Playoffs Day 17
Pre Game: It’s the 17th day of NBA Playoff action and we have 2 round match ups on the schedule, #2 Toronto vs #3 Philadelphia and #2 Denver vs #3 Portland. Toronto won game 1 behind Kawhi Leonard’s 45 points, and the Blazers and Nuggets face off for the first time.
Game 1: In the first game of the night, #2 Toronto faces off against #3 Philadelphia. Toronto won Game 1 behind Kawhi Leonard’s 45 points. The 76ers look to even the series before heading back to Philly for Games 3 & 4. Joel Embiid will be available for the 76ers, he is dealing with a stomach virus. At the half, the 76ers led by 13, 51-38. Jimmy Butler had 13 points, Kawhi Leonard had 15 points. The Raptors were 3/15 from the 3 point line, and Philadelphia had 12 turnovers, but still led by 13 at the half. Joel Embiid had no made field goals, only 4 points. They will need him to step up if they want any chance of staying in front. At the end of the 3rd, the 76ers led by 6, 69-63.Jimmy Butler had 18 points, Kawhi Leonard had 26 points entering the 4th. With 46.7 seconds left, the Raptors were down by 1, 90-89. Joel Embiid laid it up and in with 24.3 seconds left, pushing the lead to 92-89. The 76ers survived on defense and Tobias Harris hit both free throws, giving them a 94-89 lead. The 76ers would go onto win 94-89. Jimmy Butler had 30 points, Kawhi Leonard had 35 for the Raptors
Game 2: In the 2nd game of the night, #2 Denver faces #3 Portland in Game 1 from the Mile High City. The Nuggets are coming off of a 7 game series against the Spurs. The Blazers are coming off of a 5 game series against Oklahoma City, with Damian Lillard scoring 50 points and hitting a game winner at the buzzer. The young Nuggets will have to try to contain Damian from going off in the series. Nikola Jokic has to take advantage of the match up against the Blazers center. Enes Kanter is available for Game 1 as he suffered a separated shoulder in Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. At the end of the 1st, the game was tied at 32. Lillard, Kanter, and McCollum combined for 28 points, 29 combined for Millsap, Murray and Jokic. At the half, the Nuggets led by 3, 58-55. The Nuggets big 3 combined for 41, the Blazers big 3 combined for 41 as well. Neither team played good defense, and whoever can pick it up on the defensive end will probably win the game. The Nuggets led by 9, 93-84 at the end of the 3rd. Nikola Jokic had 29 points, Damian Lillard had 25 points. The Nuggets hanged on to win 121-113. Nikola Jokic had 37 points, Damian Lillard had 39 points. The Blazers had no answer for Jokic and if they play better defense, they will have a chance to win Game 2 on the road.
I hope you enjoyed today’s post of the NBA Playoffs, please leave a comment on how your team is doing, and also suggest future topics on the blog. Enjoy the rest of the NBA Playoffs!
