Month: May 2022

The Boston Celtics will receive a big boost for their crucial Game 5 clash against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, with Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart returning to the line-up.

Smart missed Game 4 after suffering an awkward ankle injury in Game 3. 

Adding to the Heat’s problems is the fact that Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro will not return for Game 5, having not recovered from the groin strain that also kept him out of Game 4.

With each side missing one of their key players, the Celtics were buoyed by the performance of backup point guard Derrick White, who posted a handy stat-line of 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals in his first start since missing Game 2 for the birth of his child.

White’s performance – especially on the defensive end – will likely cement his position in the rotation above fellow bench guard Payton Pritchard as Smart returns to the equation.

On the other side, it was Victor Oladipo shining off the bench as he tried to fill Herro’s shoes, with the former All-Star scoring 18 of the Heat’s first 28 points in Game 4, going on to finish with 23 points, six assists and four rebounds. 

He also had a plus/minus of plus four from his 30 minutes, meaning the Celtics won the 18 minutes he was off the floor by 24 points.

Game 6 will head back to Boston on Friday, before a potential Game 7 back in Miami, if required.

The Boston Celtics claimed critical home-court advantage and a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, earning a gritty 93-80 Game 5 win against the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

In all four quarters the Celtics held the Heat to 23 points or fewer, but the offensive side of the ball was also far from clicking early on.

The Heat led 19-17 at quarter-time and after winning the second frame 23-20, they held an incredibly low-scoring 42-37 lead at the long break.

In the first half, both teams shot under 39 per cent from the field and 26 per cent from three-point range, but the Heat were winning the physical battle on the boards, pulling in nine offensive rebounds to just two for the Celtics.

The two teams also combined for just six fast-break points in the first half, illustrating the slow, grinding pace of play as both defences locked in, forcing better ball and man movement.

Back in Game 1, also in Miami, the Heat who came out of the locker room for the third quarter and went on a rampage to swing that game, but this time the shoe was on the other foot.

The Celtics doubled up the Heat in the third period, winning it 32-16 as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford found rhythm on the offensive end.

Boston led 69-58 after three quarters, and extended that lead to 23 points in the opening minutes of the final frame, as Brown knocked down three big triples.

After a first half where he was the subject of plenty of criticism for his loose ball handling – with four first-half turnovers – Brown made the difference after half-time, finishing with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting and five-of-nine from long range. He also had no turnovers in the second half, and the biggest dunk of the game.

Jayson Tatum was also at his playmaking best, with 22 points on a mediocre seven-of-20 shooting, but he added 12 rebounds and nine assists, consistently creating opportunities for shooters off the dribble and showing advanced ability to make reads as play unfolded.

The real story of the Celtics’ success was their ability to take away the three-point line for the Heat, though.

With Jimmy Butler’s jump shots not falling – finishing with 13 points on four-of-18 shooting – Miami simply had no avenue to reliable outside scoring.

The Celtics’ ability to chase hard over the top of screens and dribble hand-offs made life miserable for Max Strus and Duncan Robinson, taking away their catch-and-shoot opportunities and turning them into dribblers, far outside their comfort zones. 

Strus finished zero-of-nine from the field, missing all seven of his three-point attempts, while Robinson was four-of-12, including three-of-10 from long range. As a team, the Heat were just seven-of-45 (15 per cent) from beyond the arc.

Instead, the Celtics dared the Heat to beat them inside, banking on the stoutness of their terrific interior defensive duo of Horford and Robert Williams III. That pairing combined for 17 rebounds, five blocks, two steals and just one foul.

Game 6 will head back to Boston, meaning the first-seeded Heat need to win on the road to save their season and force a Game 7.

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown insisted his side will continue to win games with their defense after defeating the Miami Heat 93-80 on Wednesday.

The Celtics recovered from a disappointing first half to take a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, setting up a chance to clinch the series and an NBA Finals berth on their home floor.

Boston scored only 37 points in the first half, shooting 25 per cent from beyond the three-point arc, but only trailed by five points at the main interval.

