Heat and Pacers Battle in Game 2 Matinee
The Miami Heat takes on the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal-round series in Orlando on Thursday afternoon. The Heat leads the series 1-0.
The Heat (1-0) got their quest postseason journey off to a strong start Tuesday afternoon with a convincing 113-101 Game 1 victory that nevertheless saw them start on somewhat shaky ground. The Heat were down 33-27 after the opening period, but they subsequently outscored the Pacers by an 86-68 margin the rest of the way. Jimmy Butler lead the Heat with 28 points, adding four assists, three rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Goran Dragic delivered 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal. Bam Adebayo generated a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double that also included six assists and three blocks. Tyler Herro supplied 15 points, four assists, three rebounds and one steal.
The Heat will list Jae Crowder (ankle) as questionable for Thursday's game.
The Pacers (0-1) not only find themselves in an early series hole, but they also are contending with an eye injury suffered by Victor Oladipo during the opening contest Tuesday. In the loss, Malcolm Brogdon and T.J. Warren co-led the Pacers with 22 points each, with Brogdon dishing out 10 assists and Warren posting eight rebounds and four steals. Justin Holiday delivered 11 points, three rebounds and one block. Jakarr Sampson turned in 10 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal. Myles Turner and Aaron Holiday compiled nine points each, with Turner also pulling down nine rebounds.
The Pacers will list Oladipo (eye) as a game-time decision for Thursday's contest.
The Heat now owns a 4-1 advantage over the Pacers in head-to-head matchups since the start of the 2019-20 regular season.
The Heat (1-0) got their quest postseason journey off to a strong start Tuesday afternoon with a convincing 113-101 Game 1 victory that nevertheless saw them start on somewhat shaky ground. The Heat were down 33-27 after the opening period, but they subsequently outscored the Pacers by an 86-68 margin the rest of the way. Jimmy Butler lead the Heat with 28 points, adding four assists, three rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Goran Dragic delivered 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal. Bam Adebayo generated a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double that also included six assists and three blocks. Tyler Herro supplied 15 points, four assists, three rebounds and one steal.
The Heat will list Jae Crowder (ankle) as questionable for Thursday's game.
The Pacers (0-1) not only find themselves in an early series hole, but they also are contending with an eye injury suffered by Victor Oladipo during the opening contest Tuesday. In the loss, Malcolm Brogdon and T.J. Warren co-led the Pacers with 22 points each, with Brogdon dishing out 10 assists and Warren posting eight rebounds and four steals. Justin Holiday delivered 11 points, three rebounds and one block. Jakarr Sampson turned in 10 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal. Myles Turner and Aaron Holiday compiled nine points each, with Turner also pulling down nine rebounds.
The Pacers will list Oladipo (eye) as a game-time decision for Thursday's contest.
The Heat now owns a 4-1 advantage over the Pacers in head-to-head matchups since the start of the 2019-20 regular season.
Shorthanded Rockets Look To Build On Momentum
By Dan Bruno
The Oklahoma City Thunder play the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs on Thursday at Orlando.
Despite missing Russell Westbrook (quad), the Rockets are coming off a convincing victory in Game 1, where they led by 16 points at halftime and by 21 points heading into the fourth quarter. The Thunder outscored the Rockets, 25-19, in the fourth but it was hardly enough to make it close, as the shorthanded Rockets held on to take a 1-0 series lead.
James Harden led the way with 37 points on 12-of-22 shooting, 11 rebounds and three assists, in 34 minutes. Jeff Green followed up with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Eric Gordon added 21 points, in 30 minutes off the bench. The Rockets shot 48 percent from the field, including 20-of-52 from deep, in the win. They also tallied 25 assists and limited themselves to just seven turnovers. Westbrook is expected to remain out through Thursday's contest, leaving a big load for Harden to carry, but more room for guys like Austin Rivers, Jeff Green, Ben McLemore and Eric Gordon to fill it up.
Meanwhile, despite the loss, the Thunder put up a fight with some strong individual performances. Danilo Gallinari led the way with 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting, three rebounds, three assists and a block, while Chris Paul followed up with 20 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and two steals, and Steven Adams totaled 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Thunder shot 44 percent from the field and were limited to just two fast-break points in Game 1. It did not help that Dennis Schroder, who has been a great catalyst to their offense all season, struggled in the contest, where he shot 3-of-12 from the field. If Schroder can get back on track, that alone will be a great boost to help the Thunder get their offense back on track for Game 2.
Despite missing Russell Westbrook (quad), the Rockets are coming off a convincing victory in Game 1, where they led by 16 points at halftime and by 21 points heading into the fourth quarter. The Thunder outscored the Rockets, 25-19, in the fourth but it was hardly enough to make it close, as the shorthanded Rockets held on to take a 1-0 series lead.
James Harden led the way with 37 points on 12-of-22 shooting, 11 rebounds and three assists, in 34 minutes. Jeff Green followed up with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Eric Gordon added 21 points, in 30 minutes off the bench. The Rockets shot 48 percent from the field, including 20-of-52 from deep, in the win. They also tallied 25 assists and limited themselves to just seven turnovers. Westbrook is expected to remain out through Thursday's contest, leaving a big load for Harden to carry, but more room for guys like Austin Rivers, Jeff Green, Ben McLemore and Eric Gordon to fill it up.
Meanwhile, despite the loss, the Thunder put up a fight with some strong individual performances. Danilo Gallinari led the way with 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting, three rebounds, three assists and a block, while Chris Paul followed up with 20 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and two steals, and Steven Adams totaled 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Thunder shot 44 percent from the field and were limited to just two fast-break points in Game 1. It did not help that Dennis Schroder, who has been a great catalyst to their offense all season, struggled in the contest, where he shot 3-of-12 from the field. If Schroder can get back on track, that alone will be a great boost to help the Thunder get their offense back on track for Game 2.
