Connect with us

Featured

NBA PLAYOFFS Clippers stun Warriors in Game 5

Published

on

OAKLAND — Hold the confetti. Deflate the balloons.

If the Golden State Warriors were to advance to the second round of the these 2019 NBA playoffs, they\’ll have to play a Game 6 as the Los Angeles Clippers are proving to be a tough out.

With a 3-1 series lead entering Wednesday night\’s Game 5 (Thursday AM in Manila), the two-time defending champion Warriors had a golden chance of eliminating the Clippers at the Oracle Arena.

But the Warriors\’ best-laid plans suffered a huge setback as the Clippers scored a mighty 129-121 upset in front of a stunned capacity crowd of 19,596. The Clippers\’ victory forces a Game this Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Warriors, who still lead the best-of-7 series 3-2, lost despite getting 45 points from Kevin Durant, 24 from Steph Cury and 22 from Klay Thompson. Although they struggled with their shots, particularly in the second quarter, Golden State manged to make 13 treys and sink 20 of their 22 free throws. They also moved the ball well, accounting for 31 assists.

But Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters that Game 5 was lost on the defensive side.

\”We just did not defend and the playoffs are all about defense,\” Kerr said. \”We weren\’t right from the beginning and gave up 37 points in first quarter,\” he added.

Kerr lamented the fact that the Clippers shot 54.1 percent from the field, making 46 of their 85 field goals.

Facing elimination, the eight-seeded Clippers came to play and not just surrender. Lou Williams led the way with 33 points. Danilo Gallinari had 26 while Patrick Beverley finished with 17 and 14 rebounds. Montrezl Harrell also proved to be quite a load and punished the Warriors with 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field.

Los Angeles, which punched a playoffs ticket by carding a 48-34 regular season record, sustained their offesne with 15 converted triples and 20 made free throws out of 22 attempts. After winning just 22 of 41 road games during the regular season, the Clippers are 2-1 on the road against the Warriors.

Despite the setback, Warriors\’ guard Klay Thompson, the other half of Golden State\’s Splash Brothers, remain undeterred.

\”I thought we were going to come out and win tonight, but sometimes life doesn\’t go as planned. We\’re still in a great position with hopefully only 48 minutes to close these guys out. They\’ve been pesky. They\’ve been tough, but now it\’s time to do what we do,\” Thompson said.

The Warriors, the No.1 seed in the Western Conference, will host a Game Sunday on Sunday at the Oracle Arena if the Clippers hold serve on Game 6.

The winner of the Warriors-Clippers series will face the fourth-seeded Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals. The Rockets eliminated the Jazz in their round one showdown, finishing off Utah with a 100-93 win in Game 5 on Wednesday night (Thursday AM in Manila) at the Toyota Center.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Featured

Warriors, Lakers get crucial win in tight West playoff race

Published

on

Warriors, Lakers get crucial win in tight West playoff race

In a tight race for a playoff spot in the West, the defending champions Golden State Warriors and the lost glory-seeking Los Angeles Lakers got much-needed wins.

The Warriors outplayed the visiting Philadelphia 76ers for their third straight win behind Jordan Poole’s 33 points. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 50 points to counter Joel Embiid’s 46-piece.

With the dub, they currently sit at the sixth spot with a 39-26 win-loss record.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers went .500 (37-37) for the first time this season after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-111. Anthony Davis top scored with 37 points along with 15 boards.

LA is now at the eighth spot but still in a pressure pack position as teams below them are just one-game behind.

There are less than 20 games left before the regular season comes to an end.

Continue Reading

BOXING

Fury-Usyk world heavyweight unification fails to push through

Published

on

Fury-Usyk world heavyweight unification fails to push through

The much-anticipated world heavyweight unification bout hit a major blow after Oleksandr Usyk’s manager Alexander Krassyuk said that it will not push through on April 29.

“No matter how much Usyk compromised, he was pushed for more,”  Krassyuk said on ESPN.

However, Tyson Fury answered back that it was Usyk to blame for the failure of the mega fight.

According to his promoter Frank Warren, the demand for a rematch clause of Usyk caused the breakdown of the fight.

“I convinced Tyson to take the rematch. Then we got into how the money will be split in the rematch. The rematch has become a sideshow. Why can’t this be overcome if Usyk wants the fight? All the splits were agreed. Who walks in first was agreed. If it’s a great fight then we will make the rematch,” Warren said in an interview with talkSPORT.

This was supposed to mark Fury’s return to boxing after initially retiring.

Continue Reading

Featured

Paul George out for the rest of regular season due to knee sprain

Published

on

Paul George out for the rest of regular season due to knee sprain

It started with a jaw-dropping 360 slam off a baseline cut by Paul George. Indeed a crazy play that sent  the internet into a frenzy but several plays later another thing went viral involving George, a nasty knee injury in a rebound play.

Seen in the replays was the awkward position of his knee when he landed. He was carried out in the game and after further evaluation he will miss two to three weeks due to a sprained right knee.

It means George will not be available to play in the remainder of the regular season but there are hopes he will be ready in some time in the playoffs if his reevaluation is good.

Currently, his Los Angeles Clippers are fifth in the West but there’s no safe place yet as the standing in their conference is very tight from no. 5 up to the 10th spot.

With this, the Clippers will rely heavily on Kawhi Leonard and their newly-required Russell Westbrook to finish the regular season in a good spot.

Continue Reading

Trending