playoffs Page 96 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Wizards Got Out To A Huge Lead And, For Once, Kept It
The Wizards dominated in the first quarter of tonight’s Game 3, going on a 20-0 run and heading to the second with a 39-17 lead over the Celtics. But you’ve heard that one before, and it hasn’t ended well for Washington lately. Tonight was different....

Kelly Oubre Ejected After Charging, Shoving Kelly Olynyk
Things got chippy early in the second quarter for the Celtics and Wizards, after Kelly Oubre was the victim of a hard screen by Kelly Olynyk. Oubre wasn’t especially pleased, and he showed it by charging Olynyk and shoving him to the ground:...

Marcus Morris Denies That He Is Impersonating His Twin Brother On The Wizards<em></em>
Is Wizards forward Markieff Morris only playing through an ankle injury because his brother Marcus is impersonating him? Let’s see what Marcus thinks....

The Penguins Are Flopping Shitbirds
The Capitals lost to the Penguins last night, and the final nail in the coffin for Washington came at the very end, when their attempt to pull goalie Braden Holtby for a man advantage was thwarted when the refs called high sticking on T.J. Oshie…...

This Shit? I'm Still Sick Of It.
Remember that shit from the first round of the playoffs? That shit is still going on, and I still hate it....

This Is Fine
The Caps are down 3-1 now, and there are certain things that happen that can indicate it’s not really going to be your game/series/decade. Things like Dmitry Orlov scoring an own goal in what would be a one-goal game:...
![Tony Parker Carried Off The Court After Nasty-Looking Knee Injury [Update: He's Done For The Playoffs]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/f5tta2uyrl3cztrpyis8.jpg)
Tony Parker Carried Off The Court After Nasty-Looking Knee Injury [Update: He's Done For The Playoffs]
During the fourth quarter of the Spurs’ game against the Rockets, Spurs point guard Tony Parker came down funny after shooting a teardrop and immediately crumpled to the floor. It initially appeared that he hurt his right knee, but it now seems that he hurt his left leg while taking off for the floa...

The Raptors Are Dead
For the second consecutive postseason, it has become abundantly clear that the Toronto Raptors are going to get owned by the Cleveland Cavaliers....

Isaiah Thomas Will Beat You And Then Embarrass You
This isn’t meant to denigrate Isaiah Thomas, who fucked the Wizards all the way up last night and is proving himself to be the True Superstar nobody thought the Celtics had, but oh my God, can you imagine how aggravating it must be to get 53 points dropped on you by a guy who is about the size of To...

Some Basketball Stuff Bradley Beal Did Last Night
The Boston Celtics won a game in which they trailed for pretty much all but a few moments of regulation, to take a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Washington Wizards. Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas was unstoppable in the fourth quarter and overtime, scori...

In Praise Of A Perfect Helper
The Rangers’s 4-1 pummeling of the Senators in Game 3 was maybe the most expected thing in the world. New York is almost certainly the better team to begin with in this series, and has played like the better team for long stretches of it. Here’s a stat: Still down 2-1 after last night’s win, the Ran...

Steph Curry Made Rudy Gobert Look Like A Bewildered Child
You can’t double team Steph Curry on the perimeter. If you go under the screen against him, you are allowing maybe the greatest shooter of all time an open look. You can switch a big guy onto him, but that means Steph gets to go at a larger, slower defender. Maybe it’s not that bad if that big guy i...

Holy Shit, Isaiah Thomas<em></em>
The Wizards tried everything against Isaiah Thomas tonight. They threw taller defenders at him, they tried trapping him on pick-and-rolls, they tried switching on him, they tried hitting him. Nothing worked. The puny Celtics star got into the best point guard duel of the playoffs with John Wall and ...

Dahntay Jones Was Fined Almost His Entire Salary For Three Minutes Of Play
Dahntay Jones signed a veteran’s minimum contract with the Cavaliers on the very last day of the regular season, meaning that his prorated salary for the year was $9,127. The 36-year-old earned three garbage-time minutes at the end of last night’s win over the Raptors, and in those three minutes he ...

I Have A Weak Take On Matt Niskanen's Hit On Sidney Crosby
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Sidney Crosby lying on the ice like that, but it was immediately and frighteningly familiar. Crosby famously lost a year of his prime to concussions, so it feels like too much to hope for that we’ll get to see him again over the final month of the postseason....

Spurs Hang With Rockets For Less Time Than It Took To Write This Blog<em></em><em></em>
The ever-steady San Antonio Spurs were supposed to present a stiff challenge to the Rockets. Instead, they got cooked, broken down, and eaten by a ravenous Rockets team without putting up a fight....

Capitals Win Wild Game 3 In OT After Blowing Late Two-Goal Lead
With two minutes left to play in Pittsburgh and the Washington Capitals leading 2-0, it seemed a mere formality that the Caps would win Game 3. However, the Penguins pulled their goalie and Evgeni Malkin scored to make it 2-1 with just under two minutes to play. Moments later, the Pens’ Justin Schul...

The Cavaliers Are Still On Cruise Control
The Cavs may have had their troubles almost blowing leads against the Pacers, yet they still swept Indiana away and got a week off before their second round series against the Raptors. Indiana gave the Cavs more trouble than they anticipated, but LeBron James remains untouchable so it sort of didn’t...

The Warriors Seem More Worried About How Boring Utah Is Than The Jazz<em></em>
The Warriors recently put the finishing touches on a sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers, and they had to wait almost a full week to find out whether they’d be playing the Clippers or the Jazz in the second round. A Warriors-Jazz series is a much more interesting prospect, because even if the Clippe...

Sidney Crosby Leaves The Ice After Headshot From Matt Niskanen<em></em>
The Washington Capitals are in Pittsburgh tonight for a must-win Game 3. They dropped both Game 1 and 2 in Washington, and now they have to win on the road to keep their season alive. Things are getting understandably testy. As Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby went in on goal in the first period, Al...