The Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets meet Sunday in game seven of the second round of the NBA playoffs(nba championship rings for sale) at the Pepsi Center.
The Portland Trail Blazers(cheap Portland Trail Blazers championship rings) look for their first conference final appearance since the 1999-00 season. The Portland Trail Blazers are averaging 112.2 points on 44.3 percent shooting and allowing 111.1 points on 43.7 percent shooting. Damian Lillard is averaging 29.8 points and 5.8 assists while CJ McCollum is averaging 24.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. Enes Kanter is the third double-digit scorer and Al-Farouq Aminu is grabbing 7.1 rebounds. The Portland Trail Blazers are shooting 37.4 percent from beyond the arc and 75.8 percent from the free throw line. The Portland Trail Blazers are allowing 34.3 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 45.9 rebounds per game. The Portland Trail Blazers have lost three of their last five road games.
The Denver Nuggets look for their first conference final appearance since the 2008-09 season. The Denver Nuggets are averaging 110.2 points on 44.8 percent shooting and allowing 107.8 points on 45.2 percent shooting. Nikola Jokic is averaging 24.8 points and 13 rebounds while Jamal Murray is averaging 21.6 points and 4.7 assists. Paul Millsap is the third double-digit scorer and Gary Harris is grabbing four rebounds. The Denver Nuggets are shooting 35.7 percent from beyond the arc and 79 percent from the free throw line. The Denver Nuggets are allowing 34.4 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 47.5 rebounds per game. The Denver Nuggets have won five of their last six home games.
The Trail Blazers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games, 5-11 ATS in their last 16 Conference Semifinals games and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Nuggets are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 Conference Semifinals games, 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games playing on 2 days rest and 22-9-1 ATS in their last 32 vs. NBA Northwest(custom championship rings). The Trail Blazers are 2-5-1 ATS in the last 8 meetings in Denver and 3-9-1 ATS in the last 13 meetings. The under is 14-5 in Nuggets last 19 home games. The over is 4-0 in Trail Blazers last 4 overall.
The Portland Trail Blazers have failed to cover 17 of their last 26 games as a road underdog. The Denver Nuggets have split their last 12 games ATS as a home favorite.
The Denver Nuggets have been the better team in this series, as they've pretty much been in complete control of their victories and had several chances to win multiple of those four overtimes. And while the Nuggets are still babies in terms of playoff experience, just winning a game seven against the San Antonio Spurs will help calm the nerves a bit. With that said, game sevens are often decided by stars who refuse to allow their team to go home, and there's not many backcourts in the league I trust more than Lillard and McCollum. Just two dogs who have proven they can put the squad on their back and will a victory. If those two are clicking the way I think they will in a game this big, I'm not sure the Nuggets will be able to counter. Give me the points for insurance, but I like Portland to advance.
Rhys Hoskins hit a two-run homer , Zach Eflin threw seven sharp innings and the Phillies beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 Sunday. ''This was an important game for the direction of our team,'' Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. ''We proved we didn't need to see a lot of pitches and score a lot of runs with our potent offense.'' Eflin (2-0) allowed a leadoff homer to Max Kepler and five singles, striking out five.
''It was nice to squeak out seven,'' Eflin said. ''The action on my sinker and change-up were working. I didn't have my best slider.''Jose Berrios (1-1) gave up only an infield hit before Hoskins connected. He had seven strikeouts in six innings. Bryce Harper was 0 for 2 with two walks and stole a base. Phillies left fielder Andrew McCutchen made a perfect one-hop throw to the plate to prevent Marwin Gonzalez from scoring on Ehire Adrianza's single in the third.
David Robertson got two outs in the eighth and Adam Morgan finished the inning. Hector Neris tossed a perfect ninth for his first save since last Sept. 18 against the Mets. ''Hector was spectacular,'' Kapler said. Neris was Philadelphia's closer until he got demoted to the minors after struggling last season. He pitched well after returning to the majors and is part of a closer-by-committee bullpen. ''I just come in and try to do my job whether it's the ninth, eighth, sixth inning,'' Neris said.
