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Pistons Host Celtics Looking For First Win: Preview, Live Radio & TV Stream

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After losing four straight games to start the season, the Detroit Pistons will host the Boston Celtics hoping to end what is now becoming an unwanted slide.

  • What: Boston Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons
  • Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
  • When and Time: Friday, 7 p.m. ET
  • Live Stream & TV Channels: Watch Fox Sports Detroit, NBC SPORTS BOSTON Listen 97.1 FM The Ticket/98.5 The Sports Hub
  • Watch on Amazon Fire TV, Firestick and get free trials from YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV, FuboTV, or Sling TV

Bad Start For Pistons

Detroit (0-4) saw its winless start to the season extended on Tuesday night after suffering a 116-106 defeat to the Golden State Warriors and played without veteran forward Blake Griffin.

Griffin has been ruled out again against the Celtics as he remains in the concussion protocol, while rookie guard Killian Hayes, who left the game in the defeat to Golden State with a sprained right ankle, remains questionable.

The Celtics (3-2) enter this matchup as an 8-point favorite and has a 76.6% chance to beat the Pistons, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

Boston comes into this contest on a two-game winning streak, following wins over the Indiana Pacers and the Memphis Grizzlies that snapped a two-game skid.

Jaylen Brown averages 28.0 points per game and is shooting 44.0% from 3-pointers (11 for 25) from five games. Fellow forward Jayson Tatum is averaging 23.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this term and is shooting 41.7% from 3s and making 15 of his 36 attempts from deep.

Marcus Smart is scoring 11.6 points and Tristan Thompson is contributing 10.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for Boston, which is still without guard Kemba Walker, who is out as he continues to nurse a troublesome left knee injury.

Detroit’s Defensive Struggles

Containing teams has been the main struggle thus far for Detroit, which is allowing 120.8 points per game and scoring just 111.5.

Jerami Grant leads the team with 22.8 points per game and 6.0 rebounds from the opening four games, while Griffin is averaging 16.3 points and 6.0 rebounds through three games.

Josh Jackson is scoring 17.3 points with 6.0 rebounds and experienced point guard Derrick Rose is putting out 14.3 points and 5.7 assists per game for the Pistons, who are off to their worst start since the 2012-13 season when they went 0-8 to kick things off.

Latest NBA Scores And Recap For Oct. 27

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PORTLAND, Sporting Alert – Blake Griffin grabbed a double-double and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 114-106 in NBA scores on Thursday night.

In Other NBA Scores

The Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs also collected wins on the third night of scheduled games.

Griffin had 27 points, 13 rebounds and three steals for the Clippers (1-0) to get their season off to a winning start, while Chris Paul added 27 points, five assists and five rebounds at the Moda Center.

Key reserve Jamal Crawford supported with 15 points and four steals and Marreese Speights knocked down two of his three 3-point attempts to end with 15 points, also off the bench for the Clippers, who led by as many as 15 points.

DeAndre Jordan grabbed 12 rebounds in the win.

Doc Rivers’ side contained Portland from behind the 3-point line, as the home side went just 4-of-18 from that range for 22 percent.

The Trail Blazers shot 68.4 percent on 13-of-19 shooting from long-range in the season opener win over the Jazz on Wednesday night.

”We just saw the clinic they put on at the 3-point line, so we just tried to make it tough on them and get them inside the line,” said Paul.

”When you shoot 40 percent on the road and you have the grit to still win the game, that was pretty cool,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.

The LA Clippers were only 8-of-29 from 3-pointers, but shot 40.7 percent as a team overall from the floor.

Rivers seems happy about that.

”When you shoot 40 percent on the road and you have the grit to still win the game, that was pretty cool,” the veteran coach said.

Damian Lillard led the Blazers (1-1) with 29 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes before fouling out with 19 seconds left in the game.

Lillard and Portland coach Terry Stotts were not too happy with some of the calls by the officials on Thursday night.

”I just think we grew frustrated with the way some things went,” Lillard said.

”When we’re in that situation we’ve probably got to do a better job of controlling what we can control.”

Stotts added: ”I won’t comment on the officiating, but obviously I didn’t like some of the calls.”

Maurice Harkless had 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go with eight rebounds, while Mason Plumlee, who got into a tussle with Jordan early in the game, ended with 17 points, eight boards and three blocks.

CJ McCollum scored 16 points for the Portland Trail Blazers in the defeat.

