Kawhi Leonard, Raptors outlast Warriors in thrilling OT win

TORONTO — Not even a dominant Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors could slow down the red-hot Toronto Raptors.

Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 37 points, Pascal Siakam added a career-high 26 and the Raptors overcame a 51-point performance from Durant to beat the Warriors 131-128 in overtime on Thursday night, extending their winning streak to seven.


“We were able to make shots, we were able to get some stops in overtime,” Leonard said. “It’s a building block for us, and I’m happy we got the win.”

Kyle Lowry had 10 points and 12 assists, Serge Ibaka scored 20 points and Danny Green had 13 as the Raptors snapped an eight-game losing streak against Golden State and won a contest billed as a potential NBA Finals preview.

“What a game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “An incredible basketball game for the fans to watch. We came up just short.”

Toronto improved its league-leading record to 19-4.

Durant scored 40 or more in three straight for the first time, finishing with his highest total of the season. He also had 11 rebounds and six assists.

“Tonight we were down early, we were down big and I just tried to be aggressive and go get a bucket,” Durant said.

Klay Thompson scored 23 points and Jonas Jerebko had 16 of his 20 in the fourth quarter and overtime, but Golden State had its three-game winning streak snapped and lost to Toronto for the first time since March 2014.

Lowry’s 3-pointer with 55 seconds to go in the fourth quarter put the Raptors up 119-113 but Durant replied with back-to-back 3s of his own, including a game-tying shot with 8.6 seconds left.

“When he’s feeling it, there’s not a whole lot the defense can do,” Kerr said.

Leonard drove and kicked to Ibaka on the final possession, but the Raptors big man couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer.

Green hit a tiebreaking 3 with 2:07 left in the extra session, and Toronto added to its lead when Lowry stole the ball from Andre Iguodala, leading to a pair of free throws by Siakam.

Jerebko’s dunk cut the gap to three but Toronto caught another break when Iguodala was called for travelling. Siakam was fouled and made one, with Leonard grabbing the rebound on the missed second shot. Siakam was fouled again, and capped it with another pair from the line.

“His confidence is very high,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Siakam. “It just keeps inching along.”

The short-handed Warriors were without star guard Stephen Curry, who sat for the 11th straight game because of a strained left groin. Curry is expected to return Saturday at Detroit.

“Obviously we’ve been looking forward to getting him back but I’m proud of the way the guys have fought without him,” Kerr said. “Hopefully Draymond (Green) won’t be too far behind him.”

Green (sprained right toe) and fellow forward Alfonzo McKinnie (sore left foot) both sat for the seventh straight game. Green hopes to be back around the end of the current road trip.

Leonard connected on his first six shots and scored 13 points in the first quarter. Siakam added 10 for the Raptors, who were up by 18 points in the first and led 38-25 after one.

“They did a really good job of throwing that first punch,” Iguodala said.

Thompson scored nine points in the second and Durant added eight as Golden State cut the deficit to 67-58 at the half.

Durant capped an 18-point third quarter with a 32-foot pull-up 3, the final basket in a personal 13-point streak.

TIP-INS

Warriors: Golden State has lost five straight on the road. … Kevon Looney matched a season high with 10 rebounds. … This five-game trip matches Golden State’s longest of their season.

Raptors: Toronto shot 16 for 22 in the first, going 6 of 10 from 3-point range. The Raptors were just 1 of 7 from beyond the arc in the second. … Leonard scored 22 points in the first two quarters, a season high for any half. … Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock sat courtside.

LIFE BEGINS AT 50

Durant reached 50 points for the sixth time in his career and second time with the Warriors.

DRESSED TO THRILL

Nurse wore a bright blue sports coat on the sidelines in a tribute to late sportscaster Craig Sager, but had shed it by the time he came to the podium afterward.

“The rental expired,” Nurse joked.

Kerr, who dressed more conservatively, said Nurse “definitely nailed” his colorful coat.

“I’m always thinking about Craig, especially when we have TNT games,” Kerr said. “I worked with him for eight years. He’s just such a part of the history of this game and a good friend, and we miss him.”

UP NEXT

Warriors: Visit Detroit on Saturday.

Raptors: Visit Cleveland on Saturday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

With no Leonard, Lowry lifts Raptors over Wizards

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking over with Kawhi Leonard getting a night off, Kyle Lowry delivered 28 points and 12 assists Saturday night to help the Toronto Raptors improve to 3-0 with a 117-113 victory over the Washington Wizards.

