playoffs Page 97 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Cavs Are Dunking All Over The Raps<em></em>

Are the Cavs a bit rusty after an eight-day layoff between the first round and the second?...

Is Gordon Hayward Good Enough To Give The Warriors Some Trouble?

Quietly, the Utah Jazz—the nominally starless, “quirky” squad, the basketblogger’s catnip—has birthed a star of its own. Despite a bout of food poisoning, Gordon Hayward led the Jazz past the Clippers in seven games, averaging 23.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, including a 40-point torrent in Ga...

Let This Be The End Of The Clippers<em></em>

The Los Angeles Clippers got eliminated on their home court by the Utah Jazz yesterday, in Game 7. The Jazz were the lower-seeded team, so nominally this qualifies as an upset—though of course it wasn’t really, in the dual sense that, A) even before the Clippers lost Blake Griffin to a season-ending...

Connor McDavid's Third Goal Of The Playoffs Was Magical

Connor McDavid tied things up—briefly—for the Oilers tonight against Anaheim with a play that looked an awful lot like what The Great One used to do at the old Coliseum. Just, you know, two digits less....

Could Americans Have Done This With <i>O Canada</i>?

Isaiah Thomas Loses Tooth

Who knew that teeth hampered your offensive ability? Isaiah Thomas came alive after losing a front chomper, waking up the Celtics offense en route to a quick 12 first-quarter points....

Erik Karlsson Won Game 1 On A Freakishly Lucky Goal

The longer the Ottawa Senators stay alive in the playoffs, the more recognition Erik Karlsson is going to get for being one of the greatest hockey players on the planet (and certainly the most underrated). Though Karlsson’s game-winning goal is not exactly evidence of it....

Penguins Beat Capitals After Late Series Of Insane Saves By Marc-Andre Fleury

The Penguins hung on to beat the Capitals, 3-2, after some ridiculous work by Marc-Andre Fleury to keep Washington from scoring on a late scramble in front of the net. With three minutes remaining in the third period, Fleury somehow managed to keep things together even after losing his stick:...

Raptors Advance As Bucks Blow Fourth-Quarter Comeback

Midway through the fourth quarter last night, it looked as if the Bucks might pull off a nifty comeback and force a Game 7 after being down by double digits for much of the second half. They did not. ...

Sidney Crosby Scores Twice In One Minute To Put Penguins Ahead

Sidney Crosby opened up the second period in dramatic fashion—scoring twice in just 54 seconds to allow the Penguins to take a 2-0 lead in tonight’s Game 1 against the Capitals....

Does Isaiah Thomas Carry The Ball? A Fred Hoiberg Debate

After a Game 4 loss, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg accused refs of ignoring Isaiah Thomas’s carrying. “He had a hell of a game tonight. But when you’re allowed to discontinue your dribble on every possession, he is impossible to guard. He’s impossible to guard when you’re able to put your hand underneath...

How's That Adam Larsson Trade Looking Now?

The jury’s still out on the Adam Larsson-for-Taylor Hall trade, and if it’s not universally popular in Edmonton, that’s because Hall’s contributions show up on the scoresheet where Larsson’s don’t. But the Oilers dealt from a position of strength—a glut of scoring forwards—to address a specific need...

What In The Damn Hell Were The Hawks Doing?

With a little less than a minute left in last night’s Game 5 between Washington and Atlanta, John Wall dribbled into some open space behind a Marcin Gortat screen and calmly sank a 21-foot jumpshot, giving the Wizards a four-point lead with 47 seconds left to play....

Dwyane Wade's Playoff Defense Is Awe-Inspiring

The Boston Celtics regained control of their first-round series against the Bulls last night, winning 108-97 and taking a 3-2 series lead. Who is to blame for the Bulls losing their grip? Not Dwyane Wade, who scored 26 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished eight assists, and played some inspired defen...

P.K. Subban Deserves Your Love

Maybe you don’t know a ton about the Nashville Predators. That’s OK! It’s understandable. They don’t have a ton of history, and they certainly don’t get picked for a lot of national broadcasts. They underachieved in the regular season. Their top line—maybe the best of the eight teams remaining in th...

The Celtics Have Righted The Ship

The first four games of the Celtics-Bulls series made no sense. The road team won all four games and season-long trends gave way to puzzling single-game outcomes. Celtics winger Jaylen Brown hardly saw the court despite a solid rookie season. Rajon Rondo spent all year switching back and forth betwe...

Predators Rookie Kevin Fiala Stretchered Off Ice And Hospitalized After Scary Injury [Update]

During the first period of Game 1 of the Predators’ playoff series with the Blues, Nashville winger Kevin Fiala got squished into the boards by Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo. The crash was very ugly and Fiala folded up like an accordion after he hit the wall. Getting scrunched down to the ice by ...

The Thunder Didn't Stand A Chance

The Houston Rockets won Game 5 over the Thunder tonight, shooting their way out of a handful of Russell Westbrook-induced holes and taking a close one, 105-99. Much like the entire series, the game was excruciating to watch and the Thunder’s brief flickers of life did little to stave off the feeling...

Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander Looked Really Quite Mad At This Referee [Update]

The first-round series between the Rockets and Thunder is already plenty spicy on the court, and it’s only getting more contentious thanks to the involvement of both teams’ ownership groups. This weekend, the NBA said it was looking into a postgame incident between Patrick Beverley and the son of Th...

The Wizards Have The Saddest Problem

The Washington Wizards have, in John Wall, the best player—by a mile!—in their playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks. At pretty much any given moment, they have the better player at three of the five positions on the court. They have home-court advantage. And they’re in grave trouble, at least i...