rubio added 17 points and had seven assists and four steals and Chase Budinger had 13 points as the Wolves (26-45), who sit at the bottom of Northwest knocked off the division leading Thunder (53-20).

Oklahoma, who fall 2 1/2 games back of the Western Conference leading San Antonio Spurs, got a 36 point performance from Kevin Durant while Russell Westbrook added 18.

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Spurs 104, Clippers 102

Tim Duncan hit a 16-foot jumper with 2.2 seconds left and added a free throw as the San Antonio Spurs held on for a 104-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Duncan continued his renaissance season with a season-high 34 points and 11 rebounds as the Spurs (55-17) opened up a 2 1/2 game lead on the Oklahoma City Thunder at the top of the Western Conference standings.

Duncan is averaging 20 points in March, including 23.6 and 10 blocks in the last six games

Blake Griffin had 18 in a losing cause for the Clippers, (49-23).

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Knicks 111, Bobcats 102

J.R. Smith scored a season-high 37 points as the New York Knicks extended their winning streak to seven games with a 111-102 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Carmelo Anthony added 32 points and Raymond Felton contributed 16 to New York (45-26) cause.

Gerald Henderson had 35 points for the Bobcats, who own the NBA's worst record at 17-55.

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Nuggets 109, Nets 87

Evan Fournier came off the bench to score a career-high 19 points as the Denver Nuggets extended their home winning streak to 18 with a 109-87 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Wilson Chandler had 16 for Denver, which ended a two-game skid and stayed ahead of Memphis for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

The Nets fell 3 1/2 games behind New York in the Atlantic Division despite 19 points from Deron Williams and 15 points and 16 rebounds by Reggie Evans.

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Grizzlies 103, Rockets 94

Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol both drained 21 points as the Memphis Grizzlies halted a two-game losing skid with a 103-94 win over the Houston Rockets.

Randolph also contributed 12 rebounds to the Grizzlies (48-24) cause while Tony Allen helped out with 16 points and Mike Conley contributed a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists.

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Magic 97, Wizards 92

Tobias Harris had a career-high 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 97-92 victory over the Washington Wizards.

The Magic (19-54) snapped an eight-game losing streak and overcame another big game from Wizards point guard John Wall, who had a game-high 35 points and nine rebounds.

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76ers 97, Cavaliers 87

Evan Turner had a game-high 23 points, 13 rebounds and four assists to help power the Philadelphia 76ers' to a 97-87 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavs (22-49) have dropped seven in a row and 11 of their last 13.

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Raptors 99, Pistons 82

Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan each scored 21 points as the Toronto Raptors (27-45) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 99-82 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Jonas Jerebko had 20 points for Detroit (24-49), which has lost 12 of its last 13 and eight straight at home.

source: abs-cbnnews.com