The Raptors rested Leonard on the second half of a back-to-back and third game in four days to open the season.


Washington finished the game without ejected coach Scott Brooks. Bradley Beal scored 32 points, going 6 for 11 on 3s, and John Wall added 25 points and six assists for the Wizards, who are 0-2, with both games at home.

Beal broke Washington’s franchise record for most 3-pointers in a career, surpassing Gilbert Arenas’ previous mark of 868 by making his 869th with a little more than 4½ minutes left in the game. Less than a minute later, he made another 3, cutting Washington’s deficit to 106-101, then skipping down the court.

Moments after that, Beal was called for charging, and at the other end, Lowry sank a 3-pointer while falling into the lap of a front-row spectator. That put Toronto back ahead 109-101 with 3 minutes remaining.

Two more baskets by Lowry followed, and Fred VanVleet added a jumper that made it 115-11 with 14.6 seconds to go.

Brooks was sent to the locker room after a contentious sequence with about seven minutes to go.

Moments after Beal argued a call while on defense, he got incensed when he thought Toronto should have been whistled for a foul when Wall tumbled to the court on a drive to the basket. There was no call, though — except a technical foul on Beal.

Then Wall and Brooks got into it with the officials, resulting in Brooks’ ejection. Lowry made two free throws to boost the Raptors’ edge to 102-89.

This was a rematch from the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last season, when the Raptors were seeded No. 1 and eliminated the No. 8 Wizards in six games.

While Washington largely relies on the same core of players, it so far has not been able to suit up its most significant offseason acquisition, center Dwight Howard, who missed all of training camp and the preseason and has sat out the team’s first two games with a sore backside. Ian Mahinmi started at center and did not exactly distinguish himself, shooting 0 for 3 and accumulating more personal fouls (four) than points (two).

The Raptors, meanwhile, were without Leonard, who helped Toronto start 2-0 by averaging 27.5 points and 11 rebounds in his first two games with the club after arriving in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs. But he only played in nine games for San Antonio in 2017-18, missing most because of a quadriceps injury, and so coach Nick Nurse said it was best for his team’s top player to rest during Toronto’s third contest in four nights to open this season.

OG Anunoby started in place of Leonard and contributed 12 points — all in the first half.

TIP-INS

Raptors: Never trailed by more than five points. … Now 15-4 against the Wizards over the last five years. … Toronto has six pairs of back-to-backs this season, one fewer than a year ago, when it went 9-5 in those games.

Wizards: After not taking a single 3-point shot in Game 1 despite being under orders to let it fly from beyond the arc this season, Otto Porter Jr. hoisted three attempts in the first four minutes Saturday. He went 0 for 3 on those, but wound up 2 for 7 on 3s. … Brooks said he didn’t speak to his team at all about having lost its playoff series against Toronto last season. “I have not mentioned it one time to the guys,” Brooks said. “What does it really mean? I don’t know.”


Raptors: Host Charlotte on Monday.

Wizards: At Portland on Monday, opening a five-game road trip against Western Conference teams.

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA: Durant powers Warriors past slumping Spurs

LOS ANGELES, United States — Kevin Durant scored 19 of his 33 points in the third quarter Saturday as the Golden State Warriors took a stranglehold lead in the NBA Western Conference finals with a 120-108 blowout of San Antonio.

The Warriors now lead the Spurs 3-0 in the best-of-seven series with game four set for Monday in San Antonio.

No NBA team has ever come back to win a series after losing the first three games.

The host Spurs trailed by nine points at the half and came within 69-65 two minutes into the third quarter before Golden State seized command with another incredible scoring performance.

This was the Spurs’ chance to claw their way back into the series, but by the middle of the fourth quarter they appeared spent.

San Antonio players began settling for shots early in possessions and missed the majority of them as the Warriors compiled an 18-point lead in front of 18,700 mostly supportive spectators.

The Spurs’ hopes were severely damaged earlier Saturday when the team announced that star forward Kawhi Leonard would not play in game three because of his sprained left ankle.

Leonard originally injured it in game five of the second round against Houston and reinjured it in the series opener against the Warriors.

