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The Los Angeles Clippers advanced, the Toronto Raptors crashed and the Denver Nuggets forced a penultimate game in the NBA playoffs Sunday in Orlando.
Clippers knock out Mavs
The Clippers sent the Dallas Mavericks back to Texas with a 111-97 victory in Game 6.
Kawhi Leonard had 33 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and five steals for the Clippers who concluded the series 4-2.
Ivica Zubac scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Paul George added 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Clippers who advanced to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs and face series winner Utah Jazz- Denver Nuggets.
Luka Doncic’s season with the Mavericks ended with 38 points, nine assists and nine rebounds. Dorian Finney-Smith added 16 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. with 10.
Dallas rallied and approached 88-82 with 9:28 remaining in the fourth but Los Angeles regrouped and walked away.
The Mavericks have been hampered by the absence of Kristaps Porzingis, who is out with a knee injury.
Doncic-Morris Veal Part II
Doncic put himself in danger again when Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. slapped him on the head as he drove to the basket late in the first quarter.
Morris Sr. received a whistle for foul on Flagrant 2 and was immediately sent off.
Doncic and Morris had fought each other on the show. In Game 5, Morris allegedly stepped on Doncic’s ankle while driving to the rim.
Morris Sr. is expected to make a good penny in the league.
Thunder’s Schroder, Rockets Tucker fined $ 25K each
The NBA has fined Dennis Schroder of the Oklahoma City Thunder and PJ Tucker of the Houston Rockets $ 25,000 each following their on-court confrontation in Game 5 of their series.
Schroder was fined “for making contact in the groin area” of Tucker and while the latter was penalized for “approaching Schroder and making contact with him in escalating the altercation.”
The confrontation occurred in the third quarter. Both players were sent off.
Schroder denied that he intentionally hit Tucker.
Celtics defeat Raptors
The Toronto Raptors got a reality check when the Boston Celtics knocked them down in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart each had 21 points in the Celtics’ 112-94 victory over the defending champions.
Kemba Walker contributed 18 points and 10 assists, Jaylen Brown had 17, Daniel Theis scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Celtics in a balanced attack.
“Marcus was amazing on both sides today,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “All of our guys played with great purpose, with great enthusiasm. We just have to clean a few things. “
“We just have to follow the game plan and play with purpose and compete and that’s what we did,” Tatum said. “They are not going to give up. Every game will be a dog fight. “
Kyle Lowry scored 17 points despite a sore left ankle for the Raptors who had a bad shooting night: 31 of 84 from the floor and 10 of 40 from three-point range, which was the most misfires by three points from Toronto. in a playoff contest.
“We just didn’t play well enough to win,” Lowry said. “We have to make our hedges harder, run better.”
Nuggets’ Murray drops 50 to force Game 7 against Jazz
Jamal Murray scored 50 points to lead the Denver Nuggets past the Utah Jazz 119-107 and set up the first seventh life-or-death game in the bubble.
Donovan Mitchell had an explosive night again and scored 50 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop Denver from taking Game 6 and extending the series.
Murray and Mitchell have been hot and have two 50-point games each in the series.
If the Nuggets win Game 7, they will become the 12th team in NBA history to rebound from a 3-1 deficit to win a series.
The last team to do this was the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Bronny, now a pro gamer, joins FaZe Clan
If you are a fan of Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, you may be able to test the mettle of LeBron James Jr.
The 15-year-old son of Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James has turned pro at video games, joining the professional esports organization FaZe Clan.
It will be streaming Fortnite and Call of Duty under the name “FaZe Bronny.”
Bronny, the nickname for LeBron Jr., is an online celebrity, with 4.3 million followers on TikTok. James Jr., who could turn pro in 2023 and play alongside his father, also has 300,000 followers on the streaming platform Twitch.
Terms of their deal were not disclosed.
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