Celtics pummel Heat to keep NBA title hopes alive

Boston poured in 16 three-pointers in a dominant 110-97 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday that kept the Celtics alive in the NBA championship chase.

For the second straight game, the Celtics fended off elimination, cutting the deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals to 3-2 with the wire-to-wire triumph.

Miami will try again to close it out when they host game six on Saturday. The Celtics will be trying to take one more step toward becoming the first NBA team to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.

"The only thing that can stop us is us," Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said in an on-court interview.

Before a rapturous, raucous crowd at TD Garden in Boston, the Celtics looked every inch the favorites they were before the series started -- before the upstart eighth-seeded Heat grabbed the first two games in Boston then embarrassed the second seeds in game three.

Four Celtics starters scored more than 20 points, Derrick White leading the way with 24 on a night when he made six of eight attempts from three-point range.

Marcus Smart added 23 while Brown and fellow star forward Jayson Tatum scored 21 apiece.

More importantly, the Celtics harried the Heat into 16 turnovers that led to 27 Boston points and they had 17 second-chance points compared to Miami's seven.

"Tonight we were the tougher playing team," Brown said. "We set the tone from start to finish."

Boston were locked in on both ends of the floor from the opening tip-off, roaring to a 23-7 lead in a matter of minutes.

After Tatum was whistled for a technical foul with 8:43 in the first quarter the Celtics responded with three consecutive three-pointers.

Tatum scored 12 points in the first quarter and Brown took over with 12 in the second.

Meanwhile Heat talisman Jimmy Butler struggled to get going, scoring eight points in the first half and finishing with 14 -- his lowest scoring game of the playoffs. He sat out most of the fourth quarter.

Duncan Robinson led the Heat with 18 points off the bench. Bam Adebayo scored 16 points but coughed up six turnovers.

Kyle Lowry starting at point guard after Gabe Vincent was ruled out with a sprained ankle, scored five points with four turnovers.

The Heat, who won the NBA title in 2006, 2012 and 2013, still only need one more win to reach a seventh NBA Finals.

Boston, whose 17 NBA titles are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in history, last won it all in 2008 and came up short in last season's championship series against the Golden State Warriors.

The winners of the series will play the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets, who swept the Lakers in four games to reach the NBA Finals for the first time.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Tatum propels Celtics to Game 7 win over Sixers for Eastern Conference finals berth

LOS ANGELES -- Jayson Tatum poured in an historic 51 points on Sunday to lead the Boston Celtics to a 112-88 Game 7 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers and into the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

Tatum added 13 rebounds five assists and a couple of steals and the Celtics' suffocating defense neutralized newly minted NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid as Boston booked a return date with the Miami Heat -- the team they beat in seven games in last year's conference finals.

Jaylen Brown added 25 points for Boston, who broke open a close game in the third quarter as they out-scored the 76ers 33-10.

Philadelphia went six minutes of the period without a basket and trailed by 26 heading into the fourth, when Boston pushed the lead to 30 with less than four minutes to play.

His 51 points eclipsed the game-seven record of 50 set by Golden State's Stephen Curry against the Sacramento Kings in the first round this month.

It was a bounce-back performance for Tatum, who struggled for long stretches in the series and endured a horrific shooting night until drilling four crucial three-pointers in the fourth quarter of the Celtics' series-extending game-six win on Thursday.

He began fashioning his game-seven masterpiece in the opening minutes.

The 76ers turned an early six-point deficit into a 29-23 lead through one quarter, while a nip-and-tuck second period saw the Celtics up 55-52 at halftime.

Then the Celtics blew it wide open in the third. Tatum scored 17 points in the period, draining four of his six three-pointers as the shell-shocked 76ers struggled, and failed, to find a response.

"Going into game six I was too locked-in, I was too tight, thinking about what I need to do, how many points I need to score," Tatum said.

After a lighthearted practice on Saturday, Tatum said he was more himself.

"That's when I play my best is when I'm having fun."

It was another crushing playoff exit for the 76ers and Embiid, who was held to 15 points on five-of-18 shooting.

Philadelphia's Doc Rivers fell to 6-10 in game sevens as a coach. That's the most game seven defeats of any NBA coach in history and Rivers remained without a game-seven win on the road in his coaching career.

The 76ers had the third-best regular-season record behind the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston, but even with Embiid enjoying an MVP season it failed to translate into post-season success.