Kepler gave the Twins(mlb championship rings) a 1-0 lead when he drove a fastball into the seats in right-center for his first career leadoff homer. He went deep in each game of the series. Hoskins fouled off three straight 3-2 pitches in the sixth before launching his third homer into the flower bed just over the left-center field wall. ''I missed a few pitches previously,'' he said. ''I was able to get barrel to the ball and got enough of it to get it out.'' Berrios' pitch was in a good spot, down and away.
''Jose made a nice pitch,'' Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. ''He's a good hitter and he put it over the fence. Jose threw the ball really well.'' After averaging 8.2 runs in their first six gameschampionship rings), the Phillies have only scored four in the last two.
DETROIT (AP) Blake Griffin made it through almost the whole season without a significant injury. Now, as the Detroit Pistons try to hold on to a playoff spot, their star's health is a concern again. Griffin missed a third straight game Wednesday, and the Pistons were routed 108-89 by the Indiana Pacers. Detroit(cheap nba championship rings) says Griffin has been dealing with a sore left knee. He's missed just six games this season, but it's not clear when he'll be available again. Coach Dwane Casey hopes to have him back for the team's next game Friday.
''He's worked the past couple days,'' Casey said. ''Just not quite right.'' The out-of-town scoreboard had mostly good news for the Pistons(custom Detroit Pistons championship rings). Brooklyn and Miami both lost, so Detroit remained alone in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. But the Nets and the Orlando Magic are just a half-game behind, and the Heat - who dropped to ninth - are only a game back of the Pistons. Thaddeus Young scored 21 points for the Pacers, who snapped a 10-game losing streak on the road and won for just the third time in their last 10 games overall. Bojan Bogdanovic and Myles Turner scored 17 points apiece, and Domantas Sabonis added 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Indiana closed the third quarter with nine straight points, and Doug McDermott's 3-pointer gave the Pacers a 78-62 lead. ''We talked about trying to be road tough tonight,'' Indiana coach Nate McMillan said. ''We wanted to come out and play well, and I thought the guys did from start to finish. Offensively, we didn't shoot the ball particularly well, but (our) defense was able to help hold the lead.'' Andre Drummond had 28 points and 19 rebounds for the Pistons, and Wayne Ellington scored 24 points. The Pistons turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter and trailed 18-15 after one. Indiana was up 44-36 at halftime. There was a highlight for Detroit in the third, when Turner fell to the ground trying to stay with Reggie Jackson on the perimeter, and Jackson made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to six. But it was a tough evening for the Pistons overall.
Griffin has averaged 24.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 72 games(championship rings for sale) - the most he's played since he appeared in 80 in 2013-14 with the Los Angeles Clippers. ''Whenever you're missing your main guy, it's kind of hard playing on the fly and figuring it out, but we have to adjust and we have to do it quickly,'' Jackson said.
HOME COURT?
The Pacers are safely in the playoffs, but they're still tied after Wednesday with Boston for fourth place in the East. So home court in the first round is at stake for both those teams down the stretch. ''Every win counts. Every game, we have to play like it's our last possession or our last game,'' Young said. ''We have to get as many wins as possible to keep up with that four spot. We just need to continue the course and continue to play and just take it from there.''
RECORD
Drummond tied his own team record with his 66th double-double of the season. He also had that many in 2015-16. Isiah Thomas had 65 in 1984-85.
TIP-INS
Pacers: Indiana is 22-21 in Victor Oladipo's absence. He is out for the season after a January knee injury. ... Darren Collison (groin) and Wesley Matthews (hamstring) also missed the game. ... Cory Joseph had six points and 12 assists.
Pistons: Detroit has lost five of seven. ... The Pistons went 11 of 41 from 3-point range. ... Detroit finished with 20 turnovers.
No. 1 seed North Carolina will face No. 5 seed Auburn in Friday's first semifinal in the Midwest Region, and it shapes up like a track meet on a basketball court. Following a narrow escape against New Mexico State, Auburn demolished Kansas, 89-75, in the second round. The Tigers raced to a 26-point halftime lead on the way to handing Kansas the fourth-worst NCAA(University/College Rings championship rings) tournament defeat in program history. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl knows the acts only become more difficult by the round.
