The NBA playoffs kicked off on Saturday with the Warriors dusting the Spurs, and from there things actually got interesting in the other three games with the Raptors, Sixers and Pelicans all taking 1-0 leads in their respective series. Here is one observation from each matchup, along with the game scores and a recap of our live updates from the day's action.
playoffs (21)
BOSTON — Preparing for the latest elimination game of his remarkable career—the latest Game 7 in this incredible run of brilliance—LeBron James seemed…different.
Those who have been with him for many of these referendum games, these moments that would somehow define his career one way or another, hadn't seen him quite like this before.
"Calm," a team source told Bleacher Report.
To those who have witnessed the better part of this 15-year masterpiece, which he continued carving Sunday night by l
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Ricky Rubio had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Utah's first playoff triple-double in 17 years, and Donovan Mitchell added 22 points to lead the Jazz to a 115-102 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night and a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.
Joe Ingles, who had 21 points, made two 3-pointers around two free throws to spark a 13-0 surge that ended on Mitchell's 3 to put Utah up by 20 points in the fourth quarter. The big run was just par for the course in a ser
Miami Heat vs Philadelphia Sixers - Full Game Highlights | Game 2 | April 16, 2018 | NBA Playoffs
If you're watching a replay of the Miami Heat's 113-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, you might be so blown away by Dwyane Wade's performance that you're wholly convinced this was a showing taking place right in the heart of his prime.
The 36-year-old shooting guard wound up recording 28 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting
The NBA postseason officially kicked off on Saturday, and the games did not disappoint
Jasen Vinlove / USA TODAY Sports
The 2017 regular season has ended, so it is time for the real fun to begin. The final Sunday of the season saw a barrage of moving pieces sort out the final standings and determine who plays who in the first round of the playoffs.
AFC
| SEED | TEAM | DIVISION | RECORD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patriots | East | 13-3 |
| 2 | Steelers | North | 13-3 |
| 3 | Jaguars | South | 10-6 |
| 4 | Chiefs | West | 10-6 |
| 5 | Titans | South | 9-7 |
| 6 | Bills | East | 9-7 |
Wild-card Schedule
| MATCHUP | DATE | TIME | NETWORK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Titans at Chiefs | Sa |
Looking ahead to the NBA Finals for the first time since the Golden State Warriors clinched their place as the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ championship opponent, LeBron James was asked Friday what it will take to slow down league MVP Stephen Curry.
“Well, the same way you slow me down,” James said. “You can’t.”
Curry, who has taken his award-winning regular-season numbers of 23.8 points and 3.6 made 3-pointers per game to an even higher level in the postseason — 29.2 points and 4.9 made 3s per game
Breaking down Cleveland’s 118-88 series-clinching victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals:
What happened: The Cavaliers overwhelmed the Hawks, and it was hardly a game from the opening tip. Cleveland grabbed an early lead, took a 24-14 advantage late in the first quarter and cruised to an easy sweep. It is Cleveland’s first trip to the Finals since 2007, and LeBron James’ fifth consecutive Finals appearance. He joins a list of former Boston Celtics players
After a scary fall, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry suffered a head contusion in the first half of Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Curry, this year’s NBA MVP, was attempting to block a shot from Rockets forward Trevor Ariza. When Ariza stopped short, Curry went over Ariza’s head and fell to the ground.
After a short time on the floor, Curry walked to the lockerroom. He had a quick X-ray, before going into the visitors locker room with general manager Bob Myers and his f
What happened: It was déjà vu all over again at Oracle Arena in Oakland, where the Warriors won for the 45th time in 48 tries between the regular season and the playoffs. This one, a 99-98 thriller over the Houston Rockets that was jam-packed with basketball goodness from beginning to end, put Golden State up 2-0 in these Western Conference finals.
Just as the Rockets had built a 16-point lead early in Game 1 only to see it disappear, the Warriors led 49-32 midway through the second quarter b
What happened: It was déjà vu all over again at Oracle Arena in Oakland, where the Warriors won for the 45th time in 48 tries between the regular season and the playoffs. This one, a 99-98 thriller over the Houston Rockets that was jam-packed with basketball goodness from beginning to end, put Golden State up 2-0 in these Western Conference finals.
Just as the Rockets had built a 16-point lead early in Game 1 only to see it disappear, the Warriors led 49-32 midway through the second quarter b
J.R. Smith knocked down a tough 3-pointer, then another. Turning toward the fans, their heckling transformed to groans, he blew off his right index finger and motioned toward his side, like he was holstering his pistol.
Yep, Smith was that hot.
While LeBron James led Cleveland with 31 points, it was Smith who ignited the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. He made eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points in a 97-89 victory over the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
THE NBA HAS A CONFERENCE PROBLEM, AND IT HAS AFFECTED THE PLAYOFFS IN A MAJOR WAY IN RECENT YEARS. USA TODAY SPORTS SPOKE WITH EVERYONE FROM ADAM SILVER TO JERRY WEST ABOUT A BASIC IDEA: IGNORE CONFERENCES AND LET THE 16 BEST TEAMS PLAY.
A better way?
A SIMPLE, LOGICAL CHANGE COULD MAKE PLAYOFFS MORE INTERESTING
Enticing cross-conference NBA playoff matchups capture the imagination, presenting the idea of a fair and just basketball world in which only the best of the best are welcome.
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(USATSI)
Blowing their playoff opener turned out to be great therapy for the Dallas Mavericks.
Eighth-seeded Dallas rolled to a 113-92 victory over San Antonio on Wednesday night, snapping a 10-game skid against the Spurs and evening their first-round series at a game apiece.
Dallas didn’t relent in Game 2 after watching a 10-point lead evaporate in the final eight minutes of the series opener Sunday.
“Game 1 actually helped a lot more than today,” Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki said. “We we
The Grizzlies have made the playoffs for the fourth straight season. (USATSI)
The Memphis Grizzlies are back in the playoffs and the upstart Phoenix Suns are staying home.
Mike Conley and Zach Randolph made the critical plays in the final 68 seconds and the Grizzlies pulled out a 97-91 victory over Phoenix that clinched the last playoff spot in the West and eliminated the Suns from postseason competition.
Randolph scored 32 points to lead the inside power game that was just enough for Memphi
LeBron James issued a guarantee Wednesday entering Game 4 of the NBA Finals: Don't expect his series-long struggles to continue against the San Antonio Spurs.
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Coming off one of the worst postseason performances of his career in Tuesday's 36-point loss to San Antonio in Game 3, James vowed to be far more aggressive amid suggestions the Spurs have knocked him off his game.
James missed 14-of-21 shots and didn't attempt a free throw for only
David West was more than a little disappointed when the Indiana Pacers failed to make a defensive play at the end to win Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
So in Game 2, he made those plays himself. Twice, in fact.
And he victimized the game's best player to make them happen.
LeBron James had two turnovers in the last minute - both when passes that he called "careless" got broken up by West - and the Miami Heat lost both a game and the home-court edge in the series. Roy Hibbert scored a p
Kevin Durant #35 and Thabo Sefolosha #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder look on against the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center on June 4, 2012 in San Antonio, Texas. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images North America)
Kevin Durant and the surging Oklahoma City Thunder are just one victory from the NBA finals.
"We never just thought we were supposed to wait our turn," the 23-year-old Thunder star said following the biggest road wi