They have reached the playoffs for six straight seasons but haven't made it out of the second round.

Tobias Harris led the 76ers with 19 points but Boston limited the Sixers to 37.3% shooting from the floor and harried them into 14 turnovers.

- Turnover trouble -

Star guard James Harden scored just nine, making three of his 11 shots from the field.

Boston veteran Al Horford did a terrific job guarding Embiid. He scored just six points but grabbed 10 rebounds with two steals and three blocked shots.

Rivers said the rot set in for the 76ers in the second quarter.

"We were playing so well. We trusted, the ball was moving, and then we had I think it was three or four turnovers in a row," Rivers said.

Rivers pointed to a flagrant foul called on Harden after his arm hit Brown in the face as the ball slipped out of Harden's hands on a layup attempt.

Instead of going up by 10, the Sixers gave up the ball.

"After that, we never played right again," Rivers said.

The Celtics will host the Heat in game one of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday with an NBA Finals berth on the line.

Last year the Heat were the top seeds in the East. This year they are the first eighth-seeded team to reach the conference finals since the 1999 Knicks.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Tatum scorches Heat as Celtics square series

MIAMI -- Jayson Tatum scored 27 points as the Boston Celtics roared back to level the NBA Eastern Conference finals series with a 127-102 thrashing of the Miami Heat in Game 2 on Thursday.

Bolstered by the return of Marcus Smart and Al Horford, who both missed Tuesday’s 118-107 game one drubbing, Boston were a team transformed as they squared the best-of-seven series 1-1.

Boston made only 11-of-34 from three-point range in Tuesday’s lopsided opener, when Miami out-hustled them to claim a decisive victory.

But the Celtics shrugged off that misfiring performance in emphatic fashion, draining 20-of-40 from beyond the arc to overwhelm Miami.

Tatum led the scorers but there were huge contributions throughout the Celtics lineup. 

Smart finished with 24 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, while Jaylen Brown also posted 24 points, including 12 from three-point range.

Grant Williams added 19 from the bench, while Horford and Payton Pritchard had 10 points each.

Jimmy Butler led the Miami scoring with 29 points but only three other Heat players made double figures.

Celtics coach Ime Udoka said the return of Smart and Horford had been decisive.

"It was great to have them back, they're a calming presence," Udoka said. "I don't think we played as poorly as the last game suggested. We won three quarters of that game but we saw a lot of positives and areas that we could attack."

Smart admitted he had found it hard to sit out game one with a foot injury.

"I felt bad that I couldn't be out there with my team-mates going to battle with them," Smart said. "We're playing a really good Miami team and it's a blessing to be on the same court going to war. It was tough having to watch it."

'They embarrassed us'

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said his team had expected a Boston backlash.

"I'm sure they weren't happy about us putting up 118 against them in game one," Spoelstra said.

"When you get to this stage of the conference finals, you just have very good teams, teams without many weaknesses. 

"It's great competition. But this only counts as one game. We don't like it. We just have to figure some things out."

Butler said he hoped the defeat would motivate Miami for Game 3.

"They tried to embarrass us, and they did embarrass us," Butler said.

A wild first quarter saw Miami pick up where they left off in game one, with Max Strus hitting back-to-back three-pointers to leave the Heat ahead by 10 points at 18-8.

But Boston produced a scintillating 17-0 run to turn the quarter on its head, with their long-range shooting vastly improved.

Brown knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the first period to leave the Celtics up by 35-24 heading into the second quarter.

The Celtics' shooting clinic continued in the second quarter, with Pritchard nailing a 26-foot three-pointer to put Boston 19 points clear at 47-28 midway through the period.

A Tatum three-pointer and two free throws soon afterwards left Boston 27 points clear at 64-37 and shortly afterwards the Celtics had built a 29-point lead when Grant Williams' driving layup made it 68-39.

Smart put the seal on a devastating first-half display with a pullup jump shot to make it 70-45 at half-time.

Miami rallied late in the third quarter and cut the Boston lead to 17 points at one stage, but the Celtics regrouped and again pulled away.

A three-pointer from Tatum took them 25 points clear in the closing seconds of the third quarter at 94-69, a lead which they held going into the final quarter.

Smart made it a 30-point lead early in the fourth, bamboozling the Miami defense to drain a superb stepback three-pointer from 26 feet as Boston closed out a brutal victory.