"I used the terminology that we're not afraid to run with North Carolina," Pearl said Tuesday. "It wasn't a challenge or trying to say we're not afraid of North Carolina. We've got a good, healthy fear and respect of North Carolina. It's just ... that's how we play too. For us to not try to play fast would go against how we play best also. Even though historically, the way to beat Carolina is to get them in a half-court game and not let them beat you in transition. That's going to be difficult to do because of the way we like to play." The selection committee put North Carolina (29-6) first in the region, and the favored Tar Heels looked the part through two games, thanks to a team that runs with the best of them. The Tar Heels manhandled Iona and Washington, controlling the boards and the tempo to set up their sprinting, fast-break offense.
"Needless to say, anybody who advances past this point you feel good about a win in the second round," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "I love our toughness, and I love the edge our bench gave us." Freshman forward Nassir Little has come off the bench to lead UNC with an average of 19.5 points through two tournament games, but he is questionable for the Sweet 16 because of flu-like symptoms, Williams said Thursday. Little is averaging 10.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for the season. Pearl sounded more concerned about size than speed in the regional semifinal. "North Carolina might be the best team left in the field," Pearl said Tuesday. "They're plus-10.5 rebound margin. We're about minus-3.5 rebound margin, for a difference of 14. Rebounding has been a problem for us all year."
Pearl knows the Tigers are about to step up in class. Awaiting in the regional final is second-seeded Kentucky or third-seeded Houston. "It's really hard to get here," he said, "and it's even harder to finish. This next round is blue bloods on steroids." Freshman point guard Coby White scored 17 points for North Carolina in the win over Washington on Sunday. Cam Johnson is the team's leading scorer at 16.9 points per game, but White and forward Luke Maye are more than capable of carrying the offense in stretches. White's blazing speed ignites the attack.
"They have really good big guys that are great interior passers and guys that can operate in that high post area. And it's a hard cover for us. It's a hard matchup," Washington coach Mike Hopkins said. "And I thought they got us everywhere. They got us in the high post. They got us on the 3. They got to the foul line." North Carolina is the third-highest scoring team in NCAA(custom championship rings) Division I at 86.1 points per game. Auburn is 36th at 79.5. On defense, Auburn ranks 93rd at 68.5 points per game allowed, while North Carolina is 208th at 72.5. When the brackets came out, it was reasonable to assume that North Carolina would be facing Kansas on their second "home court." Kansas is 44-10 all-time at Sprint Center.
Williams had reason to complain about that possibility, though he did not publicly. He coached at Kansas from 1988-2003, and he is 0-3 against his former team, including in 2013 at Sprint Center. Auburn, which tends to thrive in chaos on the court, is thrilled to be the closest thing to a bracket-buster in the region. The fifth seed is no pushover, having propelled into the tournament as SEC tournament champions. "We're playing really good basketball," Pearl said. "We were in the best position that the program could possibly be in to win that (Kansas) game ... I feel like we're in a really good position right now to make history."
Zack Wheeler, who had allowed five runs total this spring heading into today’s game(mlb championship rings), was charged with five earned runs in three innings in his final tune-up before taking the mound next Sunday in the team’s third game of the regular season. Wheeler had a rough first inning and was tagged for four runs on four hits, including home runs to Dwight Smith Jr. and Chris Davis. Smith Jr. added a solo home run in the third inning as well. Wheeler finished with two walks and two strikeouts and finished with a 4.80 ERA in 15 innings.
The Mets fell behind early and kept clawing their way back. They trailed 4-3 after three and 5-4 after five before tying the game in the top of the seventh and eighth innings only to fall behind again in the bottom half of those innings. Finally, Dominic Smith connected on a three-run home run with two outs in the top of the ninth to give the team their first lead. Matt Blackham worked around a walk in the bottom of the ninth to finish the game and earn the save.
Pete Alonso hit his fifth home run of the spring — a solo shot in the eighth to tie the game at six — and ended up finishing in a tie with Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil for the team lead. He finished the spring with a very impressive .361/.395/.667 slash line in 72 at-bats. While the team has not made any official announcements, he will presumably travel with the club to Washington D.C. and should find himself in the starting lineup on Opening Day. Speaking of impressive, McNeil finished 3-for-3 with two solo home runs and three runs scored. He will finish Grapefruit League play with five home runs and a .364/.397/.691 slash line in 55 at-bats. He will likely open the season as the starting third baseman with Jed Lowrie and Todd Frazier recovering from injuries.
