Tatum out-duels Giannis, as Celtics force decider vs. Bucks

Boston forward Jayson Tatum poured in 46 points as the Celtics defeated the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks 108-95 on Friday to force a decisive game seven in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

With his team facing elimination, Tatum delivered, drilling seven of the Celtics' 17 three-pointers and helping them withstand a 44-point, 20-rebound performance from Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and knot the best-of-seven series at three games each.

Antetokoumpo posted the first 40-point, 20-rebound game since Shaquille O'Neal in 2001, but his third 40-point outburst in four games wasn't enough for the reigning champs to advance.

They'll have to battle for a place in the Eastern Conference finals in Boston on Sunday -- the same day that the team Milwaukee beat in last season's championship series, the Phoenix Suns, play the Dallas Mavericks in game seven of their Western Conference series.

Tatum reeled off 11 straight Boston points in the fourth quarter to help thwart a rally by the Bucks, who closed a 13-point deficit to four on Antetokounmpo's three-pointer early in the final period.

It looked briefly as if the Bucks might author another impressive comeback victory, after erasing a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to win game five on Wednesday.

But Tatum and the rest of the Celtics wouldn't let that happen.

"I think we played with a little more toughness this game," Tatum said. "Our season was on the line. I knew that and we knew that. We had to give it all we've got."

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, and point guard Marcus Smart added 21 points for the Celtics.

Jrue Holiday scored 17 for Milwaukee, who remain without three-time All-Star forward Khris Middleton, who has missed nine games with a sprained left knee.

Agence France-Presse

Bucks center Brook Lopez undergoes back surgery

Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez underwent “successful” back surgery on Thursday, but the NBA champions said there remained no timeline for his return.

“Lopez will continue to be listed as out and updates on his rehabilitation progress will be provided as appropriate,” the team said in a statement.

Lopez hasn’t played since opening night and has been listed as out with back soreness since.

On Tuesday, the Bucks signed veteran big man DeMarcus Cousins to help fill the void.

Cousins was a first-round draft pick in 2010 and was an All-Star with the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2017-18 season but injured an Achilles tendon during that campaign.

The 31-year-old has dealt with multiple injuries since while playing for the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers.

Cousins played his first game for the Bucks on Wednesday, scoring seven points in 14 minutes in Milwaukee’s 127-125 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: No Harden, no problem as Nets hammer Bucks for 2-0 series edge

Kevin Durant scored 32 points in three quarters and the Brooklyn Nets did not miss a beat without James Harden, cruising to a 125-86 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in New York.

The second-seeded Nets lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 ahead of Game 3 on Thursday in Milwaukee.

Brooklyn, which never trailed, led by as many as 49 points in the fourth quarter. The Nets led by double digits for the final 39:11.

In 33 minutes, Durant shot 12 of 18 from the field and posted his fourth 30-point game of the postseason. He also hit four 3-pointers, grabbed four rebounds and handed out six assists.

Durant finished his latest productive game by going around Giannis Antetokounmpo for a reverse layup with 4.8 seconds left in the third quarter to give Brooklyn a 95-65 lead.

Kyrie Irving added 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting and had six assists for the Nets, who shot 52.1 percent and set a franchise postseason record with 21 3-pointers. It marked the fourth time in their first seven postseason games the Nets shot at least 50 percent from the floor.

Antetokounmpo led the third-seeded Bucks with 18 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 8 of 15 from the floor and missed five of seven free-throw attempts. He is shooting 53.5 percent (23 of 43) from the foul line in the postseason.

Milwaukee's Khris Middleton added 17 points but missed his first eight shots, finished 8 of 20 from the floor and committed five turnovers. Jrue Holiday was held to 13 points.

The Bucks shot 44 percent and misfired on 19 of 27 3-point tries after shooting 6 of 30 from behind the arc in Game 1.