Bucks Seek Revenge In Game 2 Against Magic
The Orlando Magic will play the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of the 2019-20 Eastern Conference Playoffs First Round. The Magic led the series 1-0.
The Bucks struggled during the seeding games and only posted a 3-5 record, but those issues didn't fade away with the start of the playoffs and now they've won just three out of nine games since the season resumed July 30. Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with a 31-point, 17-rebound performance in Game 1, but the rest of the team was unable to play at their accustomed standards and the team felt that. One player that was particularly disappointing was Khris Middleton, who scored 14 points and six rebounds, but shooting just 4-of-12 from the field -- including 2-for-6 from three. Tuesday's loss wasn't Middleton's fault, but he is one of the players that need to improve if the Bucks don't want to suffer an early first-round exit.
Milwaukee is close to full strength ahead of this contest. The lone injury absentee will be Ersan Ilyasova, who is dealing with a sprained elbow that already made him miss the first game of the series.
The Magic pulled quite an upset in Game 1 of the series against Milwaukee, and their victory should be even more celebrated considering how thin they are in terms of depth with several regulars either absent through injury, or not at their 100 percent yet. Nikola Vucevic was the main reason why the Magic pulled the upset in the series opener, however, as the ended with 35 points and 14 rebounds. Markelle Fultz chipped in with 15 points and six assists as the starting point guard, and D.J. Augustin produced 11 points with 11 dimes coming off the bench. All three contributed to an offense that shot nearly 50 percent from the field as a unit.
Orlando lists Jonathan Isaac (knee), Mo Bamba (illness), Al-Farouq Aminu (knee) and Chuma Okeke (knee) as out of the season, while Michael Carter-Williams (foot) and Aaron Gordon (hamstring) are game-time decisions for the coaching staff. Both Carter-Williams and Gordon missed Game 1 of the series.
The Bucks struggled during the seeding games and only posted a 3-5 record, but those issues didn't fade away with the start of the playoffs and now they've won just three out of nine games since the season resumed July 30. Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with a 31-point, 17-rebound performance in Game 1, but the rest of the team was unable to play at their accustomed standards and the team felt that. One player that was particularly disappointing was Khris Middleton, who scored 14 points and six rebounds, but shooting just 4-of-12 from the field -- including 2-for-6 from three. Tuesday's loss wasn't Middleton's fault, but he is one of the players that need to improve if the Bucks don't want to suffer an early first-round exit.
Milwaukee is close to full strength ahead of this contest. The lone injury absentee will be Ersan Ilyasova, who is dealing with a sprained elbow that already made him miss the first game of the series.
The Magic pulled quite an upset in Game 1 of the series against Milwaukee, and their victory should be even more celebrated considering how thin they are in terms of depth with several regulars either absent through injury, or not at their 100 percent yet. Nikola Vucevic was the main reason why the Magic pulled the upset in the series opener, however, as the ended with 35 points and 14 rebounds. Markelle Fultz chipped in with 15 points and six assists as the starting point guard, and D.J. Augustin produced 11 points with 11 dimes coming off the bench. All three contributed to an offense that shot nearly 50 percent from the field as a unit.
Orlando lists Jonathan Isaac (knee), Mo Bamba (illness), Al-Farouq Aminu (knee) and Chuma Okeke (knee) as out of the season, while Michael Carter-Williams (foot) and Aaron Gordon (hamstring) are game-time decisions for the coaching staff. Both Carter-Williams and Gordon missed Game 1 of the series.
Lakers Look to Rebound in Game 2
The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs in Orlando on Thursday.
The Trail Blazers (1-0) looked like me of the most dangerous teams coming out of the regular season bubble and they carried that over into their Game 1 victory. What was really impressive was their defense, holding the Lakers to just 35 percent from the field and 16 percent from three-point in that victory. This is a team, that's more known for its offense and a defensive shut down like that is a great sign for the future. Damian Lillard continuing his ridiculous ways is another reason to get excited and it's truly looking like we might be in for a long series. I Lillard keeps playing like this and Nukic keeps recording double-doubles, it surely will be.
The Lakers (0-1) were playing some lackluster ball at the end of the regular season and it appears that it has carried over into the playoffs. Those ugly shooting numbers from the Portland section show just that and it appears that Anthony Davis and LeBron James are going to have to carry this team. Those two combined for 51 points, 28 rebounds, 17 assists and three steals in that game and the role players were horrible. In fact, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso and Danny Green combined to go 10-of-41 from the field. LeBron and AD are obviously two of the best players in the game but they'll need more from those guys to even up this series here.
The win by Portland in Game 1 evened up the season series 2-2.
The Trail Blazers (1-0) looked like me of the most dangerous teams coming out of the regular season bubble and they carried that over into their Game 1 victory. What was really impressive was their defense, holding the Lakers to just 35 percent from the field and 16 percent from three-point in that victory. This is a team, that's more known for its offense and a defensive shut down like that is a great sign for the future. Damian Lillard continuing his ridiculous ways is another reason to get excited and it's truly looking like we might be in for a long series. I Lillard keeps playing like this and Nukic keeps recording double-doubles, it surely will be.
The Lakers (0-1) were playing some lackluster ball at the end of the regular season and it appears that it has carried over into the playoffs. Those ugly shooting numbers from the Portland section show just that and it appears that Anthony Davis and LeBron James are going to have to carry this team. Those two combined for 51 points, 28 rebounds, 17 assists and three steals in that game and the role players were horrible. In fact, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso and Danny Green combined to go 10-of-41 from the field. LeBron and AD are obviously two of the best players in the game but they'll need more from those guys to even up this series here.
The win by Portland in Game 1 evened up the season series 2-2.