Brown asserted that their defence is critical in limiting the damage when they are not clicking on the offensive end, keeping the team in games.

“Our defence is key,” he said after the win. “Every night we come out and hang our hat on that side of the ball. It was great to have, even in a limited role, Marcus [Smart] and Rob [Williams III], to be able to be out there, because their presence on that side of the ball is felt.

“Every night we give ourselves a chance with our defence. We didn’t play great in the first half but we only gave up 42 points. Kept us in the game, we were down five, got settled in the second half and the game opened up and it was over from there.

“Our defence is what continues to win us games and we’ve got to keep hanging our hat on that defensive side of the ball.”

In what has been a primarily defensive series, Game 5 was no different, with Miami generating a great amount of offensive impact from their defensive stops.

Brown was a prominent figure in that regard, coughing up four of Boston’s 10 turnovers for the half as the team shot 38.2 per cent from the floor.

The 25-year-old took over in the second half, however, not turning the ball over once while scoring 19 points off eight-of-12 shooting.

Post-game, he said there was little variation in approach, despite a dressing down in the first half from Celtics coach Ime Udoka.

“We knew if we took care of the basketball, we would get some open opportunities and knock them down,” Brown said. “Just continue to play basketball and be aggressive, that’s why basketball is 48 minutes.

“I think he [Udoka] was talking to the whole team. I wasn’t the only person to have some turnovers but it is what it is. I’m going to keep being aggressive, keep getting into the paint and making them stop me.

“Miami do a really good job of slapping down, reaching and grabbing and making it tough for you, so it’s a little bit of both. I’ve got to do a better job for sure, but overall as a team, we’ve got to do a better job too.”

Jimmy Butler is confident the Miami Heat can turn things around after falling 3-2 behind to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Miami must now win back-to-back games after slumping to a 93-80 loss on Wednesday, despite having taken a 42-37 half-time lead.

Boston can seal the series on home court on Friday, but Butler is determined to take it to a Game 7 decider on Sunday.

“Besides the fact that anything is possible, we know what we are capable of,” he said.

“We know we can play some really good basketball, and we know that we are going to play some really good basketball.

“It’s going to have to start in this next game up in Boston. But I just think that we know that we can win.”

Butler left Game 3 early with a knee problem and has since been 7-of-32 from the field in consecutive losses.

However, he was in no mood to make excuses for his poor showing.

“It doesn’t matter; if I’m out there, I’ve got to do better,” he said. “I’ve got to find a way to help us win, and I haven’t been doing that.

“I’m fine. My knee is okay. I’ve just got to do better. It’s no excuse.”

Team-mate Kyle Lowry struck a similarly defiant tone as he sought to issue a rallying call ahead of a crunch clash in Boston.

“We have to continue to just keep working,” Lowry said.

“It’s the first to four, so we have to go into a hostile environment, and it will be amped up, but I like what our team can do.

“I like the opportunity that we have, and we’ve got to go in there and fight.”

Zion Williamson has been cleared to return to play without any restrictions.

The New Orleans Pelicans star did not play a single game this season due to a foot fracture as his team reached the playoffs through the play-in tournament, before losing 4-2 to the Phoenix Suns in the first round.

Williamson has been troubled by fitness issues throughout his NBA career, and the former first overall pick returned to full team activities in late November, only to suffer further setbacks.

However, the Pelicans confirmed on Thursday that the 21-year-old is finally able to return without restrictions, saying via a statement: “The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that recent imaging of Zion Williamson’s right fifth metatarsal showed continued improvement.

“Williamson has been cleared in his return to play progression without any restrictions.”

In the 2020-21 season, Williamson averaged 27.0 points and 7.2 rebounds from 61 games, and scored more than 20 in each of his last 15 games before getting injured just over a year ago.

Williamson is eligible for a five-year, $181million max rookie extension ahead of the 2022-23 season, and he will not think twice if that offer comes from the Pelicans, recently saying: “Of course, I couldn’t sign it fast enough.”

The Golden State Warriors progressed to their sixth NBA Finals appearance since 2015, defeating the Dallas Mavericks 120-110 on Thursday for a 4-1 series victory.