Harden watched from the bench after being ruled out due to right hamstring tightness. He was injured 43 seconds into Brooklyn's 115-107 win in the series opener on Saturday.

Without Harden, the Nets dominated early and cruised to their fifth double-digit win of the postseason.

Durant scored 21 as the Nets led by as many as 27 points before halftime and took a 65-41 edge into the break. He made 7 of 10 shots prior to intermission, including a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the first quarter that put the Nets up 36-19 after the opening 12 minutes.

-reuters

Westbrook, Harden rally Rockets over NBA-best Bucks

MIAMI – Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and James Harden added 24 Sunday (Monday, Manila time) to rally the Houston Rockets over NBA overall leader Milwaukee 120-116 despite a big night for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Bucks led 112-104 after Khris Middleton's 3-pointer with 3:14 to play, but Houston closed the game with a 16-4 run.

"It's amazing," Westbrook said. "We fought through. Adversity showed up and we showed off. All the guys in our locker room showed up to play for 48 minutes."


The Rockets went 21-of-61 from three-point range, matching an NBA record for the most three-point attempts by a club in a non-overtime game, with Danuel House hitting four and Harden among five other players who landed three from outside the arc.

"You have to make the right reads and trust your teammates and that's what I tried to do all night long," said Westbrook.

The Rockets also rallied from seven points down in the final minute to defeat Dallas on Friday.

Westbrook, on a career-best run of 36 consecutive games with 20 or more points, hit 10-of-21 from the floor, 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 10-of-12 free throws. Harden had six steals, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Greek big man Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 36 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists. Middleton had 27 points and 12 rebounds and Brook Lopez added 23 points and 12 rebounds.

"We've got to keep executing at the end of close games," Antetokounmpo said. "We weren't able to do that. We've got to find the open man and hit more shots."

Tatum leads Celtics
The Rockets improved to 42-24, level with Utah for fourth in the Western Conference and only one game behind Denver, while the Bucks fell to 54-13, still the best record in the NBA and six games better than Toronto to top the Eastern Conference.

In the other feature interconference game, Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and Jaylen Brown added 30 to spark the Boston Celtics over Portland 128-124.

Gordon Hayward added 22 points for the Celtics, including two crucial free throws with three seconds to play to help seal a Boston win after squandering a 24-point advantage.

Boston opened the game by making 9-of-12 shots, five of them for three points, for a 26-15 lead and stretched their advantage from there before the Trail Blazers rallied.

Portland's Damian Lillard had 30 points and 16 assists while Jusuf Nurkic added 30 points and nine rebounds for the Trail Blazers.

DeRozan seals it for Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs, powered by 21 points and 10 rebounds from Dejounte Murray, edged eighth-place Memphis in a Western Conference game.

DeMar DeRozan completed a 108-106 win by sinking two free throws with one second remaining, the last of his 14 points. Grizzlies rookie star Ja Morant had 25 points and nine assists in a losing cause.

The Memphis loss ensured a playoff spot for the Dallas Mavericks even before they took the court for a 117-115 loss to the Phoenix Suns. It will be the first Dallas post-season appearance since 2016.

Phoenix's Devin Booker scored 30 points and Ricky Rubio added 20, both hitting key free throws in the final minutes to preserve the Suns' lead.

Luka Doncic led Dallas with 40 points while Kristaps Porzingis added 30 for the Mavericks.

Caris LeVert scored 34 points, 14 of them in the last seven minutes, to spark the Brooklyn Nets over Washington 118-110.

Jarrett Allen had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Joe Harris scored a season-high 27 points for Brooklyn, which moved seven games ahead of the ninth-place Washington in the Eastern Conference.

The Wizards must be within four games of eighth to force a play-in series and they have only six games remaining.

Orlando stayed half a game ahead of Brooklyn by routing Sacramento 132-116 behind 25 points from Terrence Ross plus 23 points and 11 rebounds from Nikola Vucevic.