Leonard Leads The Spurs To A Win Again

Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs (2-0) rallied with a strong second half performance to beat the Sacramento Kings 102-94 on Thursday night.

Kawhi Leonard collected 30 points, five assists and five steals to lead the way for the Spurs, who got 16 points from LaMarcus Aldridge and 12 each from reserves Dewayne Dedmon and David Lee.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Leonard became the first NBA player to put up back-to-back 30-point and five-steal games since Eddie Jones achieved the feat for Miami in December 2002.

“I just tried to do something for us, lighting up our defense a little bit,” Leonard said.

“You see players play at an extremely high level on offense, but this guys does it on both ends,” Spurs’ Pau Gasol, who played 20 minutes and had seven points and six rebounds said.

“It’s hard to say where he’s more exceptional. He’s a very special player.”

DeMarcus Cousins led Sacramento (1-1) with 37 points and 16 rebounds in 37 minutes, while Rudy Gay had 17 points for the Kings, who have lost seven straight to the San Antonio Spurs.

In other NBA scores on Thursday night, Dwayne Wade scored 22 points in his Chicago debut and Jimmy Bulter had 24 points, seven rebounds and two steals for the Bulls to beat the Boston Celtics 105-99.

Paul Millsap scored 28 points and Dwight Howard grabbed 19 rebounds and the Atlanta Hawks secured a 114-99 victory over the Washington Wizards in the season opener for both teams.

NBA Scores and Stats
Thursday, October 27

Atlanta Hawks 114, Washington Wizards 99
Chicago Bulls 105, Boston Celtics 99
San Antonio Spurs 102, Sacramento Kings 94
Los Angeles Clippers 114, Portland Trail Blazers 106

NBA Scores, and Box Scores; Oklahoma City Wins: Oct. 28

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OKLAHOMA CITY, Sporting Alert – The NBA scores, results, recaps and box scores from the list of games that took place on Wednesday night, October 28.

THUNDER 112, SPURS 106

OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant connected for 55 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated Western Conference rivals San Antonio Spurs 112-106 to help coach Billy Donovan make a winning start to his NBA career with the club.

Westbrook collected 33 points and 10 assists and Durant added 22 points and six rebounds in the victory for Oklahoma City, which got 15 points and 16 rebounds off the bench from Enes Kanter.

Serge Ibaka finished with 10 points and five boards for the Thunder.

Kawhi Leonard scored a career-high 32 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the way for the San Antonio Spurs.

Making his NBA debut with San Antonio, LaMarcus Aldridge had 11 points and five rebounds and Manu Ginobili ended with 11 points as well in the defeat.

The only other San Antonio player to reach double-digits in scoring was Tony Parker, who had 10 points.

BULLS 115, NETS 100

NEW YORK — Jimmy Butler scored 24 points and played a team-high 34 minutes and the Chicago Bulls defeated the Brooklyn Nets 115-100 to pick up their second win in as many nights to open the NBA regular season.

Butler, who shot 9 of 11 from the floor, including 3 of 3 from three-pointers, also had six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Nikola Mirotic, who impressive against the Cavaliers on opening night on Tuesday, had 18 points and nine rebounds, while Pau Gasol bounced back from his weak start to the season to get his offense going after scoring 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds for the Bulls.

Derrick Rose had 15 points and Aaron Brooks added 12 off the bench for Chicago, which shot 53.8 percent from the field and 50.0 from three-pointers.

Brook Lopez was the top contributor for the Brooklyn Nets with 26 points and seven rebounds, with Andrea Bargnani adding 17 points and seven boards as well in the home side’s defeat.

Brooklyn was 0-9 from 3-point range on Wednesday night.

CLIPPERS 111, KINGS 104

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Blake Griffin scored 33 points and the Los Angeles Clippers held off a spirited late run by the Sacramento Kings to secure a 111-104 victory on Wednesday night.

Griffin, who was the main offensive threat for the Clippers, shot 14 of 20 from the floor, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists.

Chris Paul delivered a strong second half performance to end with a double-double of 18 points and 11 assists, while J.J. Redick chipped in with 15 points.

With Blake and Griffin on the bench, the Clippers blew a 15-point lead but the re-insertion of the pair helped to restore the lead, with veteran Paul Pierce hitting the go-ahead late jumper on his way to scoring 12 points.

DeMarcus Cousins delivered a strong performance of 32 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out of the game in the closing seconds for the Kings.

Cousins, who was 10 of 21 from the field, connected on 4 of his 5 three-pointers.