Wilson Ramos was in the lineup one day after exiting the game with an apparent hand injury and was able to catch all nine innings. Ramos finished Grapefruit League action with a .359/.381/.487 slash line in 39 at-bats. Despite allowing the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, Edwin Diaz earned his first victory this spring. He pitched the eighth inning for the Mets and struck out the side while allowing one run on one hit. Robert Gsellman pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the Mets.
On paper, Milwaukee versus Cleveland would appear to be no contest. The Bucks have the best record in the league. The Cavaliers(Cleveland Cavaliers championship rings) have the league's third-worst record. Milwaukee has cooled off of late and travels to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers Wednesday night. The Bucks have defeated the Cavs twice this season. Despite their record, the Cavaliers don't resemble the team that lost to the Bucks by 16 back on Dec. 10. "Success is not always necessarily measured on wins and losses," Cavs coach Larry Drew said. "Are those guys the same players they were at the start of the season? By no stretch of the imagination are they. These guys have really, really shown growth."
While the future looks bright in Cleveland, the future is now for Milwaukee(Milwaukee Bucks championship rings). They've cooled off a bit and are just 5-4 in their last nine games after beating the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. Khris Middleton led the way with 30 points. Brook Lopez added 28. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who tweaked his right ankle while scoring 52 points in a loss to Philadelphia on Sunday, sat out. "I tweaked it a little bit and at first felt a bit of pain, but the adrenaline kicks in and I just wanted to keep playing," he said.
Antetokounmpo is listed as questionable for Wednesday's game. The Bucks were already adjusting to life without Malcolm Brogdon and his 15.6 points per game. Brogdon is out indefinitely with a plantar fascia tear in his right foot. "We definitely felt it tonight," Antetokounmpo said after the Philadelphia loss. "Not having Malcolm is a big loss. We have to play as a team and we have a lot of guys who have to be ready to step up." On Tuesday, Milwaukee signed Tim Frazier to help offset the loss of Brogdon. In 47 games with New Orleans this season, Frazier averaged 5.0 points and 4.4 assists per game.
"They're the No. 1 team for a reason," Frazier told the Journal Sentinel. "Great coaches, great players ... so I'm just coming in and trying to learn as much as possible and help." Milwaukee also was without Sterling Brown, Donte DiVincenzo and Ersan Ilyasova for the game against the Lakers. The Bucks will get no sympathy from the Cavaliers, who have dealt with injuries all season. Cleveland(nba championship rings) dressed just nine players -- seven who scored in double figures in a win over Detroit. Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr., Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova all missed the game.
Since the All-Star Break(championship rings for sale), the Cavs are 5-2 at home and are averaging 112.1 points. The catalyst has been rookie Collin Sexton, who has elevated his game. Sexton is averaging 21.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range in the last 18 games. Sexton scored 27 against Detroit and became the first rookie to score at least 23 points in six consecutive games since Tim Duncan did it twice for the San Antonio Spurs in 1998. Criticized as a poor shooter coming out of Alabama, Sexton has worked hard. "I knew coming into the season that was the biggest thing, I couldn't shoot, so I work each and every day to try to make sure my 3 ball is good and make sure my jump shot looks good," Sexton said. "That motivates me a whole lot, just to show and prove people wrong."
When and Where: Sunday, Dec. 30, New Era Field, Orchard Park, N.Y., 1 p.m. EST.
Out of the playoffs and heading into an uncertain future in the offseason, the Miami Dolphins(Miami Dolphins championship rings) and Buffalo Bills wrap up underachieving seasons Sunday in upstate New York.
Dolphins unlikely to retain exec Tannenbaum, Gase's future cloudy:
After guiding Miami to a 10-6 record and a playoff appearance in his first season in 2016, head coach Adam Gase and the Dolphins (7-8) have regressed in each of the last two seasons despite their guaranteed status as AFC East runners-up to New England in 2018. Some of the struggles were due to injuries as quarterback Ryan Tannehill missed five games due to injury and 35-year-old Frank Gore — before he suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 15 — wound up being the featured running back for long stretches while Kenyan Drake was unable to take the next step after rushing for 644 yards in 2017.