The Magic's victory joy was dampened by a third-quarter left leg injury to Jonathan Isaac, who had just worked his way back from a left knee injury. He exited the court in a wheelchair.

Agence France-Presse

Bucks keep streak alive as Sixers win

LOS ANGELES – Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points as the Milwaukee Bucks stretched their winning streak to 12 games on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) with a 132-88 demolition of the hapless New York Knicks.

The Eastern Conference leaders showed no mercy to the worst side in the division, outscoring the Knicks by 33-15 in the first quarter and showing no let-up through a one-sided encounter.

Antetokounmpo was on court for just 21 minutes, adding 15 rebounds and shooting 10-of-14 while leading the scoring.

The Greek star was backed by Khris Middleton with 16 points and D.J. Wilson, who added 19 off the bench.

No fewer than six Milwaukee players finished in double digits, including Antetokounmpo's elder brother Thanasis who chipped in with 10 points from his 12 minutes on the court.


The win saw the Bucks improve to 18-3 at the top of the Eastern Conference, while the Knicks remained rooted to the bottom of the standings with just four wins against 17 defeats.

The Bucks are two games clear of second-placed Toronto, who stand at 15-4, just ahead of the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics (14-5).

The Philadelphia 76ers meanwhile remained in the hunt on Monday, claiming a 103-94 win over the Utah Jazz.


Tobias Harris led the scoring for the Sixers with 26 points, while Joel Embiid added 16 points and 11 rebounds in what had threatened to become a rout at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers had surged into a 60-42 lead at half-time and looked to be in control until a sustained Utah fightback.

The Jazz had trailed by 19 points after three quarters and managed to claw back the deficit to seven points with one minute remaining before the Sixers steadied the ship for the win.

The victory means Philadelphia preserve their unbeaten home record with 10 wins and no defeats. The Sixers are fifth in the Eastern Conference, with 15 wins and six defeats.

In Atlanta, meanwhile, Golden State's miserable start to the season continued with a 104-79 thumping by the Hawks.

Trae Young led the Atlanta rout with 24 points, while De'Andre Hunter had 18 and Damian Jones 16.

The Warriors, who have been ravaged by injuries and departures from their previously dominant roster that had reached the last five NBA finals, remain bottom of the Western Conference with just four wins against 18 defeats.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted maintaining the morale of his inexperienced squad was a challenge.

"It's not easy for everybody to lose," Kerr said after the defeat.

"Especially given that our team has fought really hard throughout the first quarter of the season and had some really difficult losses. It wears on you.

"Because you want those efforts to be rewarded. But you have to keep the faith and keep fighting, and it's my job to keep their spirits up and try and turn it around."

source: philstar.com

Bucks hold off Cavaliers for 10th straight win

LOS ANGELES, United States — Giannis Antetokounmpo drained four clutch baskets down the stretch as the Milwaukee Bucks won their 10th consecutive game with a 119-110 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

Milwaukee led by as many as 22 points in the first half but Cleveland chipped away until they closed the gap to just three late in the fourth but that was as close as they would get.

Every time the Cavs got within striking distance of levelling the score, Antetokounmpo answered with a basket of his own to help seal the win.


Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points and also delivered a double-double with a team-high 12 rebounds for the Bucks, who beat the Cavaliers for the second time this season.

George Hill chipped in with 18 points, while Khris Middleton had 12, Donte DiVincenzo 11, and Eric Bledsoe and Ersan Ilyasova 10 apiece.


Rookie Darius Garland scored 21 points to pace the Cavaliers, who lost their third straight.

Cedi Osman had 20 points, Larry Nance 18, Kevin Love and Collin Sexton 16 apiece, and Tristan Thompson 11 in a balanced Cleveland attack.

Thompson collected a game-high 13 rebounds to complete a double-double.

Elsewhere, Norman Powell scored 19 of his career-best 33 points in the third quarter and the defending champion Toronto Raptors recovered from an early 11-point deficit to defeat the Orlando Magic 90-83.