The Warriors moved to a 21-2 playoff-series record since Steve Kerr took over as coach in 2014, only losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors in respective finals.

Klay Thompson came up big for the Warriors, shooting an even 50 per cent from beyond the arc for a team-high 32 points.

Kevon Looney was again a critical figure for the Dubs, finishing with a double-double of 10 points and 18 rebounds including seven on the offensive glass.

His effort on the glass directly contributed to the Warriors’ 17 second-chance points while he gave the team defensive flexibility and freedom to switch.

The Mavericks started Game 5 in disappointing fashion, with Luka Doncic held to six points on two-of-12 shooting while committing four turnovers.

The 23-year-old took over as the Mavs mounted a brave fightback, though, scoring 15 points in the third quarter and getting the margin back to single-digits.

Stephen Curry suffered an early injury scare, rolling his ankle in the first quarter when attempting to trap Dorian Finney-Smith. After icing the ankle, Curry returned to finish with 11 points on five-of-17 shooting from the floor and nine assists over 35 minutes.

Averaging 26 points, 7.5 rebounds and seven assists while shooting 47.1 per cent from beyond the arc coming into Game 5, Curry was the first recipient of the award for Western Conference Finals MVP.

The Warriors will face the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals series between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr lauded an “incredible” Stephen Curry after his side progressed to a sixth NBA Finals appearance since 2015 on Thursday.

Curry claimed the first Western Conference Finals MVP award as the Dubs defeated the Dallas Mavericks 120-110 in Game 5, claiming a 4-1 series win.

The former unanimous MVP suffered an early injury scare, tweaking his right ankle in an attempt to trap Dorian Finney-Smith in the first quarter. After sitting out the early exchanges of the second quarter, Curry finished with 15 points on a relatively poor five-of-17 shooting for his standards, along with nine assists and two steals.

According to Kerr however, the 34-year-old’s stamina and mere presence gets the Warriors going, while his effort on the defensive side of the ball deserves respect.

“He’s our engine, offensively. Everything revolves around him,” Kerr said after the win. “We’ve got a lot fo great players around him and guys who fit well together but it all starts with Steph.

“He just creates so much havoc for the defence that even on a night like tonight where he doesn’t shoot the ball that well, he forces rotations and he frees up other players. His defence all year has been totally underrated.

“He’s as strong as he’s ever been. Conditioning-wise, just to play 35 minutes tonight, fighting over screen after screen after screen and then at the other end, be on the ball and get people open. Steph’s incredible.”

The Warriors moved to a 21-2 playoff series record under Kerr’s tenure with the win over the Mavericks, after missing the playoffs in the previous two seasons.

After seeing through the long-term injuries to Curry and Klay Thompson over that two-year hiatus, Kerr believes his team started to find rhythm at the end of last term, ending with a 15-5 record over the final 20 games of the regular season.

“These last couple of years have been difficult with the injuries – worst record in the league two years ago,” Kerr said post-game. “Last year it felt like we spent the year trying to get back on track and I think we did at the end of the season.

“It’s pretty amazing. It’s so difficult to get to the finals. An NBA season is such a marathon, to get through the 82 [regular-season games], then three rounds of the playoffs, beating the best teams in the league to get there, frankly, it’s exhausting.

“For our team, our guys, especially the core group…to be part of that six times in eight years, I don’t even know what to say. It just takes an enormous amount of skill and determination and work and I couldn’t be prouder of our guys.”

Luka Doncic said he “played terrible” but expressed his pride at the Dallas Mavericks’ season on the whole after they were eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors booked their berth in the NBA Finals with a 120-110 win in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday – Klay Thompson contributing a game-high 32 points.

Doncic had 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists, but it was far from a vintage performance from the Mavs’ talisman.

He was only 10-of-28 shooting from the floor, including making just three-of-13 three-pointers, while in the first half alone he was just two-of-12 and had three turnovers.

“I don’t like losing, especially like this. I played terrible,” Doncic said.