Stephen Curry added 21 points for the Warriors, who are now a perfect 11-0 in the post-season to match the best start in NBA playoff history. They have won 26 of their past 27 games.  CBB

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors trounce Spurs minus Leonard for 2-0 series lead

OAKLAND, California — Stephen Curry had 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in three quarters and the Golden State Warriors trounced on the Spurs missing Kawhi Leonard, running away from San Antonio for a 136-100 rout Tuesday and 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Kevin Durant added 16 points and Draymond Green provided another strong all-around performance with 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks. Rookie Patrick McCaw had 18 points and five assists off the bench shooting 6 for 8 as Golden State earned its most lopsided victory of the playoffs to go to 10-0.

Jonathon Simmons scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half as the lone bright spot for the short-handed Spurs.

Leonard re-injured his left ankle in Sunday’s 113-111 Game 1 loss after coming down on Zaza Pachulia’s foot. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on Monday called out the Warriors starting center for the “dangerous” and “unsportsmanlike” closeout — which had Pachulia insisting he is not a dirty player, was only playing hard, and felt badly that the All-Star forward was injured.

Game 3 in the best-of-seven series is Saturday in San Antonio.

Pachulia left the game injured for a Warriors team already without key reserve forward Andre Iguodala, held out because of soreness in his left knee that limited him to 10 minutes in Game 1.

Pachulia didn’t come out for the second half because of a bruised right heel. He was scheduled for an X-ray. The big man played nearly 7 minutes but sat the entire second quarter before Matt Barnes took his place.

Golden State quickly established its pass-happy, up-tempo style to take the Spurs out from the opening tip. It was a drastic difference from a game of catch-up two days earlier when the Warriors rallied from 25 down and a 20-point halftime deficit.

Klay Thompson, still struggling to find his steady shooting touch, had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. The Warriors had 39 assists — the most by any team this postseason — including 30 on their initial 38 baskets.

Shaun Livingston scored in double figures for the first time this postseason with 10 points for Golden State.

Simmons started in Leonard’s place and made 6 of 9 shots to begin the game while the rest of the Spurs were 3 for 22.

The Warriors began 10 for 16 as Curry hit three quick 3s and Green added two more for a 25-12 lead late in the first and 33-16 advantage after one quarter.

LEONARD STATUS

Popovich wasn’t about to guess whether Leonard would return in time for Saturday’s game, saying it could be Friday or even game day before that would be determined.

“I have no idea. Just depends on how the ankle heals,” Popovich said. “I’d probably list him as questionable. But the thing that worries me is that he did it again, the exact same thing. So one would logically think maybe it will take longer, but I’m hoping that’s not true and we’ll have him for Game 3. But I don’t know. I don’t think we’re going to know until Friday and Saturday, probably.”

Popovich said before the game Leonard was back at the hotel “ordering dinner.”

TIP-INS

Spurs: The Spurs had another 23 offensive rebounds after 14 in Game 1. … Patty Mills, playing in place of the injured Tony Parker, had another quiet night. After he went 1 for 8 and missed all six of his 3s in the first game, he finally hit from long range midway through the second Tuesday.

Warriors: Coach Steve Kerr attended his second game this series but again watched behind the scenes as he recovers from a May 5 procedure at Duke University to repair a spinal fluid leak. … Golden State’s 23 first-half assists were its most ever in a playoff half, topping 22 against Phoenix on May 4, 1994. The Warriors notched their fourth 30-assist game this postseason. … Curry extended his NBA record by hitting at least one 3 in his 68th straight postseason game, every one he has played.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors rally to take Game 1 as Spurs lose Leonard

OAKLAND, California— Stephen Curry scored 40 points and hit a tying 3-pointer with 1:48 remaining as the Golden State Warriors rallied from way down after Kawhi Leonard was lost to an ankle injury to beat the San Antonio Spurs 113-111 on Sunday (Monday, Manila) in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference finals.

Draymond Green gave Golden State the lead for good on a three-point play after the Warriors trailed by as many as 25 points.

Leonard left in the third quarter after he re-injured his left ankle and the Warriors capitalized with an 18-0 run.

Kevin Durant scored 10 straight points during a key fourth-quarter stretch on the way to 34 points, while Zaza Pachulia had 11 points and nine rebounds.

Leonard had 26 points and eight rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge delivered another clutch playoff performance with 28 points and eight boards.

Somehow, these unusually careless, cold-shooting Warriors found a way to keep their unblemished postseason record alive at 9-0.

Game 2 in the series is Tuesday night (Wednesday, Manila) back at Oracle Arena.