Fred VanVleet added 22 points for the Raptors, who extended their winning streak to six games.

Pascal Siakam had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Raptors, who shot 37 percent from the field.

Evan Fournier scored 19 points for the Magic, who had 22 turnovers compared with just 13 by the Raptors.

source: philstar.com

Raptors beat Bucks to reach first NBA final

LOS ANGELES, United States — Kawhi Leonard finished with 27 points and a career high 17 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors advanced to their first NBA final with a 100-94 win over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.

The Raptors won the series in six games as Saturday's (Sunday Manila time) contest at Scotiabank Arena was a mirror image of game five, featuring a strong start by Milwaukee before Toronto came back in the fourth quarter to close it out with several clutch plays down the stretch.

The Raptors reached their first finals in their 24-year history where they will face the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors. Game one of the best-of-seven final is Thursday in Toronto.

"I just took it one possession at a time," Leonard said. "We kept fighting all game. The calls were not going our way, but we kept striving and striving."

Leonard won the head to head battle against Giannis Antetokounmpo, even dunking over the mighty "Greek Freak" with six minutes left in the fourth to give Toronto a 87-79 lead.

Leonard also hit another dynamic three-pointer from his favourite corner spot on the floor with three minutes left to make it 95-90. 

He shot nine of 22 from the field and had seven assists for the Raptors, who roared back to win four straight games after falling into an 0-2 hole to begin the series.

Pascal Siakam tallied 18 points, Kyle Lowry finished with 17 and Fred VanVleet came off the bench to score 14 points in the win.

Toronto was down by 15 points at one stage in the third quarter before Leonard's supporting cast sparked the comeback to start the fourth.

"We thrive at it. We enjoy the moment," Leonard said. "My teammates have my back. I was on the bench to start the fourth quarter and they came back. It was a collective effort."

Antetokounmpo tallied a double double with 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks, who lost in the NBA playoff semi-finals after finishing with the best record in the regular season.

source: philstar.com

Raptors, Bucks, 76ers boost stock in East; Davis still in wait list

MANILA, Philippines — Toronto, Milwaukee and Philadelphia made their moves. Anthony Davis will have to wait until the summer for his.

The New Orleans Pelicans held onto Davis but dealt Nikola Mirotic to the Bucks, one of the Eastern Conference contenders who fortified their teams Thursday before the NBA trade deadline.

The Raptors are getting former All-Star center Marc Gasol from Memphis. The 76ers, a day after acquiring forward Tobias Harris from the Clippers, sent Markelle Fultz to Orlando and will hope Jonathan Simmons can provide some production where the former No. 1 pick couldn’t.


“Those teams were already really good. And the assumption would only be that they’d only benefit from those moves,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said. “It will be quite a challenge. As we knew it would be.”

A busy swap season that included Dallas’ acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis from New York ended without a move for Davis, the player who dominated the discussion in recent weeks. The Pelicans didn’t find a deal for Davis, who had requested a trade and informed the team he wouldn’t sign a contract extension this summer.

But the Lakers couldn’t put together a strong enough package to the Pelicans’ liking for the All-Star forward, who will go back into the trade market after the season ends. There will be other marquee names available then with a free agent class that could be highlighted by players such as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard.

Boston didn’t jump into the trading deadline fray but may try to get involved in the summer.

For now, the Celtics appear to feel they have enough to win the East.

The other conference contenders looked for upgrades – and went out and got some that likely will fit well.       

source: philstar.com

NBA Wrap: Bucks stop Cavs; Warriors extend hot start during Filipino Heritage Night

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee's Jerryd Bayless held LeBron James scoreless over the final 3:15 of the second overtime to steer the Bucks to a 108-105 win against Cleveland on Saturday (Sunday Manila time), snapping the Cavaliers' eight-game winning streak.

