Playoffs Day 29
Pre Game: Today, it might be the most dramatic day of the NBA Playoffs so far, with 2 Game 7’s, #2 Denver vs #3 Portland and #2 Toronto vs #3 Philadelphia.
Game 1: In the 1st game of the night, it’s Game 7 of #2 Denver vs #3 Portland. This series has been closely contested, but now it all comes down to this. If the Blazers play the way they have been at home and when they came into Denver and won Game 2, they will have a good chance. If the Nuggets continue to dominate at home, then they will also have a good chance at winning this win or go home game. At the end of the 1st quarter, the Nuggets led by 12, 17-29. Nikola Jokic had 8 points, CJ McCollum had 8 points for the Blazers. The Blazers played no defense in the 1st quarter and are now probably not going to win. With 7:26 left, the Nuggets led by 17, 39-22. The Blazers managed to cut the lead to 9, 39-48 at halftime. CJ had 15 points, Jokic had 13. Damian Lillard was almost not even playing, shooting 1/9 from the field and only scoring 7 points, 5 of them from the foul line. Lillard has to get it going otherwise the Blazers have literally no chance at winning this game. The Blazers cut the lead to 3, 58-55 behind CJ McCollum’s 3rd quarter explosion. Rodeny Hood got hurt, holding his knee after getting hit by a screen. He would not leave the floor, no word on how serious the injury is yet. At the end of the 3rd, the Blazers were only down by 1, 72-71. Nikola Jokic had 21 points. CJ McCollum has a game-high 29 points. Damian Lillard has not been scoring, but he did have 7 assists entering the 4th. With 29.7 seconds left, the Blazers led by 1, 96-95. With 11.4 seconds left, CJ McCollum hit a step-back jumper to give the Blazers a 98-95 lead. The Blazers fouled Jokic, who made 1/2 free throws, cutting the lead to 2, 98-96. The Nuggets fouled Evan Turner, who knocked down 2 clutch free throws, pushing the lead to 4, 100-96 with 8 seconds left. The Blazers ended up winning 100-96, their first Western Conference Finals for the 1st time since 2000. CJ McCollum had 37 points, Nikola Jokic had 29 points. Damian Lillard had a bad game, but he had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. The Nuggets fell apart after a great start, missing 11 free throws, shooting 2/19 from 3. The Blazers shot 4/26 from 3, both teams shooting terrible from 3. The Nuggets were the best team at home during the regular season, but the Blazers won 2 road games in this series. Now the Blazers will play the Golden State Warriors in the WCF. Damian Lillard averages 27.8 points per game against the Warriors, the best against any team. The Warriors are unsure if they will have Kevin Durant for the Western Conference Finals.
Game 2: In the 2nd game of the night, it’s another Game 7 as #2 Toronto faces off against #3 Philadelphia. I was unable to watch this game, but it was very close. Kawhi Leonard ended up hitting the game-winning fade-away shot from the corner. The ball bounced on the rim 4 times before falling in. Leonard finished the night with 41 points, Joel Embiid had 21 points. The Raptors will now face the #1 Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. This match up will be between the small forwards as Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokoumpo face off.
I hope you enjoyed today’s post of the NBA Playoffs, please stay tuned for the Conference Finals in the coming days, and the Draft Lottery on Tuesday. Please leave a comment on how your team is doing and what I should do in future posts. Enjoy the Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs.