Curry scored 19 points in the third quarter and went 7 for 16 on 3s and 14 of 26 overall.

Leonard first went down after stepping on a teammate’s foot along the bench after taking a shot. Pachulia later slid into him as he came down from shooting and Leonard fell into the Spurs bench, grabbing his ankle.

Losing Leonard could be a story of this series. He shot 7 of 13 in 23 minutes to go with eight rebounds and three assists. He made all 11 of his free throws.

He sat out Game 6 of the last round against Houston, a 39-point, series-clinching win on Thursday, after injuring the ankle in a Game 5 overtime victory.

Durant has repeatedly spoken of elevating his game when it matters most — and he did it at the very moment the Warriors needed a huge lift on their home floor.

His 3-pointer with 7:53 to play got Golden State within 94-88, then he drove to his left and right by Kyle Anderson for an emphatic one-handed slam the next possession to ignite a deafening sellout crowd. Durant hit another 3 at the 6:10 mark and a jumper the next time down before Shaun Livingston’s driving dunk.

Gregg Popovich lost to good friend and old pupil Mike Brown, filling in as Warriors acting coach for the ailing Steve Kerr — who played for Popovich.

Yet for much of the afternoon, the Spurs outplayed the Warriors on both ends of the floor. They crashed the offensive glass as they so like to do — something Golden State stressed all week — going right at defenders in the paint and forcing the Warriors into tough shots. Even the open looks weren’t falling.

The Warriors missed their initial five 3-point tries before Curry hit 5:05 before halftime to ignite a stunned-into-silence sellout crowd as Golden State got within 46-32.

The next sequence the Spurs managed three offensive rebounds before scoring.

San Antonio had six steals among the Warriors’ initial nine turnovers and Golden State wasn’t getting the kind of easy shots it was used to going almost untested the first two rounds.

Even when the Warriors did things right the Spurs answered.

Kerr watched the game from behind the scenes in the arena a day after returning to the practice floor for the first time in more than three weeks.

“He’s gone through hell,” Popovich said pregame. “I’m sure most people don’t really know, and I’ll leave that to him to describe as much as he wants to describe. But it’s been very difficult for him. He’s shown a lot of courage getting through what he’s gone through.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Spurs overcome Leonard injury, Harden to beat Rockets in OT for 3-2 lead

SAN ANTONIO — Danny Green scored seven of his 16 points in overtime, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame an injury to Kawhi Leonard to beat James Harden and the Houston Rockets 110-107 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their second-playoff series.

Leonard had 22 points and 15 rebounds in 38 minutes before exiting with an injured right ankle. Leonard stepped on Harden’s foot with 5:37 left in the third quarter and then played limited minutes before sitting out overtime.

Harden had 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He had a chance at potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds of OT, but was blocked from behind by Manu Ginobili.

Game 6 is Thursday in Houston.

Each team stalled at the start of the extra period. Patrick Beverley made a 3-pointer with 2 minutes remaining for the first points of the period, giving Houston a 104-101 lead.

Green made a go-ahead 3-pointer and converted a three-point play to make it 109-107 Spurs with 30.1 seconds left. He also made a foul shot down the stretch to help San Antonio hold on.

Two questionable plays closed regulation with the game tied at 101.

Harden was whistled for a charge after dribbling all but a few seconds off the shot clock before driving to the basket on Jonathon Simmons. The Spurs failed to take a shot on their final possession, with Patty Mills banking in a 3-pointer after the buzzer sounded.

Harden also played solid defense, helping hold Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge to 15-for-42 shooting as he rotated assignments in Houston’s smaller lineup. But he finished with nine turnovers.

With the Rockets leading 82-81, officials ruled a ball out of bounds on the Spurs that replays showed was actually off Harden. Beverley drained a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, prompting San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich to scream and point at official Derrick Stafford.

The play ignited what had been a rather listless San Antonio, leading to a 10-2 run bridging the third and fourth quarters for a 92-87 lead.

The Spurs tried to exploit a size advantage over the Rockets’ small lineup early, especially when Harden was guarding either Aldridge and Pau Gasol. The Spurs’ big men only managed 2-for-5 shooting in the opening three minutes, leading San Antonio to abandon the strategy midway through the first quarter and sub Simmons for Gasol.

Simmons responded by scoring 10 points on 5-for-13 shooting in 26 minutes.

