Playoffs Day 8
Pre Game: In the 8th day of the NBA Playoffs, we see 4 games on the slate, including, #3 Philadelphia vs #6 Brooklyn, #2 Denver vs #7 San Antonio, #1 Milwaukee vs #8 Detroit, #4 Houston vs #5 Utah. Philadelphia and San Antonio look to take 3-1 leads in their series, and Houston and Milwaukee look to get one step closer to sweeping their series.
Game 1: #3 Philadelphia vs #6 Brooklyn is the 1st game of the day. Philadelphia played well without Joel Embiid, winning 131-115 behind Ben Simmons’s 31 point performance. Now the 76ers look to take Game 4 and take an almost insurmountable 3-1 lead over the Nets. Joel Embiid will start for the 76ers. The Nets also made some changes. Caris Levert is now starting for the Nets. Ed Davis is out with an ankle injury, so now the Nets only have 1 big guy. At the end of the 1st, the Nets led by 9, 33-24. Jarrett Allen and Caris Levert combined for 21 points. Tobias Harris had 8 for the 76ers. At halftime, the Nets continued to lead, 63-57. Levert and Allen combined for 31 points. Butler, Embiid, and Harris combined for 36 points. A big fight broke out with Embiid, Butler, Ben Simmons, and Jared Dudley. Jaren Dudley got ejected, Jimmy Butler got ejected. Flagrant 1 on Joel Embiid. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Nets led by 6, 91-85. 63 combined for Embiid, Harris, Butler, and Simmons. 73 points combined for Russell, Dinwiddie, Levert, and Allen. The 76ers will miss Jimmy Butler if the game is close in the 4th quarter. With 3:20 left, the 76ers were down 1, 101-100. With 50 seconds left, JJ Reddick hit a 3 that gave the 76ers the lead, 107-106. With 25 seconds left, Joe Harris made a layup to give the Nets a 108-107 lead. Mike Scott hit a 3 with 18.6 seconds left to the give a 76ers a 110-108 lead. The Nets failed to score and with 4.8 seconds left they fouled Tobias Harris. Harris made both, giving the 76ers a 112-108 lead and win. 70 combined for Embiid, Simmons, and Harris. Allen, Levert, Russell, and Dinwiddie combined for 85 points. The Nets had the lead for most of the 4th quarter, but the 76ers came up with big shots and hung on to win the game. They now take a commanding 3-1 series lead and Game 5 is back in Philadelphia.
Game 2: In the 2nd game of the night, it’s #2 Denver vs #7 San Antonio. Derrick White had a career-high 36 points in Game 3 and fueled the Spurs to a 118-108 win. The Nuggets need to win otherwise they will go down 3-1 in the series. If the Nuggets win, the series will be tied 2-2 as the series goes back to Denver. Torrey Craig is starting for Denver in place of Will Barton who was benched in Game 3. The Spurs played a good 1st quarter and led by 12, 34-22. Aldridge and DeRozan combined for 19, Jokic had 8 points. At halftime, the Nuggets clawed back and tied the game at 54. Jokic and Murry combined for 26 points, 30 points combined for Aldridge and DeRozan. The end of the 3rd quarter, the Nuggets dominated, outscoring the Spurs by 12, leading 91-79. Jokic had 27 points and 11 rebounds, LaMarcus Aldrige had 24 points and 9 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan got ejected in the 4th. The Nuggets continued to control the game and eventually won the game, 117-103. Jokic had 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists, Jamal Murray was great, he had 24 points. Aldridge had 24 points, DeMar DeRozan had 19 points and other than that, nobody else really stepped up. The series is now tied 2-2 as the series goes back to Denver. If Denver wants to have an easier time in this long series, then they need to win Game 5, and then they had 2 chances to close out the series. If they lose Game 5, then they need to win 2 tough games against the veteran Spurs.
Game 3: In the 3rd game of the night, the #1 Milwaukee Bucks vs #8 Detroit Pistons. The Bucks dominated in both home games, but Detroit did not have Blake Griffin and Griffin will be playing in Game 3. I do not personally think that this will make much of a difference, but you never know. Milwaukee is looking for the 3-0 series lead and eventually the sweep while the Pistons are fighting for their playoff lives. At the end of the 1st, the Bucks led 32-24. Ersan Ilyasova had 9 points, Jackson and Ellington combined for 12 for the Pistons. At halftime, the Bucks led by 13, 67-54. Brook Lopez had 15 points, Giannis and Ersan both had 11. Blake Griffin had 15 points, 11 for Wayne Ellington. At the end of the 3rd, the Bucks were up 22, 100-78. Bledsoe and Lopez both had 17, 23 for Blake Griffin. The Bucks won the game 119-103. Khris Middleton had 20, Blake Griffin had a game-high 27 points. The Bucks now take a 3-0 series lead and look to complete the sweep in Game 4.
Game 4: In the 4th and final game of the night, it’s #4 Houston vs #5 Utah. Harden and the Rockets dominated both games at home and look to take Game 3 on the road. The Jazz must win tonight otherwise their season is all but over. At the end of the 1st quarter, the Jazz led 30-28. Donovan Mitchell had 13 points, Chris Paul had 7 points. The Jazz led by 5 at the half, 55-50. Donovan Mitchell had 21 points, Chris Paul had 12 points. The Jazz led by 2, 76-74 at the end of the 3rd quarter. With 9:25 left, the Rockets led 82-80. The Rockets managed to hang on and win the game, 104-101. Harden had 22, 18 for Chris Paul. Donovan Mitchell had 34 points, Derrick Favors had 13 points. The Rockets managed to hang on to win while Harden shot 3-20. Now the Rockets take a 3-0 series lead as the Rockets look to sweep the Jazz and Jazz need to win in Game 4 to avoid being swept.
I hope you enjoyed today’s post and please leave a comment on how your team is doing this year and also tell me what to do when the NBA Playoffs are not on. Enjoy your weekend!