Game three in the series takes place in Boston on Saturday, and Smart is expecting a stiff Miami response.

"The number one and number two teams going at it, it’s a grind," Smart said. 

"We know they’re coming to our house trying to get a win. We've got to protect our home court."

Agence France-Presse

Cleveland Cavaliers beat Toronto Raptors to reach NBA finals

NEW YORK, United States - LeBron James scored 33 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers booked their place in the NBA finals with a 113-87 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday.

James contributed six assists and 11 rebounds as the Cavs completed a 4-2 series victory to advance to the finals for a second year running.

The Cavaliers will face either the Golden State Warriors or the Oklahoma City Thunder in next week's finals. Oklahoma City currently lead the Western Conference series 3-2 ahead of Game Six on Saturday.

James will be playing in the NBA finals for the sixth straight year. The Cleveland star reached the finals for four years in a row with the Miami Heat before returning to Cleveland in 2014.

"I knew this was going to be tough game coming to this building -- I just had to bring my game, I had to be in attack mode from the beginning, trust my shots," said a delighted James. "I knew once my shots started going in I could start getting my team-mates involved and they were able to carry me down the stretch."

The Cavaliers' appearance in the finals caps a rollercoaster season which saw head coach David Blatt fired in January and replaced with Tyronn Lue.

James himself had earlier in the season voiced doubts as to whether the Cavaliers had the ability to challenge for the title -- reservations which seemed a distant memory in the afterglow of Friday's win.

"We've covered a lot of ground and I still believe we can get better," James said.

"We've had our ups and downs. But take nothing away from what we've done -- our guys are unbelievable, our coaching staff are unbelievable."

The Cavaliers had taken a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series against Toronto before being jolted by back-to-back defeats as the Raptors leveled at 2-2.

- 'Big-time leadership' -

But Cleveland reasserted their superiority on Wednesday to regain the initiative with a win in Game Five before ramming home their advantage to silence the home crowd in Toronto on Friday.

It was James's first 30-point game of the 2015 postseason, with the Cavaliers also benefiting from big contributions from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Irving finished with 30 points with Love adding 20 as well as 12 rebounds and four assists.

Toronto meanwhile brought the curtain down on their first ever appearance in the Eastern Conference finals with a 35-point display from Kyle Lowry, while DeMar DeRozan added 20 points.

James is looking forward to having Irving and Love firing on all cylinders after the bitter memory of last season, when both players missed the bulk of the NBA finals against Golden State with injuries.

"I'm so proud of those two guys," James said. "They worked their tails off through adversity to get back. Big-time performances and big-time leadership from those two guys and I'm happy to be a part of it."

Cavs coach Lue meanwhile said he was looking forward to challenging in the finals with a full complement of players.

"Getting back to the championship with everybody healthy, it's our chance to really show what we can do," said Lue, praising James for helping the Cavaliers get off to a solid early start with a 14-point display in the first quarter.

"We needed LeBron to set the tone for us early and I thought he did that," Lue said.

"I needed him to take charge and take the lead in that first quarter. He really did that for us tonight. He's just a great player. He's a proven winner.

Love attributed the Cavs' victory to team unity. "We all have trust in each other, we all have each other's back," he said.

"We've grown throughout the season. We're back we're we want to be but we've got a lot of work to do."

Love's sentiment was shared by Lue.

"The biggest thing that I'm proud of is that we came together. We trusted," Lue said.

"You could see that on the floor. It's beautiful to watch."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cavaliers throttle Raptors, grab 3-2 series lead

LeBron James had 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Kevin Love returned to form with 25 points as the Cavaliers dismantled the Toronto Raptors in a 116-78 win on Wednesday that gives Cleveland a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Kyrie Irving added 23 points in the Cavaliers' most lopsided playoff win in franchise history -- surpassing their 31-point victory at home in Game One of this series.

The Cavs have outscored the Raptors by 88 points in their three home games. Cleveland can close out Toronto and return to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year with a win on Friday in Game Six at Air Canada Centre.

The game was effectively over after the first quarter, when the Cavs' 37 points were the most they've scored in any quarter in this series.

The Raptors trailed by 18 after one period, and they did not surpass 37 points until the first two minutes of the third quarter.

Toronto didn't surpass the Cleveland Big Three's total of 71 points until the game's last few minutes -- and all three stars sat the entire fourth quarter.