Rudy Gay scored 16 points, and former Clipper Darren Callison had 13 points and six assists in the defeat for Sacramento.

NBA SCORES AND COMPLETE BOX SCORES
Wednesday, October 28

THUNDER 112, SPURS 106
BULLS 115, NETS 100
HEAT 104, HORNETS 94
CAVALIERS 106, GRIZZLIES 76
KNICKS 122, BUCKS 97
TRAIL BLAZERS 112, PELICANS 94
CLIPPERS 111, KINGS 104
PISTONS 92, JAZZ 87
WIZARDS 88, MAGIC 87
TIMBERWOLVES 112, LA LAKERS 111
MAVERICKS 111, SUNS 95
NUGGETS 105, ROCKETS 85
RAPTORS 106, PACERS 99
CELTICS 112, 76ERS 95

Rockets’ Plan Backfired, Lose Big To Clippers; Down 3-1

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[wptab name=’Recap’]

NBA Playoffs
DeAndre Jordan of Clippers in Game 4.

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — The Los Angeles Clippers are one win away from making a franchise maiden conference finals after they beat the Rockets 128-95 in Game 4 of the Western Conference semi-finals on Sunday. Box score

DeAndre Jordan, who went to the free throw line 34 times for the game and a record 28 times for a half in the first half, finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds to lead the way for the Clippers, who took a 3-1 lead in the best of seven game series.

“I was just trying to make as many (free throws) as I could for our team, and on the other end just try to get us as many stops as I could in a row,” said Jordan.

“Every time that we’ve gotten the lead and went on a run, we were able to get stops and limit those guys to one shot and get out and run and do what we want to do, and we were able to convert.”

Blake Griffin had 21 points and eight rebounds for Los Angeles, which had six players scoring in double-digits.

“The best part about today’s game was how we responded after the half, came out and did such a great job of defending and getting out and getting easy buckets,” said Griffin.

J.J. Redick scored 18 points and Chris Paul added 15 points and 12 assists for the Clippers, who were 37-of-63 from the free throw line.

James Harden led the Rockets with 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, with Trevor Ariza finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Houston now knows they are on the brink of elimination.

“This is the ultimate adversity right now,” Harden said. “We’ve got Game 5 back at the house and it’s really win or go home.

“Our backs are against the wall, and we’ve got to show up.”

Dwight Howard fell in early foul trouble and it came back to haunt him as he played just 18 minutes before fouling out with seven points and six rebounds in the defeat for Houston.

Howard fouled out and then got a technical foul for an ejection with 9:52 left in the fourth quarter. The Clippers were already running away with the contest, being up 110-81 at the time of him departing.

Jason Terry ended with 16 points for the Rockets.

Clippers led the Rockets 60-54 at half time.

Meanwhile, Rockets coach Kevin McHale revealed that he decided to start the Hack-A-DJ madness early because Howard go in foul trouble early and they needed the slow the pace of the game down.

Game 5 in the series in Houston on Tuesday.

Reporting by Micah Disney, SportingAlert.
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LA Clippers v Rockets
Clippers v Rockets Game 4 coverage

DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin each have 12 points and the Clippers lead the Rockets 60-54 at half-time in Game 4 of the Western Conference semi-finals.

Jordan has been sent to the free throw line a staggering 28 times, which is an NBA record for a half. It erased Shaquille O’Neal’s previous mark of 27. O’Neal has also shot an NBA playoff record 39 free throws in 2000 against Indiana.

Chris Paul has eight points and six assists and Jamal Crawford also has eight points off the bench for the Clippers.

Trevor Ariza has 15 points seven rebounds, while Terrence Jones and James Harden each have 10 points for the Rockets.

Howard, who already has three fouls exits the contest in the second quarter with 8:19 left, having played just 7 minutes.

Early Second Quarter Run

First-Quarter Updates LA Clippers 30, Houston 33

Game 4 Clippers v Rockets
NBA Half-Time: Clippers v Rockets

Top Performers

Hou: J. Harden 10 Pts, 1 Reb, 1 Ast
LAC: C. Paul 5 Pts, 2 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl

Live TNT | TNT Overtime Live Stream
Line: LAC -6.5 Live GameCast and Live Box Score

Houston Rockets lead the Los Angeles Clippers 33-30 at the end of the first quarter in Game 4 of the Western Conference semi-finals.

Houston Rockets lead the Los Angeles Clippers 33-30 at the end of the first quarter in Game 4 of the Western Conference semi-finals.

