NBA: Embiid, Paul shine as Sixers, Suns clinch series

The Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns booked their place in the NBA playoff conference semi-finals on Thursday after wrapping up series-clinching victories in contrasting fashion.

In Toronto, Joel Embiid scored 33 points in a 132-97 Sixers blowout over the Raptors to seal a 4-2 series victory that sets up a showdown with top seeds Miami.

Western Conference top-seeds Phoenix, meanwhile, were pushed all the way by a gutsy New Orleans Pelicans team before completing a nerve-jangling 115-109 win in the Big Easy.

Veteran Chris Paul led Phoenix through a bruising battle with 33 points -- including a perfect 14-from-14 from the field -- while Deandre Ayton added 22 points and Mikal Bridges 18. 

The Suns' 4-2 series win sees them advance to a semi-final meeting against the winner of the Dallas-Utah series. The Mavericks can clinch later Thursday with victory over the Jazz in Salt Lake City.

It marked an emotional return to New Orleans for 12-time NBA All-Star Paul, who began his professional career in the city with six seasons for the then New Orleans Hornets.

"I always say this city raised me," Paul said afterwards. "It's nice to do it here in New Orleans...It's home for me. I root for this team when I'm not playing against them. So to beat them was nice."

The Suns were also buoyed by the return from injury of Devin Booker, whose 13-point haul included a crucial three-pointer late in the fourth quarter to edge Phoenix ahead.

"Having Book back was everything," Paul added. "Down the stretch they started to blitz and they forgot we had Devin Booker standing over there on the wing."

Booker, meanwhile, paid tribute to the performance of the 36-year-old Paul.

"I've been watching him since I was eight years old," Booker said of Paul. "It doesn't surprise me. 

"The most surprising thing is after the games we dropped, the disrespect that was put on his name. He's a first ballot Hall-of-Famer, arguably the GOAT in his position. And he deserves those flowers."

The Suns will play the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semi-finals. 

The Mavericks dug deep to defeat Utah, 98-96, on the road in Salt Lake City to complete a 4-2 series win over the Jazz.

Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson scored 24 points apiece as Dallas fought back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit for a gutsy win. 

Utah's Bogdan Bogdanovic missed a wide-open three to win the game on the buzzer as Dallas escaped with victory.

Embiid dominant

Earlier in Toronto, the Sixers made sure there was no chance of a game seven decider as they thrashed the Raptors.

Embiid, who has been bothered by torn ligaments in his thumb in recent games, delivered a dominant display which also included 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

MVP candidate Embiid was given backing by Tyrese Maxey with 25 points while James Harden also came up big with 22 points, 15 assists and six rebounds.

It was a welcome return to form for the Sixers, who had looked vulnerable after losing games four and five to Toronto after earlier leading the series 3-0.

"We had a great practice yesterday and we needed that," said Embiid, who said the Sixers had been motivated by their back-to-back losses.

"It was a blessing in disguise to lose those two games, because that wasn't us," he said. "We didn't play the way we wanted to. We were extremely sloppy.

"Tonight we wanted to come in here and play with more intensity. Especially me. I was really bad last game, defensively. I wanted to play with a lot of energy and be physical."

Maxey meanwhile said the Sixers had been ready for a "fight."

"Whether we get hit in the mouth we get back up and keep fighting, and that's what we did tonight," he said.

"Joel (Embiid) told me on the plane on the way up here 'We lose if we don't be aggressive.' And that's what I tried to do."

The Sixers edged into a 62-61 lead at halftime after two hard-fought opening quarters.

But Philadelphia erupted after the break to outscore Toronto 37-17 in the third quarter and effectively ice the contest.

The Sixers kept the hammer down in the fourth quarter, never giving Toronto any kind of opportunity to cut into Philadelphia's double-digit lead.

Tobias Harris added 19 points for Philadelphia, while Danny Green also posted a double digit total with 12 points.

Chris Boucher led the Raptors scoring with 25 points off the bench while Pascal Siakam added 24.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Rivers defends playoff record as Sixers prepare for Raptors

LOS ANGELES -- Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers defended his record in the NBA playoffs on Wednesday as his team prepared for a nervy game-six duel with the Toronto Raptors.

After surging into a 3-0 series lead, the Sixers have missed two chances to clinch the series, losing game four last Saturday before being defeated at home on Monday in a lackuster 103-88 defeat.

The nature of Monday's loss -- and the fact that Sixers star Joel Embiid is nursing a thumb injury -- has raised the prospect of Philadelphia becoming the first team to blow a 3-0 series lead in NBA history.

It has also invited scrutiny of Rivers' record in the playoffs. 

The Sixers coach is the only coach in the NBA who has blown multiple 3-1 playoff series leads in his career. 