The Raptors' 65-34 halftime deficit was the first time in franchise history they trailed by at least 30 points in any game, regular season or post-season.

Kyle Lowry had 13 points and six assists, and DeMar DeRozan scored 14 points for the Raptors after they totaled 67 points in Toronto's Game Four win at home. The backcourt partners shot a combined 7-for-20 in Game Five.


Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas appeared for the first time in this series after battling a sprained ankle, and he scored nine points in 19 minutes.

Bismack Biyombo had seven points and four rebounds after dominating the paint during the Raptors' two wins in Toronto.

This time, however, the Cavs displayed the type of dominance they flashed in winning 10 straight to open the post-season.

The biggest key to the turnaround was Love, who struggled miserably during the two losses at Toronto and compounded matters by twisting his knee during the third quarter of Game Four.

Love made his first six shots on Wednesday and finished 8-for-10 from the floor, including 3-for-4 from the 3-point arc.

He shot 5-for-23 during the two losses at Toronto.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cavs loss puts LeBron's Finals streak in jeopardy

TORONTO - LeBron James has had a standing reservation with the NBA Finals for five consecutive years but the best player of his generation is suddenly in jeopardy of seeing his remarkable streak come to an end.

James has been playing some of the best basketball of his career during the 2016 playoffs but was unable to rally the Cleveland Cavaliers to a victory on Monday that would have all but punched their ticket to the championship round.

Instead, the Cavaliers fell 105-99 to the Toronto Raptors, who tied up the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final at 2-2 with a second consecutive home victory.

James, determined to bring a maiden NBA championship to the Cavaliers and snap a city-wide title drought in all major sports that dates back to the National Football League-winning Cleveland Browns in 1964, had a team-high 29 points in the loss.

"It wasn't enough because we got off to a horrible first half once again in this building and you're playing catch-up again," James told reporters of his team's 57-41 deficit after two quarters.

"We are not starting off games the right way. The second quarter has been really bad for us here, so we got to do a better job of that and we can't dig ourselves such a deep hole."

Knowing his legacy will be measured by the number of titles he wins, the next few days could be among the most important of the two-time NBA champion's career.



Getting to the NBA Finals in five consecutive years is no easy feat and at 31, James needs to take advantage of every opportunity to add a third title to his resume, especially when his team has ventured this deep into the playoffs.

But since James knows more than most about what it takes to reach the NBA Finals, he is not ready to panic with his Cavs heading home for Wednesday's pivotal Game Five.

In fact, James, playing his second season back in Cleveland after winning two championships in four seasons with the Miami Heat, was very satisfied with his performance in the loss.

"For me, I gave everything that I had in the 46 minutes that I played," James said. "Both offensively and defensively I felt great. I tried to get my guys involved and get myself involved so my individual gameplan was pretty good."

The defeat marked the first time since 2010 that Cleveland, who were coming off a 15-point Game Three defeat in Toronto, lost consecutive playoff games to an Eastern Conference foe.

Toronto opened up an 18-point lead late in the second quarter but Cleveland battled back and pulled ahead with eight minutes to play.

But Toronto, powered by a combined 67 points from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, took advantage of a handful of defensive mistakes by Cleveland to regain the lead and breathe new life into the series.

"Even at the end of the day, as well as they played, we still had a chance to win the ball game," James added. "What we can't do is a dig a hole like we did in the first half."

(Editing by John O'Brien)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Raptors get on the board with Game 3 win over Cavaliers

The Toronto Raptors got their first win of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday with DeMar DeRozan scoring 32 points in a 99-84 Game 3 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Raptors led by as many as 18 in the second quarter, were ahead by 13 at halftime, and were up by 15 early in the fourth.

The Cavaliers, who did not lose a game in the first two rounds of the playoffs, cut the deficit to eight before Raptors center Bismack Biyombo made six successive points to increase the lead to 14 with 3:38 to play.

Kyle Lowry added 20 points for the Raptors, Cory Joseph had 14, DeMarre Carroll 10, and Patrick Patterson 10. Biyombo grabbed a franchise playoff record 26 rebounds and added seven points and four blocks.

LeBron James scored 24 points for the Cavaliers, who won the first two games of the series in Cleveland. J.R. Smith added 22 for Cleveland while Kyrie Irving had 13 and Channing Frye 11.

DeRozan's apparent 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first quarter was waved off after a review showed time had expired. Toronto settled for a 27-24 lead entering the second quarter.