TIP-INS

Rockets: Houston has lost four straight best-of-seven series when it was tied 2-2. The last time the Rockets won a series after being tied 2-2 was in the 1995 Western Conference finals when they beat the Spurs. . Nene is out for the remainder of the postseason after tearing his left adductor in Game 4. . The team that led at the half had won every game in the series until Game 5.

Spurs: Ginobili has 313 3-pointers in his postseason career, which is third in league history behind Ray Allen (385) and Reggie Miller (320). . Ginobili drove the lane for a one-handed dunk with 2 minutes left in the first half.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Leonard leads Spurs to 50th win

HOUSTON — Road-weary and eager to get home, the San Antonio Spurs spoke before Saturday night’s game about the importance of maintaining focus in the finale of their season-long road trip against the Houston Rockets.

They were able to do that, never trailing in a 104-94 win that let them tie the mark as the seventh-fastest team in NBA history to reach 50 wins.

Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 26 to give San Antonio a 7-1 record on their annual “Rodeo Road Trip” that coincides with the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo. They also extended their NBA record of straight 50-win seasons to 17.

“This game is always very mental because it’s the last game on the road and everybody can’t wait to get home,” Tony Parker said. “This was a great win. Everybody was very focused.”

It was the fifth straight win for the Spurs (50-9), who have a double-digit lead in the Southwest Division and the second-best record in the NBA behind Golden State.

The Spurs showed no signs of fatigue despite wrapping up the long road stretch as they never trailed and held a double-digit lead for most of the night.

“Our guys played well and stayed locked in the whole trip,” Aldridge said. “I think everybody was motivated to finish the trip off right.”

San Antonio led by 31 points in the second half, but Houston slowly chipped away at the lead. James Harden and Jason Terry both made a 3-pointer to power a 6-2 run that made it 94-83 with less than four minutes left.

The Spurs slowed Houston down after that by intentionally fouling Dwight Howard, and Leonard and Aldridge both added baskets to secure the victory.

Harden led the Rockets with 27 points, but shot just 10 for 25 from the field.

“We got our shots, we just didn’t knock them down,” Harden said. “We played with some aggressiveness in the second half, but it was a little bit too late.”

Houston used a big run at the end of the third quarter to whittle down the lead, and scored the first six points of the fourth to pull to 76-63. San Antonio got back on track after that, scoring the next six points to make it 82-63 with nine minutes left.

The Spurs were up by 20 at halftime and used an 11-2 run to open the second half and extend the lead to 62-33 with eight minutes left in the third quarter. Houston missed seven shots and had a turnover to help San Antonio pad the lead.

Aldridge made four straight points to extend San Antonio’s lead to a game-high 31 points with about five minutes left in the third quarter. Houston scored the next eight points to get the Rockets to 71-48.

David West made a basket for San Antonio after that before the Rockets wrapped up the quarter with a 9-3 run to cut the lead to 76-57 entering the fourth.

The Spurs were up by 15 at the end of the first quarter and used an 8-2 run to open the second and push their lead to 34-13.

Houston used a 9-2 spurt later in the second to pull to 38-27, but San Antonio outscored the Rockets 13-4 over the rest of the quarter to take a 51-31 lead into halftime.

TIP-INS

Spurs: San Antonio hasn’t played at home since Feb. 6. … Parker finished with 15 points. … Aldridge had 16 rebounds.

Rockets: C Clint Capela missed his second games in a row with a sprained right foot. … F Josh Smith started for the fourth straight game. … Trevor Ariza made two 3-pointers to extend his streak with at least one 3 to 29 games, the longest streak by a Rockets player since 39 in a row by Aaron Brooks in the 2009-10 season.

DUNCAN’S MILESTONES

Tim Duncan blocked a shot by Harden in the first quarter to make him the fifth player in NBA history to reach 3,000 blocks. He also had six rebounds on Saturday night to give him 14,971 in his career, passing Karl Malone (14,968) for sixth place in league history.

“Unbelievable career and 3,000 blocks, that’s a lot,” Parker said. “That’s a lot of great defense and Timmy’s been maybe one of the best defenders ever in the NBA.”

HE’S BACK

Houston forward Donatas Motiejunas, who has been sidelined by a back injury, returned for the first time since Dec. 31. Motiejunas, who rejoined the Rockets earlier this week when a trade to the Pistons involving multiple players was rescinded because of a failed physical by one of the players, had two points and a rebound.

source: sports.inquirer.net