Rivers' Orlando Magic were pipped in seven games by the Detroit Pistons in 2003 after taking a 3-1 lead in the playoffs, and the Los Angeles Clippers suffered the same fate twice during Rivers’ reign, losing in 2015 to the Houston Rockets and in 2020 against the Denver Nuggets.

Rivers bristled on Wednesday when quizzed by reporters about his history of playoff near-misses ahead of Thursday's game six in Toronto.

"Well, it's easy to use me as an example," Rivers said. "But I wish y'all would tell the whole story with me. All right?

"My Orlando team was the eighth seed. No one gives me credit for getting up against the Pistons, who won the title. 

"That was an eighth seed. I want you to go back and look at that roster. I dare you to go back and look at that roster. 

"And you would say, 'What a hell of a coaching job.' Really."

Rivers added that his Clippers team in 2015 was hobbled by an injury to Chris Paul, while the team that lost to Denver in 2020 were playing in the unique fan-free environment of the pandemic bubble in Orlando.

"The 2015 Clipper team that we lost 3-1, Chris Paul, didn't play the first two games, and was playing on one leg, and we didn't have home court," Rivers said.

"And then the last one (in 2020) to me, is the one we blew. That's the one I took. We blew that. And that was in the bubble. 

"And anything can happen in the bubble. There's no home court. Game seven would have been in LA."

"But, it just happens. So I would say with me, some of them is ... I got to do better always. I always take my own responsibility. And then, some of it is, circumstances happen. 

"This one, let's win it, and we don't have to talk about it."

Agence France-Presse

Avery Bradley’s heroics lift Lakers to OT win over Raptors

Avery Bradley hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 32.5 seconds to play in overtime, then added two free throws as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Toronto Raptors 128-123 Friday night.

Russell Westbrook had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Lakers, including the tying 3-pointer to force overtime.

Bradley finished with 14 points and LeBron James led the Lakers with 36 points as they ended a three-game losing streak. They had lost their 11 previous road games.

Toronto took the lead with 26.1 seconds to play in regulation on Gary Trent Jr.'s 3-pointer, but Westbrook tied it at 116 with a 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left.

Austin Reaves made two free throws to give the Lakers a two-point lead with 1:49 left in overtime. Trent tied it on a layup. Pascal Siakam made one of two foul shots with 51.8 seconds to play, but Bradley made the crucial 3-pointer and, with 12.6 seconds to go in overtime, made two free throws.

Wenyen Gabriel scored 17 points for the Lakers and Reaves had 10.

Scottie Barnes had 31 points and 17 rebounds for the Raptors, who had a five-game win streak end. Trent had 23 points, Fred VanVleet had 20, Precious Achiuwa scored 18 and Siakam 17.

Toronto took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter. The score was tied at 99 on a layup by James with 7:39 to play.

Reaves made a 3-pointer to give L.A. the lead with 6:48 left. Trent tied the game with a layup with 4:15 to go. Barnes made a dunk to put Toronto ahead by two with 3:03 remaining. James answered with a 3-pointer, but Barnes made a layup and a free throw to give Toronto a two-point lead. James tied it with a jumper.

The Lakers led 33-30 after one quarter.

Toronto finished the first half on a 7-0 run to trim the lead to 59-55.

Chris Boucher's put-back layup gave Toronto an 89-88 lead after three quarters.

The Lakers were without Carmelo Anthony and Wayne Ellington because of non-Covid illness and Talen Horton-Tucker (sprained ankle). The Raptors were without OG Anunoby (broken finger).

-reuters

NBA: Marcus Smart's fourth-quarter surge helps Celtics beat Raptors

Marcus Smart scored eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and added eight rebounds and six assists as the visiting Boston Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors 109-97 on Sunday night.

Al Horford added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who ended a two-game losing streak.

Jayson Tatum was held to eight points, but had 10 assists for the Celtics, who have won two of their three games with the Raptors.

Josh Richardson contributed 18 points for the Celtics, Jaylen Brown added 16 points, Grant Williams 15 and Enes Kanter had nine points and 10 rebounds.

Fred VanVleet had 27 points for the Raptors, who dropped to 2-7 in home games. Scottie Barnes added 21 points for Toronto and Pascal Siakam had 18, and Svi Mykhailiuk 12.

Boston had a four-point lead after the third quarter and scored the first four points of the fourth quarter before Toronto cut the lead to one. Boston responded with a 9-0 run capped by Smart's 3-pointer with 7:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Boston's lead reached 13 on Smart's 3-pointer with 6:21 to play. Richardson's driving layup with 2:31 to play restored the 13-point lead.

The Celtics led 27-26 after the first quarter.

The Celtics scored the first eight points of the second quarter, six by Richardson. Toronto cut the lead to one point on Siakam's dunk with 5:38 remaining in the first half. Horford's 3-pointer with 2:27 remaining completed a 7-0 run that gave Boston an eight-point lead. The Celtics led 54-51 at halftime.