Lowry picked up his third foul of the game with 8:07 left in the second quarter.

Joseph's 3-pointer with 4:09 to play in the second quarter gave the Raptors a 49-37 lead. After a Cavaliers' miss, Carroll made a 3-point shot for a 15-point Toronto lead. Patterson's layup with 1:22 to play boosted the advantage to 18.

James closed the half with a 3-pointer and the Raptors led 60-47.

Biyombo had no points but grabbed 16 first-half rebounds for Toronto. DeRozan led all scorers in the first half with 21 points. James led Cleveland with 14.

The Cavaliers opened the second half on a surge and had the lead down to six with 9:44 to play in the third quarter when James made a free throw after he was fouled making a layup.

After the Raptors went up by 11, Smith hit two straight 3-pointers to trim the lead to five with 4:20 to play in the third.

Joseph hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter to give Toronto an 80-70 lead.

The Raptors scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to go up by 15.

Richard Jefferson made a layup with 6:38 to play to cut Toronto's lead to 10.

Biyombo's hook shot put Toronto ahead by 12 points with 4:39 to play and his layup extended the lead to 91-77.

Biyombo was called for a flagrant foul on James and the two free throws cut the lead to 12 but the Cavaliers could not take advantage of their possession awarded after the foul shots.

Joseph's pullup jumper with 1:38 to play restored Toronto's 14-point lead.

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

WATCH: Top 5 plays in Cavs vs Hawks Game 4

Check out the Top 5 plays in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks.

The Cavs completed a four game sweep against the Hawks with a 118-88 beatdown in Game 4 to win the Eastern Conference title and march to the NBA Finals.

James finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to steer Cleveland to its second NBA Finals appearance.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cavs sweep Hawks to reach NBA finals

CLEVELAND - LeBron James advanced to his fifth-straight NBA finals Tuesday, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 118-88 rout of the Atlanta Hawks and a sweep of the Eastern Conference finals.

Once again James carried the Cavs on his back, finishing with 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and then sitting on the bench and playing cheerleader for much of the final quarter of Tuesday's contest.

It was an impressive 4-0 series sweep for the Cavaliers and their title-starved Cleveland fans.

Cleveland advanced to its first NBA Finals since 2007, when it was swept by the San Antonio Spurs. The city hasn't celebrated a title since the Cleveland Browns won National Football League championship in 1964.

The Cavaliers franchise has never won an NBA title.

Kyrie Irving returned following a two-game absence due to a knee injury and tallied 16 points and five assists in 22 minutes.

Cleveland will face either the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets in the championship showdown. Golden State leads that series 3-1.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Hobbled James helps push Hawks to brink of elimination

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James played through a myriad of injuries Sunday as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 114-111 in overtime to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

James recorded his first triple double of the playoffs, finishing with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists as Cleveland pushed the Hawks to the brink of elimination in the best-of-seven series.

"No matter how I am feeling I have got to try and make some plays," James said. "I felt like I couldn't give more, but then it was mind over matter. I was able to push through."

The banged up Cavaliers can advance to the NBA finals with a win in game four on Tuesday.

A hobbled James thought about taking himself out of the game in overtime but changed his mind. The pain on his face was plain to see when he drained a three pointer with under a minute left to give the Cavaliers the lead.

Exhausted and sore, James then dropped to the floor after Sheldon Mack's potentially tying shot from beyond the arc bounced off the rim and out of harm's way as the final buzzer sounded.

"You name them. We could play doctor right now with how many injuries I got," James said.

"We are a desperate team. We are a banged up team and if we come out and play as hard as we can, we defend on a high level and we share ball offensively then we will give ourselves a chance to win."

James, who missed his first 10 shots, ended 14-of-37 from the field. His shot to give Cleveland a 112-111 advantage with 36 seconds left was his only three pointer of the contest in front of a crowd of 20,500 at Quicken Loans Arena.

He banked in a field goal with 12 seconds left just one possession later, and Mack missed a pair of three-point attempts in the final five seconds.

- Battles through cramps-
Cavaliers coach David Blatt said James was dealing with cramps.

"He played through pain, he played through cramps and he just would not let us lose. He wouldn't let us lose, amazing," Blatt said.

James has had dehydration problems throughout his career. He had to leave game one of the 2014 NBA finals while a member of the Miami Heat with painful and debilitating leg cramps.