Dwight Howard fell into early foul trouble after picking up a quick two, and was forced to sit on the bench midway through the opening 12-minutes.

James Harden hit both his three-pointers on his way to scoring 10 points for the Rockets. He went 3-of-3 from the floor in the opening stanza.

Trevor Ariza also has 10 points for the travelers.

DeAndre Jordan has nine points for the Clippers and has already gone to the free throw line 14 times.

He’s made seven of those for 50-percent. Both teams are showing over 56-percent from the floor and have 14 points each in the paint.

[/wptab]

[wptab name=’Preview’]

Chris Paul
Chris Paul to start again for Clippers: Twitter

HOUSTON (Sporting Alert) — Chris Paul will start again for the Clippers against the Rockets in their Western Conference battle, but  the guard is expected to have minutes restriction for Game 4.

Houston Rockets v Los Angeles Clippers
Game 4, 7:30 PM CT, May 10, 2015
Live TNT | TNT Overtime Live Stream
Line: LAC -6.5
Live GameCast and Live Box Score

Paul picked up a left hamstring injury in Game 7 of the San Antonio Spurs series and had to sit-out Game 1 and Game 2 of this current series with Houston.

He returned to score 12 points and seven assists in the 124-99 victory in Game 3, but was restricted to just 23 minutes.

“He actually felt better today,” head coach Doc Rivers said. “That was the best sign of the whole game.”

Paul confirmed that he is good to go.

“I’m cool, I’m good, I’ll be ready for tomorrow (today),” Paul said. “There’s no speculation, probable or questionable. I’m playing tomorrow.”

On Sunday, the All-Star point guard is set for another minutes limitation outing, which will allow Rivers to continue to use son, Austin Rivers, who saw 23 minutes off the bench in Game 3 and scored 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting.

Paul is averaging 21.4 points, 7.8 assists and 2.0 steals from eight games in this postseason.

“For me, it was about getting out there and trying to be that leader,” Paul noted. “I tried to pick my spots as well as possible, but we still played through Blake [Griffin] as we should.

“He’s been our MVP in this series and we’re going to keep playing through him like we do.”

J.J. Redick, who exploded for a season-high 31 points, Blake Griffin (22) and DeAndre Jordan, who added 15 rebounds in the win the last time out, are expected to play important roles again in Sunday night’s contest for the role team as well.

The LA Clippers shot an impressive 55.4 percent from the field, outscored the Rockets 23-19 on fast break points, as well as outrebounded the hosts 50-43 in Game 3.

James Harden and the Rockets will be desperate to even the series before heading back to Los Angeles for Game 5.

“We just let go of the rope and they piled on us,” Rockets coach Kevin McHalesaid. “We got rattled in that third quarter. Our team defense went to hell.”

Harden had 25 points and 11 assists in Game 3, but missed some crucial shots and had five turnovers in the defeat, as Houston shot 39.8 percent from the floor.
[/wptab]

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Cavs-Bulls, Rockets-Clippers Streaming: TNT Overtime

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HOUSTON (Sporting Alert) — The Los Angeles Clippers will be hoping star point Chris Paul will be available for Game 1 of the Western Conference semis against the Houston Rockets on Monday night.

Game Information

Check out Chicago Bulls v Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers v Houston Rockets live on television and online. TNT Network will broadcast both games starting at 6 pm CT with the Cavs-Bulls battle followed by the Clippers-Rockets matchup. Both games will also be streaming live on TNT Overtime.

Paul suffered a left hamstring strain during Game 7 of the first round series win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday and has been listed as questionable for the first game of the Rockets series.

The All-Star point guard, who played through the pain and scored 27 points, including the winning bucket against the Spurs, is desperate to take the court on Monday, but head coach Doc Rivers says he will not play if his hamstring remains a bother.

Paul was seen going through a light shootaround with the team during Monday’s session and Rivers will wait until game-time to make the call.

“He’s going to go through shootaround and we’ll figure it out afterwards,” Rivers said. “You have to be careful. If there’s any risk, he won’t play, I can tell you that right now. I just don’t know yet.”

Rivers says he will talk to Paul, who is averaging 19.1 points, 10.2 assists, 4.6 and 1.9 steals per game this season, to see how he feels before tip-off, but added that head Clippers athletic trainer Jasen Powell will be the one making the final call.