At the very least, executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum is expected to depart as part of a front-office shakeup. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has been less forthcoming about the status of Gase and general manager Chris Grier, but both are expected back unless a marquee coaching name becomes available in the offseason.Miami has lost back-to-back games and four of its last six overall after a 17-7 defeat to Jacksonville last Sunday. The Dolphins opened the game with a 78-yard touchdown drive and were held to 105 yards the rest of the way, their fate sealed when Tannehill threw a pick-six with 9:34 to play.
Tannehill has had an uneven career since the Dolphins made him the eighth overall pick in 2012. He has recorded two 4,000-yard seasons but also has missed 24 games the last three years — including all of 2017 — due to injuries. With none of his $19 million salary in 2019 guaranteed and the Dolphins facing a reported cap hit of $26.6 million, it is believed the team will part ways with him in the offseason, something he hopes will not happen.“I have a lot of belief in myself,” Tannehill told the Miami Herald. “I want to be here and finish my career here. I love this organization. I love competing with the guys on this team. I've been here my whole career and love it in South Florida. I'd love to be here.”
Injuries also impacted the defense, as team MVP and Pro Bowl(custom nfl championship rings) cornerback Xavien Howard is not expected to play due to a knee injury. Howard, who is tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions despite missing the last three games, wants to play Sunday, but Gase sees little to gain in his star cover man playing with nothing at stake.“He would really have to push me for me to let him play,” Gase told the Palm Beach Post on Wednesday. ““He would have to tell me he absolutely, 100 percent, wants to play and feels great. We're not going to put him out there if he has any kind of pain.”Miami has lost six straight road games since opening that part of its schedule with a 20-12 victory over the New York Jets in Week 2. All but one of the six losses have been by double figures, and the Dolphins have given up at least 27 points in all six defeats. The Dolphins have dropped 11 of their last 12 road games dating back to last season and five of their last six at Buffalo. Miami, though, can sweep the season series for the second time in three years with a win in this game.
McDermott and Bills look to wrap up frustrating season on positive note:
Buffalo (5-10) failed to build on its playoff appearance from last season as the final gun will mark the 18th time in 19 years there will be no postseason in upstate New York.Some of that was to be expected with the decision to part ways with quarterback Tyrod Taylor in the offseason and begin an offensive rebuild around first-round pick Josh Allen, but it was a trying season for the Bills as little worked on that side of the ball.Allen has endured his expected ups and downs, throwing for 1,850 yards and seven touchdowns with 11 interceptions and also missed four weeks with a shoulder injury. Four different quarterbacks threw at least one pass, including journeymen Derek Anderson and Matt Barkley, while much-maligned Nathan Peterman was cut last month.
Buffalo has only one wide receiver — Zay Jones — with more than 25 catches as the position was a revolving door all season that included the comings and goings of Kelvin Benjamin and Andre Holmes. It is little wonder the Bills went through a three-game stretch of midseason scoring one touchdown and totaling 20 points and enter this contest 31st in the league in scoring with 227, ahead of only Arizona (201).While the Bills do have talent at running back with LeSean McCoy, he has struggled this season with a career-worst 488 yards and actually trails Allen (536) for the team lead in rushing yards.
The six-time 1,000-yard rusher has also butted heads with coach Sean McDermott(championship rings) and was benched at the start of last weekend's 24-12 loss to New England. Without going into detail about the incident, McDermott appeared willing to have McCoy back for 2019, though his $9 million salary makes that a question mark.“I know this year wasn't what he had hoped it would be and the biggest thing I want to see is what we're going to do to get it to back to where it needs to be,” McDermott told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “And so I think he's committed to that cause as are we. LeSean's a pro, he's played at a very high level for a long period of time and I expect him to get back on track.”
Buffalo needs to win this game to guarantee a third-place finish in the AFC East, otherwise a loss and a win by the New York Jets over the Patriots would drop the Bills into last by virtue of a worse division record.The Bills are 3-4 at home, with four of their games decided by four or fewer points. They have not finished with a sub-.500 home record since going 2-6 in 2010.
Mon May 13, 2019 11:41 am
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