Already without Kyle Korver on Sunday due to an ankle injury, the Hawks lost all-star forward Al Horford during the final minute of the opening half following a dust up with Cavaliers Matthew Dellavedova. The incident occurred after Horford and Dellavedova were fighting for a loose ball rebound.

Horford was assessed a foul and was thrown out of the game. He had scored 14 points on seven-of-10 shooting before leaving the contest.

"He was carrying us," Hawks guard Jeff Teague said.

The scrappy Dellavedova, who was handed a technical foul on the play, injured Korver Friday when he dove into his legs going for a loose ball. Horford retaliated against Dellavedova after a similar aggressive low dive.

"There has just got to be a line at some point," Horford said. "He is a competitor. But he has to learn that at end of the day it is a big brotherhood. Guys look out for each other."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LeBron urges calm as Cleveland rocked by verdict

LOS ANGELES -- Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James hopes the team's playoff run can be a rallying point for a city divided by the acquittal of a white police officer in the shooting of an unarmed black couple.

The verdict, which triggered minor protests, comes amid widespread tensions in the United States over police treatment of blacks following the deaths of a number of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement.

Just a month ago, riots erupted in Baltimore over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in police custody -- a case in which six officers have been charged.

"Violence is not the answer," James said when asked about the verdict after a Cavaliers practice in Cleveland on Saturday.

Cleveland patrolman Michael Brelo was one of 13 officers who opened fire on Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams during a police chase in 2012, thinking their car backfiring was a gunshot.

James did not comment specifically on the verdict, saying he didn't know enough about it.

But the player stressed that the focus should be on the families of the victims.

"For me, in any case, anything that goes on in our world, in our America, the only people that we should be worried about is the families (who) lost loved ones," he said.

"You can't get them back, you can never get them back and we should worry about the families and how they're doing and things of that nature."

And he expressed hope that the Cavaliers' push for a place in the NBA Finals -- they lead the Atlanta Hawks 2-0 in the Eastern Conference championship series -- could unite Cleveland.

"I think sports in general, no matter what city it is, something that's going through a city that's very dramatic, traumatizing or anything of that case, I think sports is one of the biggest healers in helping a city out," he said.

The Cavaliers host the Hawks on Sunday in game three of the best-of-seven series.

A Cavaliers spokesman said the team and the NBA are in touch with local law enforcement officials in case any protests turn violent, especially near the Cavs' Quicken Loans Arena.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Hawks lose Korver for remainder of playoff run

ATLANTA -- Atlanta Hawks 3-point sharpshooter Kyle Korver will miss the remainder of the team's NBA playoff run with a severe right ankle sprain, the club announced Saturday.

The 34-year-old American guard suffered the injury late in the third quarter of Friday's 94-82 home loss to Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Cavaliers lead Atlanta 2-0 in the best-of-seven series to decide which team will advance to the NBA Finals against the Western Conference champions, either the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets.

Australian Matthew Dellavedova, a Cleveland guard, rolled into Korver as both chased a loose ball to cause the injury.

An MRI exam performed Saturday confirmed Korver's severe sprain after post-game X-rays had been negative.

Korver averaged 12.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Hawks this season and connected on 49.2 percent of his 3-point attempts. In 14 playoff appearances, Korver averaged 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Korver, an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career this season, owns the NBA record for consecutive games with a 3-point basket at 127 and the best 3-point accuracy percentage in a single season at 53.6, set with Utah in the 2009-2010 campaign.

Over 13 NBA seasons, Korver has averaged 10 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Cavaliers take control with dominating win over Hawks

LeBron James scored 30 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers, playing without an injured Kyrie Irving, cruised to a 94-82 victory over the Atlanta Hawks to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

In a game where the final score flattered the Hawks, Cleveland took control with a 26-21 first quarter and then blew the game open as they outscored Atlanta by 13 points in the third, leading by 20 at one point.

For the second successive game, injuries were a factor.

Point guard Irving sat out the game with a knee injury, while Atlanta's Kyle Korver missed the fourth quarter with an ankle sprain and Al Horford was briefly hobbled in the fourth quarter after he banged his knee.

Atlanta's DeMarre Carroll returned after leaving Game One with a knee injury but struggled in his defensive coverage of James, and finished with just six points.

James narrowly missed a triple-double with 11 assists and nine rebounds, while Tristan Thompson pulled in 16 rebounds.