Chris Paul and James Harden: NBA Playoffs. ESPN Photo

“I’ll ask him (Paul) eventually but I’m really going through J.P.,” Rivers said, speaking about to Powell. “I really don’t like getting involved with that.

“I don’t ever want the player to feel the pressure of a coach. I swear they’ll tell you. They’ll tell you if they can play or if they can’t, that’s my theory, and the trainer will too and that’s the guy I listen to the most.”

He added: “With Chris, you’ll listen to the trainer more. Hamstrings are tricky injuries and the MRI came out very good but you still have to be very careful because those are things even if you feel good and you go out there and hurt and you’re out.

“You have to be careful with those.”

The Clippers will be looking to Blake Griffin again to provide the main punch in this series, following his impressive performances in the seven-game series against San Antonio Spurs. He had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double in the first round series in Game 7 on Saturday night.

But the Houston Rockets, who beat the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in their first round series, enter this game as the favourites to win the series and pundits expected James Harden to dominate again.

Harden, who average 27.4 points and 7.0 rebounds this season, ended the Mavericks series averaging 28.4 points, 7.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals.

Rivers also believes that big man Dwight Howard, if he gets going will cause his team major problems as he’s always difficult to defend.

An interesting note from the stats gurus at ESPN as revealed that “any time the Rockets have won a best-of-7 series in 5 games or fewer, they have at least reached the NBA Finals.”

The other game on the fixture for Monday night is the Eastern Conference semi-final battle between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau will be keeping a very close eye on a certain LeBron James and indeed Kyrie Irving, who averaged 23.3 points against the Celtics in his first playoff series.

In the four game series sweep over the Boston Celtics, James averaged 27.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks.

“The only thing you can do with him is try to make him work for his points,” Thibodeau said of James who is yet to lose to the Bulls in the playoffs. “You can’t really give him a steady diet of anything.

“You have to mix it up on him. The thing that makes him who he is he can beat you a lot of different ways. It’s not only his scoring. It’s his passing. He’s seen every type of defense there is.” He added: “Any team that has LeBron and Kyrie, you’re not short-handed.”

At the same time, the veteran coach will also know that his main-man Derrick Rose must also get into a groove early to help make things interesting for Cavs.

Rose, who had an up-and-down series against the Milwaukee Bucks in their first round campaign, is averaging 19 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.5 steals in this postseason heading into Monday night’s game.

He shot 38.1 percent from the field and averaged 4.4 turnovers per game and Thibodeau believes the 2011 regular season MVP needs more game time to get back into a consistent rhythm.

Besides Rose, Chicago will sport the likes of Pau Gasol, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy in its lineup.

The Cavs will be without All-Star power forward Kevin Love, who is expected to miss the rest of the postseason after he underwent shoulder surgery.

Shooting guard J.R. Smith will also miss Game 1 and 2 of the series as he was slapped with a two-game suspension for striking Boston’s Jae Crowder in the face during Game 4 series-clincher.

This opens the door for Iman Shumpert to move into the starting lineup for Smith.

Paul Plays Through Injury, Clippers End Spurs Playoff Run

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Chris Paul
Chris Paul after hitting the game-winner for the Clippers.

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — Blake Griffin collected a triple-double and Chris Paul battled through a hamstring injury to knock down the game-winning bucket for the LA Clippers to beat San Antonio 111-109 in Game 7 and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals.

Griffin finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the way for Clippers, as he collected his second triple-double in this first round series.

Paul, who strained his left hamstring early, finished with 27 points, including the winning basket off a banked in shot over Tim Duncan with one second left in the game to send Staples Center to its feet.

“The training staff did what they had to do to get me back out there,” said Paul, who returned from the locker room about seven minutes after he walked down the tunnel.

The All-Star point guard, who scored 18 of his tallied points in the second half, also dished out six assists and hit 5-of-6 from three-point range in the win, as Los Angeles outscored the defending champions 15-2 on fast break points.

Matt Barnes chipped in with 17 points, in addition to swatting-away a late Spurs inbound pass, Jamal Crawford supported with 16 off the bench and J.J. Redick added 14 for the Clippers, who will face the Houston Rockets in the conference semis.

Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin in action for the Los Angeles Clippers. Linked Phot

Tim Duncan paced the way for San Antonio with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Tony Parker added 20 points, Danny Green finished with 16 and Kawhi Leonard ended with 13 points and 10 boards in the defeat.

Both clubs, not wanting to be eliminated, traded blows throughout Game 7 as Los Angeles took a 57-55 lead into the interval.