Despite his struggles on the night, it marked the 10th time during this season’s playoffs that Doncic had topped the stats sheets in points, rebounds and assists for the Mavs. That marked a new record for the most during a single postseason, with LeBron James holding the previous benchmark in 2013.

“If we talk about our season, I’m really proud of this team. Everybody, every player, every staff member,” said Doncic, who averaged 31.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists in the playoffs.

“Nobody had us here. But I promise we fought until the end. Congratulations to the Warriors. They were obviously the better team. But I’m really proud of this team.”

Asked what the Mavs need to do to progress to becoming a championship team, Doncic was unequivocal in his reply.

“I think defense has got to be way better for me,” he said. 

“Honestly, I think I made a huge step this year defensively, but there’s so much room for improvement. I’ve got to be way better there.

“I think that’s one spot that can take us to the next level.”

The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their new head coach after he was brought in for a formal interview for the position on Thursday.

Ham, who will become a head coach in the NBA for the first time, was chosen ahead of former NBA head coaches Terry Stotts – who spent nine season in charge of the Portland Trail Blazers – and Kenny Atkinson, who oversaw the rebuild of the Brooklyn Nets before the arrival of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Before becoming a coach, Ham played 417 games across eight seasons in his NBA career, and earned his first assistant role in the league with the Lakers back in 2011.

After two seasons with the Lakers, Ham moved on to the Atlanta Hawks, where alongside head coach Mike Budenholzer he helped them become the top seed in the Eastern Conference in 2014-15, despite their top-scorer being Paul Millsap at 16.7 points per game.

When Budenholzer was fired in 2017 and took the head role with the Bucks, Ham followed, and was a key member in the staff that won the 2021 NBA Championship.

Long-considered a head-coach-in-waiting, Ham was viewed as a front-runner for the vacancies with the Washington Wizards and the Sacramento Kings before ultimately being passed on, leaving him as the man tasked with mounting another championship run while LeBron James remains near the top of his game.

James tweeted his excitement about the hiring, saying: “So damn EXCITED!!!!!!!! Congrats and welcome coach DHam!!”

Ham will also be only the third African American coach to enter an NBA season as head coach of the Lakers, after Mike Brown did so in 2011-12 – getting fired after five games – and Byron Scott in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Jimmy Butler played the game of his life to lift the Miami Heat to a 111-103 win away from home against the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday.

The win keeps the Heat’s season alive, tying the series at 3-3, with Game 7 heading back to Miami on Sunday.

Butler had complete control of the game throughout, scoring 21 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and dishing six assists – and that was just in the first half, single-handedly carrying the Heat to a 48-46 lead at the long break.

He went on to finish with a playoff career high of 47 points on 16-of-29 shooting (four-of-eight from three, 11-of-11 free throws) with nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals – scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter – as he played 46 minutes, including the entire second half.

Butler was the driving force for the Heat, but they shot the ball well as a team, hitting 15-of-35 three-pointers (42 per cent) as Kyle Lowry and Max Strus hit big shots when they were needed, combining for seven made threes.

Lowry, after a combined 14 points and eight assists in the three contests prior to Game 6 he was healthy for, scored 18 points (five-of-14 from the field, four-of-nine from deep) and dished 10 assists, while Max Strus hit three-of-eight from long range for his 12 points.

Jayson Tatum finished with a strong stat-line, scoring 30 points with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, but he had seven turnovers, only attempted 12 field goals (nine-of-12), and only scored one field goal in the fourth quarter when the Celtics were desperate for their superstar to impose his will.

Derrick White was arguably the Celtics’ best performer, scoring 22 points (seven-of-14 shooting, four-of-seven from three) with five assists and three steals off the bench, while Jaylen Brown was also solid, scoring 20 (six-of-13 shooting) with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Ultimately, it will be remembered as Butler’s greatest performance, attempting more field goals than Brown and Tatum combined, while having the best defense in the NBA entirely focused on him, and delivering efficiently from all areas while the lights shined their brightest.

With his Game 6 showing, he became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1988 to have multiple games in a playoff series with at least 40 points and four steals.