Dennis Schroder had a team-high 13 points for Atlanta, while Mike Scott notched seven rebounds.

Atlanta, who finished the regular season with the best record in the East, now face the daunting prospect of having to claw their way back into the series as it shifts to Cleveland for Game Three on Sunday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Atlanta Hawks lose Game 1, Carroll to knee injury

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks suffered a double blow on Wednesday when they were beaten 97-89 by the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals and lost DeMarre Carroll to what looked like a serious knee injury.

J.R. Smith caught fire off the bench with 28 points, including eight three-pointers, and LeBron James tallied 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Cavaliers grabbed the lead in the best-of-seven series.

Adding injury to the insult of dropping Game 1 on their home floor, the Hawks lost leading playoff scorer Carroll in the fourth quarter when he planted his foot and fell on a non-contact play.

Carroll was carried off and will undergo an MRI to reveal the extent of the damage on Thursday.

Jeff Teague had a team-high 27 points for the Hawks, while Al Horford added 16.

Atlanta battled to a 51-51 tie at halftime but lost control in the third quarter where the Cavs took a seven-point edge at the end of the period.

Smith drained a trio of early three-pointers in the fourth to provide an 85-67 advantage that held up down the stretch.

Game 2 is on Friday in Atlanta.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pacers cool Heat to stave off elimination

The Indiana Pacers, with Paul George spectacularly leading the way, staved off playoff elimination with a pulsating 93-90 victory over the NBA champion Miami Heat in Game Five of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday.

All-Star forward George contributed a game-high 37 points, along with six assists, as Indiana made the most of home court advantage to cut Miami's lead to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

"I just felt it. I felt the rhythm. I had to be aggressive," George told ESPN television in an interview after scoring 31 of his points in the second half.

"I tried to come out and be aggressive to start this game off and I was getting looks. I got hot."

Forward David West added 19 points for the Pacers on seven-of-11 shooting while big center Roy Hibbert contributed 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

"We just played," said George after Indiana came back from an 11-point deficit early in the third quarter. "Our backs are against the wall right now. That's the only thing we can do, is come out and play.

"We were in a position where if we lost this game, we're going home. I think that was at the back of everybody's minds. It was a great evening."

The Heat, seeking to win a third straight NBA Championship, were narrowly outshot by 47 percent to 45 from the field with an out-of-sorts LeBron James held to just seven points on two-of-10 shooting after running into foul trouble.

Center Chris Bosh, who missed a three-pointer with five seconds left, led Miami with 20 points and 10 rebounds while forward Rashard Lewis and guard Dwyane Wade each scored 18.

"We overcame one heck of a shooting performance by the Heat," said Pacers coach Frank Vogel. "The threes that they were making in the second half, it was just ridiculous. We were still able to prevail."

COLD SHOOTING

Miami began the game with a cold shooting display and Indiana, with their starting five all scoring effectively, raced into an early 20-12 lead before ending the first quarter with a 22-16 advantage.

James ran into foul trouble early on and was penalized for a third time midway through the second quarter but sharp-shooting veteran Ray Allen came off the bench and sparked a Heat revival as the visiting team moved ahead 42-33 by halftime.

A Lewis three-pointer, his fourth of the game, put Miami 11 points clear four minutes into the third but Indiana stepped up their defense to regain control and, with George finding his range from beyond the arc, entered the fourth with a 64-57 lead.

The Pacers appeared to tighten their grip on the game, George pouring in another three-pointer and then grabbing a steal off a poor James pass for a slam dunk to give his team a 77-66 cushion.

But again the Heat hit back, an unbroken 9-0 run trimming Indiana's lead to 77-75 before a spectacular James three-pointer, with just under four minutes left, tied the game at 81-81.

George, ice-cool when the pressure was at its most intense, responded with two three-pointers of his own to put the Pacers ahead 91-87 with 46.7 seconds left and the home team held on to stay alive in the playoffs.

The series shifts back to Miami for Game Six on Friday when the Heat can clinch the Eastern Conference title for a fourth successive year with a win.

"It's going to be a totally different ball game but we have got to rise to the challenge," George said.

"It's going to be a fun matchup."

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

LeBron on fire as Heat go 3-1 up over Pacers

MIAMI - LeBron James produced a blistering 14-point third quarter as the Miami Heat took a commanding 3-1 lead over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals with a 102-90 win.