It was business as usual again for the teams after the halftime break and it took another big shot from Paul to give the Clippers the lead at the end of the third quarter.

With time expiring, the point guard jogged up the court and then fired up a distant three-point attempt that shockingly banged off the back window and went in as the Clipper took a 79-78 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Clippers trailed 99-97 in the fourth quarter, but Redick and Griffin combined for the former to hit another three pointer to send his team up 100-99 with 4:24 left.

However, the never-say-die Spurs went on a 6-2 run to regain the lead at 105-102 with 2:47 left.

In the end, though, it came down to the last seconds of the game and it was the hobbling Paul, who delivered after scoring the Clippers’ last four points of the contest to seal the win on an emotional night for the home side, which shot 52.6 percent from the floor and went 14-of-27 from three-point range.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich congratulated Doc Rivers and the Clippers, adding that his team played its best.

“I just told them I was proud of them. I thought they laid it all on the line,”Popovich said.

“I’m sure there’s an exception, but usually in the past, when we’ve won a series, we’ve won it hands down, or if we got beat, we got beat pretty easily.

“This was a grind. It was a little bit different.”

Clippers v Spurs Game 7 Live on TNT Overtime

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LA Clippers
Blake Griffin in action for the LA Clippers

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — There is a massive fixture on Saturday night. No, it’s not that one. Not the boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

I am talking about the Western Conference first-round playoffs series Game 7 matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs at STAPLES Center.

“I think they need something to challenge the fight on Saturday, so why not our game,” Clippers point guard Chris Paul said after the win on Thursday night that tie up the series at 3-3.

The pivotal final game of the quarterfinals series is expected bring lots of excitement to the neutrals, but LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers believes it’s “ridiculous” that the NBA format would have two of the best teams in the West meeting in the first-round of the playoffs.

“It’s ridiculous that it’s a first-round series. That was the first thing Pop (Gregg Popovich) said to me before Game 1, and I said the same thing.,” Rivers said. “But we both decided, ‘What the hell, it is what it is.'”

The Spurs and Clippers both finished the regular season with impressive regular season records in the Western Conference, but divisional standings caused the two powerhouses to be drawn together as playoffs first-round opponents.

Rivers thinks this is a “joke.”

“I don’t think the division should carry weight,” Rivers noted. “You can get a banner. All right, you win your division.

“Take the banner. If our record is better, (a division title) shouldn’t supersede. That’s a joke.”

Live Streaming Coverage will be on TNT Overtime, starting at 7:00 PM CT. TNT Network will also have live television broadcast.

But there is nothing Rivers and Popovich can do about the matchup for this season and the two veteran coaches are focusing on earning the win that would book them a place in the conference semi-finals against the well rest Houston Rockets.

Down 3-2 and facing elimination in Game 6, Paul and Blake Griffin combined to help the Clippers to a 102-96 victory over the defending champions in San Antonio.

Griffin had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Paul brushed off his struggles in the first half where he went 0-of-7, to come alive in the second half to finish with 19 points and 15 assists as Los Angeles held off a late rally from the host side.

“In the second half, he (Paul) was just on the attack,” Rivers said of his point guard. “He was more aggressive.

“Somehow, I still have to get on him. It’s amazing because he’s a great player, but trying to convince him he’s a great scorer, especially in this series, has been difficult.”

San Antonio was the favourite among the leading bookmakers to closeout the series in Game 6 in midweek, but after failing to do so, Popovich had some harsh words for his group.

“Our execution at the offensive end was really poor,” Popovich said. “There’s no excuse for it. We should be embarrassed at the way we came out for a closeout game.”

Marco Belinelli was a key member in the Spurs’ rally in Game 6, finishing with a team-high 23 points and he can look forward to getting some extra minutes in the seventh game on Saturday night.

Interesting eyes will also be on Kawhi Leonard, who has struggled shooting from the field in the past two games of the series. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year who was 5-of-16 in Game 5, went just 3-of-15 in 40 minutes in Game 6.

At the other side, meanwhile, Griffin, who is averaging 24 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists, has been backed to be the star-man again for the Los Angeles Clippers, with the forward gaining the highest over/under attraction for points scored Saturday with O/U 25.0 (-110/-110), according to the Westgate LV Superbook.

Griffin, Paul Guide Clippers Past Spurs, Force Game 7

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Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin in action for the LA Clippers against the Spurs in Game 6. Linked Photo

SAN ANTONIO (Sporting Alert) — Blake Griffin tallied 26 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and four blocks and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the San Antonio Spurs 102-96 of Game 6 on their Western Conference first-round playoffs series on Thursday night.