VanVleet scored the first three points of the second half to tie the game. Toronto took a 71-70 lead on VanVleet's 3-pointer with 5:09 to play in the third quarter. The game was tied again when Horford made a seven-footer with 3:02 remaining. 

The Celtics scored the next five points, including Smart's 3-pointer. The lead reached six and Boston led 80-76 after three quarters. The score was tied six times in the quarter.

The Raptors were without OG Anunoby (hip pointer), Khem Birch (knee) and Gary Trent Jr.

The Celtics were without Robert Williams (illness) and Dennis Schroder (ankle).

-reuters

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

Pacers remain undefeated with win over Raptors

INDIANAPOLIS — Once Paul George stopped trying so hard, points came in bunches.

The Indiana Pacers forward, who has emerged as one of the league’s top scorers, scored just five points in the first half against the Toronto Raptors.

Then he found his rhythm. He scored 17 of his 23 points in the third quarter and the Pacers defeated the Raptors 91-84 on Friday night to remain the NBA’s only unbeaten team.

George made just 2 of 10 shots from the field in the first half but 5 of 9 in the third quarter.

“I think I was just pressing,” he said of his shaky first half. “I’ve just got to continue to let the game come to me and let the game flow. I feel like a lot of times I’m pressing, and that’s taking me out of my comfort zone.”

Once he found that zone, Indiana took control. The Pacers (6-0) matched their best start in franchise history. Every other team in the Eastern Conference has at least two losses.

“It feels good,” George said. “We’re just taking one game at a time. That’s the best thing we can do. It’s teamwork — relying on one another, the chemistry we have. It’s our whole DNA and makeup, everybody from the coaching staff on down to every guy on the roster. We’re all on the same page and we have all bought into what we want to get accomplished.”

Pacers center Roy Hibbert had 20 points and seven rebounds and guard George Hill, who missed the previous three games with soreness in his left hip, started and finished with 14 points.

Forward Rudy Gay led the Raptors with 30 points. He scored 22 in the first half, mostly on difficult shots against George, one of the league’s top perimeter defenders.

“Thank God he just stopped making those contested shots,” George said. “It was frustrating because he was hitting some tough ones, but he’s a guy that shoots jump shots, and as I know in this league, jump shots don’t always last. So I was just trying to pressure up and contest all his shots.”

Hibbert, the league’s top shot blocker, got into the act offensively by making 9 of 14 shots from the field.

“It just came together tonight,” he said. “I don’t expect to have 20-point nights all the time. I just want to be solid on defense and give the team as much as I can on offense. I try to be the backbone of the defense, and luckily, some of my shots went in tonight.”

Forward Amir Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds and guard Kyle Lowry added 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Raptors (2-4), who lost their third straight. Toronto scored 32 points in the first quarter and 52 the rest of the game. The Raptors made just 19 of 58 shots from the field after the first quarter.

“We have to be able to put together a full game,” Gay said. “There are spurts where we play as good as any team in the league. But we let up just a little bit, and they were able to come right back and take advantage of that.”

Toronto’s largest lead was 12 points in the second quarter. The Pacers whittled away at their deficit, and Hibbert’s jumper from near the free-throw line trimmed the Raptors’ lead to 46-44 at halftime.

Indiana guard Lance Stephenson, who had been off to a strong start this season, left the game in the first half with a sore left knee but returned to start the second half.

Indiana opened the second half on a 10-0 run. A 3-pointer by George caused Toronto to call a timeout just three minutes into the third quarter with Indiana leading 54-46. Gay made two free throws with 8:43 left in the third quarter for Toronto’s first points.

George made a 3-pointer over forward Landry Fields as time expired in the third quarter to push Indiana’s lead to 72-59. He helped Indiana outscore the Raptors 28-13 in the quarter.

Gay, who was unstoppable in the first half, was held to two points on 0-for-4 shooting from the field in the third quarter. Toronto made just 5 of 18 in the quarter.

The Pacers extended their lead to 78-62 on a jumper by forward Luis Scola early in the fourth quarter, and they led by at least six points the rest of the way.

The Pacers say they won’t let up. They travel to Brooklyn on Saturday.

“We have a young team and everybody’s locked in,” Hibbert said. “We’re laser focused.”

NOTES: Raptors F Tyler Hansbrough and G D.J. Augustin played for the Pacers last season. Hansbrough was booed when he entered the game late in the first quarter. … George entered the game ranked fourth in the NBA at 25.8 points per game. … Hibbert blocked at least five shots in four of his first five games. … Indiana was leading the NBA in scoring defense (84.4) and second in point differential (11.0). … The Pacers and Raptors split their series 2-2 last season. … The Raptors led 32-22 at the end of the first quarter. The 32 points were the most the Pacers had surrendered in a quarter this season. … The Raptors shot 57 percent from the field in the first quarter and the Pacers shot 50 percent.

source: interaksyon.com