The Heat led 49-44 at the half, with Chris Bosh having his best performance of the postseason with 17 first-half points, but the home side ran away with the game in the third.

Miami burst out with a 7-0 streak to grab a 12-point lead and LeBron took charge with two spectacular three-pointers and a ferocious dunk among his 14 points in the third.

James, who finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, now has 74 career playoff games with at least 25 Pts, five rebounds and five assists, passing Michael Jordan for the most in NBA history.

The win puts Miami one victory away from a fourth straight appearance in the NBA Finals and a shot at a third straight title.

Miami have struggled with slow starts throughout the postseason but they were determined from the outset, grabbing a swift 8-0 advantage with all the points coming from Bosh.

"Coach drew up a play for me and I pretty much made my mind up that I was going to shoot it," said Bosh.

"After that, it's a funny thing but when my team mates see me being aggressive like that and the shots do go in, they look for me a little bit more and I try to make their job a little easier."

While Miami credited Bosh and James for a strong performance, Indiana's Paul George felt the Heat had benefitted from favorable refereeing. Miami were given 34 free throws, double Indiana's total.

"I thought we outplayed them. It's just demoralizing when a game is lopsided, I'm sorry to say but that was the case again. How rare is it that we shoot 50 percent, turn the ball over 14 times, out-rebound a team and lose?

"They made 30 free throws and that put them over the edge. I feel like we are just as aggressive as they are attacking the basket and making plays at the rim. Maybe this was just home cooking," he said.

James was having none of it.

"We did only have five turnovers and 20 points off their turnovers. That has nothing to do with the free throw line," he said.

It was a particularly fired-up performance from James but he rejected the idea that 'trash talk' in Game Three and further pre-game comments from Indiana's Lance Stephenson had contributed to his aggressive mindset.

"I don't need any motivation. I am motivated enough to try and get back to the finals," he said.

But George believed his team mate's comments, where he claimed LeBron had shown 'weakness' in their on-court exchanges, had clearly backfired.

"Lance is young and that is a learning lesson for him. Sometimes you have got to watch what you say, you are on the big stage. Everything we say is going to be bulletin board material," he said.

Game Five of the best-of-seven series is on Wednesday in Indiana. (Reporting By Simon Evans; Editing by Ian Ransom)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Heat recover to take 2-1 lead over Pacers in East final

MIAMI - The Miami Heat took a 2-1 lead over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals after coming back from 15 points down in the second quarter to win 99-87 on Saturday.

Miami's habit of making a slow start was particularly acute - they trailed 17-4 in the first quarter and were 37-22 behind midway through the second as the Pacers made them pay for some loose turnovers.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra shuffled his pack however and Miami came out strong in the third quarter though and took the lead for the first time on the night with a LeBron James dunk putting them 52-51 up with 7:36 left in the quarter.

The game turned decisively in Miami's direction when Wade made a superb steal and set up a three-pointer from Ray Allen and put the Heat eight points ahead.

Allen (16 points) had three other three-pointers in the final quarter for the Heat while James made 26 points and Dwyane Wade 23.

While James and Wade top-scored, James was quick to praise the contribution of some of Miami's less heralded players.

Norris Cole brought energy and aggression to defense and was able to provide some penetration on offense while Rashard Lewis provided some valuable work to frustrate the Pacers' offense.

"Those guys off the bench they did it for us, they've got the game ball for sure," said James, who was annoyed with the team's first quarter.

"We started the game with mental turnovers and mental breakdowns.

"We don't want to keep digging holes, we hate the way we played. We have to start the game like we are down 15.

It was Allen's brilliance from the corner, where he provided a reminder of why he is the league's all-time three-point scorer, that proved to be the difference at the end.

"You can ask anybody in that locker room, there are so many years of pain that he caused us (playing for Boston) and it is great to have him on our side," said Spoelstra.

"It is not just the made baskets. It is the spacing, the movements and he gives you another layout to the offense."

The win tied the second largest playoff comeback in the Heat's history - equalling their performance against the Boston Celtics in the 2012 finals.

But Pacers head coach Frank Vogel said there was no question of the defeat harming his team's confidence.

"We are very early into the series. They took care of their business on home court now we have to come out and get Game Four," he said.

Game Four of the best of seven series will take place in Miami on Monday.

(Editing by Ian Ransom)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com