“He’s our go to man,” All-Star point guard Chris Paul said about Blake in an interview on TNT after the forward played a huge part in forcing a decisive Game 7 at STAPLES Center.

Paul, recovered from an 0-7 start in the first half to finish with 19 points, 15 assists and four steals, while J.J. Redick added 19 points for the Clippers, who will host Game 7 on Saturday.

“I thought in the 1st half Chris’ shots were like afterthoughts but I stayed on him,he did a great job staying in the moment,” LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.

DeAndre Jordan finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in the win for Los Angeles.

Marco Belinelli led the way for the Spurs with 23 points after going 7-of-11 from three-point range.

Boris Diaw had 17 points and Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard each finished with 12 points, with the former also grabbing 13 boards in the defeat for San Antonio, which was limited to just two fast break points at the AT&T Center.

Leonard was just 3-of-15 from the field on Thursday night.

The Spurs started slowly, but raced back to even up the game at 26 apiece at the end of the first quarter.

The defending champions then jumped out to a 41-32 lead on a Belinelli three-pointer with 7:52 remaining in the second quarter.

However, the Clippers rallied with a 16-6 run to knot things up at 51-51 heading into the halftime break.

Blake Griffin
Clippers’ Blake Griffin shoots during Game 6

Both teams came out of the interval in search of points, but it was the Clippers, who found the early rhythm as Blake scored a quick six points in his team’s 12-5 run to open the second half.

The Spurs chipped their way back into the game and when Patty Mills knocked down a 25-foot three-point jumper to tie the game at 70-70 with 1:13 remaining in the third quarter, things began to look interesting.

But Paul scored four quick buckets and Glen Davis finished the quarter with a dunk for the Clippers to take a 76-72 lead heading into the final stanza.

The Western Conference powerhouses traded buckets for the most part in the fourth quarter before Belinelli connected on two late 3s to pull San Antonio within two points, at 98-96 before the Los Angeles Clippers held on down the stretch to secure the win and keep their hopes of making the conference semis alive.

Los Angeles, which shot 47.5 percent from the floor, was only 4-of-18 from three-pointers.

Rivers could be without Davis for Game 7 after he suffered an ankle injury in the closing stages of the third quarter and had to be wheeled away.

Meanwhile, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich labeled his team as “soft” after failing to close out the series.

“We should be embarrassed about the way we came out in a closeout game in every regard,” Popovich said.

TNT Overtime LA Clippers at San Antonio Game 6 Live

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SAN ANTONIO (Sporting Alert) — The San Antonio Spurs head into tonight’s Western Conference quarterfinals looking to close-out their series against the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6.

Los Angeles Clippers at San Antonio Spurs
Thurs, April 30 – 8:30 PM CT
Live on TNT Overtime and TNT Network

Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan and San Antonio look to close out series against LA Clippers. Photo: Zimbio.com

The Spurs took a step closer to booking a place in the conference semi-finals by beating the Clippers 111-107 at STAPLES Center on Tuesday night, with Tim Duncan, who played 39-minutes in the contest, leading the way with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds.

San Antonio’s bench was also vital in the win in Game 5 after outscoring the Los Angeles’ reserves 48-17, with Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, and Boris Diaw all reaching double figures in the victory.

After throwing away another opportunity to put the defending champions under pressure playing at home, the Clippers once again find themselves having to do things the hard way on the road.

Blake Griffin scored a series high 30 points in the defeat in Game 5 for the Los Angeles Clippers, but also committed five turnovers to take his tally for the series to 15, something head coach Doc Rivers isn’t too happy about.

The Clippers also went 1-of-14 from three-point range, with Jamal Crawford the main culprit after going 0-of-6 from long distance, while Matt Barnes, who was 2-of-5 overall from the field, was 1-of-4 from behind the arc.

Blake, who is averaging 23.8 points, 13.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game so far in the series, knows the visitors must play better if they want to force a Game 7.

Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin and LA Clippers in trouble?

“It’s tough to lose, but the series isn’t over,” Griffin told reporters after Game 5. “We’ve got to be ready to come and play.

“It’s going to be a hostile environment in San Antonio in a closeout game, elimination game, so we’ve got to be ready to go.”

Defeat for Rivers’ side in San Antonio on Thursday night with see his team’s ugly run in Game 5 and 6 continue.