James scored 37 points for Cleveland but could not break the shackles when it mattered most, and the Bucks — last in the Central Division — took a creditable victory over that division's top team.

One man who could not be stopped was Stephen Curry, who again led the way as Golden State won in overtime against Brooklyn to improve to 11-0.

Elsewhere, Blake Griffin sank a clutch late basket to cap a strong individual performance and give the Los Angeles Clippers victory over Detroit, while Washington beat Orlando for the 10th straight time.

Milwaukee's Bayless and Michael Carter-Williams scored 17 points for the Bucks while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 16 points and 11 rebounds in 45 minutes before fouling out with 3:15 left in the second overtime.

Bayless drew the assignment of guarding James after Antetokounmpo fouled out, and he held the Cleveland star scoreless the rest of the game.

Golden State's Curry scored 21 of his 34 points after halftime to steer the Warriors past Brooklyn 107-99.

Andre Iguodala hit a 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation to tie the game, while Brook Lopez missed a short shot on the buzzer that would have won it for the Nets.

Iguodala finished with 18 points for the Warriors, who pulled quickly in overtime, scoring the first 10 points.

Jarrett Jack scored a season-high 28 for Brooklyn

Los Angeles' Griffin scored 34 points, including a crucial jumper with 17 seconds left that helped the Clippers down Detroit 101-96.

Jamal Crawford added a season-high 37 points, making all 10 of his free throws, for the Clippers, who were without injured starters Chris Paul and J.J. Redick.

Ersan Ilyasova scored 20 points for the Pistons, who have lost nine in a row against the Clippers.

Such a lopsided head-to-head record was outdone by Washington's domination of Orlando, extending the winning streak to double figures with a 108-99 victory.

Kris Humphries scored 23 points, including a career-high five 3-pointers. The last of them came with 4:45 remaining as part of an 8-0 runs that put the Wizards ahead.

Garrett Temple matched his career high with 18 points for Washington.

Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic.

Dallas overcame the absence of three regular starts, including talisman Dirk Nowitzki, and comfortably beat Texas rival Houston 110-98.

San Antonio won 92-83 to inflict a 10th straight loss to start the season for Philadelphia, which has lost 20 successive games dating back to last season.

Phoenix's Eric Bledsoe scored 30 points, and the Suns cruised to a 105-81 win over Denver.

source: philstar.com

Pacquiao’s friend disputes Floyd-Manny confrontation during NBA meetup: ‘Sobrang bait ni Mayweather’

A close friend of Manny Pacquiao denied reports that the Filipino ring icon was confronted by pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather during their much talked-about meeting in an NBA game.

“‘Yung mga gumagawa dyan ng storya, that’s not true na inaway daw. That’s not true walang ganun,” Bernard Cloma, who was part of Pacquiao’s entourage when he visited Miami to judge Miss Universe this week, said in a radio interview.

Citing anonymous sources, Ben Thompson of fightyhpe.com earlier wrote that Mayweather told Pacquiao to “stop lying” as they met for the very first time at halftime of the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat last Wednesday.

Mayweather was reportedly referring to Pacquiao’s claims about having already signed contracts about their much-anticipated megafight and just waiting for the American’s signature to finalize the bout.

Cloma was with Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee watching the game and posted on Instagram the encounter of the two boxing rivals.




Cloma also said that after the game Mayweather even went to Pacquiao’s hotel where they had a long conversation.

“Pumunta si Mayweather dito sa hotel ni Manny. Nagkuwentuhan sila nang matagal,” Cloma said, adding that Mayweather was courteous all throughout his meeting with Pacquiao.

“Sobrang bait niya. Hanga ako kay Mayweather, ang bait niya,” Cloma said. “Bakit siya pupunta sa hotel diba after ng kaninang game?”

Pacquiao and Mayweather are expected to announce this week if their megafight projected to set record-setting revenues will push through.

source: interaksyon.com