Following the defeat on Tuesday night, the Clippers fell to 1-8 in Games 5 and 6 since they made a return to the playoffs in 2012.

Rivers, who was desperate for his team to take the lead on the road, feels the officials cost his club the win in Game 5.

“I thought we got some really tough calls tonight, some brutal calls,” the veteran coach said. “You think about the playoffs, and they’re single-possession games.”

He continued: “I don’t know, it’s just — listen, the refs are trying hard, too, but God darn.”

San Antonio starts the game as a 5.5 point home favorite, according to Pinnacle Sports and many pundits are also backing them to send the Clippers home and punish Rivers’ men for blowing two of the three home games in the series.

Milwaukee Bucks v Chicago Bulls
Milwaukee Bucks v Chicago Bulls: Game 6 Ready To Go

Also playing on Thursday night, the Chicago Bulls will try again to close out their Eastern Conference quarterfinals series against the Milwaukee Bucks, who have cut their 3-0 deficit to 3-2 in the seven game series.

The Bulls were expected to run all over the Bucks in the series, but now they are slightly thinking about the possibilities of playing in a Game 7.

“I don’t know if we were comfortable or confident or overlooking them,” Pau Gasol said after Game 5 defeat.

“I just think we didn’t play with enough sense of urgency and desire, which you have to do when you’re ready to close out a team when you have them in that position.

“We’re going to have to play the next game like it’s the last game, not think that if we lose this one, we still have a chance, that we can play at home in Game 7.

“That would be a terrible mistake.”

In Game 5, Michael Carter-Williams collected 22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds and Khris Middleton added 21 points and four steals in helping the Bucks avoided elimination for the second time with a 94-88 victory over the Bulls on Monday night at United Center.

Milwaukee, which held Chicago to 4-of-22 from three-point range, also kept the hosts to 34.4 percent from the field.

“I think they just played harder than we did on both ends of the floor,” said Jimmy Butler, who scored 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals in Game 5. “End of story.”

Watch LA Clippers vs Spurs Game 2 Live on TNT Overtime

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LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — The Los Angeles Clippers will try to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference quarter-finals series against the San Antonio Spurs when the sides meet in Game 2 on Wednesday night. Tickets Information 3505 available from $50 | Live Streaming is on TNT Overtime

LA Clippers v San Antonio in Game 2 Live TV Streams

Chris Paul scored 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Blake Griffin added 26 points and 12 boards for the Clippers, who took Game 1 by a score of 107-92 and looked very good doing so as well.

“The Clippers must do something this or head coach Doc Rivers must start to look at other pieces,” one LA fan said.

“There are a lot talents and a lot of hype surrounding this club at the moment and the team must go on a run.”

The Clippers shot 51.3 percent from the field in the first game, but more importantly held the defending champions Spurs to just 36.6 percent in that area — something the hosts would like to do again, come Wednesday night.

Rivers admits that his team has a lot of confidence heading into Game 2, but added that they remain cautious.

“They’re still the defending champs, and they’re going to be the defending champs every night,” Rivers said.

Blake Griffin in action for LA Clippers.

“We have a lot of confidence in our team, but you just have to stay humble and respect who you’re playing.”

Paul also believes the Clippers can still improve on certain plays.

“We know we gave up a lot of open shots, and most nights they’re gonna make ’em,” the All-Star guard said.

“So there’s a lot of things that we need to clean up.”

DeAndre Jordan, who pulled down 14 rebounds and had four blocks and Jamal Crawford, who netted 17 points off the bench, include hitting 3-of-4 from three-point range, both play major parts in the Clippers’ win at the weekend.

“(Jordan) maybe the most athletic center in the history of the game,” Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili  told the NBA’s official website.

“He’s just very intimidating, there’s no way around it. It’s something that we know, and it forces us to change our shots.”

For San Antonio, coach Gregg Popovich will be hoping for more production from the likes of Danny Green, who was a disappointing 2-of-11 from the field in Game 1 for six points and Ginobili, who also struggled to get going in the opener.

The Spurs will also be hoping that star point guard Tony Parker can shake off his ankle and thigh injuries to make a useful production for the road team.

Parker will suit up Wednesday for San Antonio, despite being bothered by an ankle problem, the LA Times reports.

Michael Stewart of CabonSports.ag is reporting that the Clippers are again the favourites among bettors in Game 2. Covers.com reports that “82 percent of the action on the over 207.”