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Irving, Boston Take 1-0 Lead Over Indiana

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BOSTON — Kyrie Irving scored 20 points and the Boston Celtics secured an 84-74 win over the Indiana Pacers to take a 1-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff game on Sunday. Box Score

Irving, who shot 6 of 17 from the floor and made all six of his free throws, also dished out seven assists and had five rebounds in the win.

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“I just try to be aggressive on the ball, be in the right spots,” Irving said after the game.

“I just really want to be aggressive and really be the head of the snake.”

Marcus Morris added 20 points with seven rebounds, while Jayson Tatum scored 15 points for the Celtics (1-0).

Al Harford ended with a triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists and Gordon Hayward finished with 10 points and seven boards for Boston.

Cory Joseph scored 14 points for the Pacers (0-1) in the defeat, while Bojan Bogdanovic added 12 points for Indiana.

Boston won the game despite shooting just 36.7 percent and committing 20 turnovers.

Indiana was even lower, shooting only 33.3 percent from the field and were just 6 for 27 from 3.

The Pacers set a new franchise record for lowest points in a quarter thanks after being outscored 26-8 in the third quarter.

Boston trailed the Pacers 45-38 at halftime, but recovered to hold Indiana to just 29 points in the second half.

The went up by 11 points in the first half, but the Celtics went on the front foot after the interval after using a 22-3 run in the third quarter to take a 60-48 lead and ended the quarter ahead 64-53.

“They missed some shots, but we were really connected,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said. “We were really playing hard. We were really flying around.”

Game 2 in the series is on Wednesday in Boston and again.

Watch Video Highlights: Celtics v Cavaliers Conference Finals Game 1

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BOSTON — Watch video highlights from the Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the hosts Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden on Sunday.

Jaylen Brown had 23 points and eight rebounds, Marcus Morris added a double-double with 21 points and 10 boards, and the Celtics completely dominated the Cavaliers in a 108-83 win at home.

Boston started strong and opened a 21-point first-quarter lead before rolling into the halftime break with a 61-35, the biggest halftime playoff deficit in LeBron James distinguished career.

Morris, making in his first start this postseason, was outstanding at guarding James on Sunday.

“He’s obviously the best player in the game,” said Morris, who during the week boasted that he was up to the challenge and on Sunday explained why he wanted it.

“Because I’m a competitor. He’s the best player, and I’m going to be able to tell my kids this one day.”

Al Horford finished with 20 points and six assists and rookie Jayson Tatum contributed 16 points and six rebound for Boston, which led by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, James shot 5 of 16 from the field, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range to end with a playoff-low 15 points and a playoff-high seven turnovers in the defeat for the Cavaliers.

The four-time NBA MVP also added nine assists and seven rebounds.

Kevin Love had 17 points and 8 rebounds, Rodney Hood finished with 11 points and Jordan Clarkson scored 10 for Cleveland, which pulled its starters midway through the fourth quarter.

Despite the below par Game 1 performance, James is confident the Cavs will bounce back.

“I have zero level of concern at this stage,” said James.

“I’ve been down before in the postseason, but for me there’s never any level of concern — no matter how bad I played tonight, with seven turnovers, how inefficient I was shooting the ball,” he added.

“We have another opportunity to be better as a ball club coming in Tuesday night, and we’ll see what happens.”

Game 2 in the seven-game series is Tuesday night.

“I think we’re very alert to the fact that we’ll get a heavyweight punch on Tuesday night,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens.

“It’s another great challenge, another great opportunity to experience something for this team.”

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Game 2: Raptors v Cavaliers Live Stream on WatchESPN

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TORONTO, Canada — LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers aim to take a 2-0 lead over the Toronto Raptors in their Eastern Conference semi-final matchup on Thursday night and you can stream it live on WatchESPN.

Game time for tonight’s game is set for 6:00 pm ET and ESPN and ESPN3 will also provide live coverage on television and online.

The Cavaliers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the series with a 113-112 overtime victory in Game 1 on Tuesday at the Air Canada Centre and the visitors are hoping to deliver another surprise blow to the Eastern Conference No. 1 team’s chance of advancing to its league final.

Both teams head into this game with contrasting reasons to win Game 2.

For Toronto, it has never come back from a 2-0 deficit, while James and Cleveland are undefeated when winning the first two games of a series.

The Raptors have lost all six times it went down 2-0 in a series.

Meanwhile, James and the Cavs have taken a 2-0 lead in a series 21 times and have gone on to win all of them.

Toronto led for most of Game 1 and had four chances to win the game in the fourth quarter before eventually losing in overtime.

“I think considering the circumstances, we definitely stole one,” said Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue. “I don’t think we played our best game and I think they know that as well.

“Shooting 41 percent from the field, we usually do a better job. LeBron (James) is not going to shoot 12 for 30.

“We didn’t play extremely well but to come in and play a good team like Toronto on their home floor, it does feel like we stole one.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a 4-3 victory in their first round series against the Indiana Pacers.

Toronto Raptors, in the meantime, easily bounced the Washington Wizard 4-2 in their opening round series.

Bogdanovic Guides Pacers To Game 3 Win Over Cavaliers For 2-1 Lead

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INDIANAPOLIS — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points, and the Indiana Pacers roared back from a 17-point deficit to secure a 92-90 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their NBA playoff first-round series.

Bogdanovic, who scored 19 of his playoff career-high points in the second half, shot 11 of 15 from the field overall, including 7 for 9 from 3-pointer to lead the way for Indiana, which bounced back from the Game 2 defeat in Cleveland.

Victor Oladipo added 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists, just shot just 5 of 15 from the field and had a team-high five turnovers.

Thaddeus Young finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks for the Pacers, who were by 17 points at halftime, but outscored Cavs 52-33 in the second half to seal the comeback win.

“Last year’s team, I don’t know if we would have gone down 17, I don’t know if we would have overcome it,” admitted Young.

“But this team, we’ve been resilient all year. We’ve overcome adversity.”

LeBron James had 28 points and hit four 3-pointers, to go with 12 rebounds, eight assists, but also turned the ball over six times for the Cavaliers, who were 39-0 during the regular season when leading after three quarters.

“We were more aggressive in the first half. We had tempo, they didn’t,” James said.

“Then they were more aggressive in the second half, they had tempo, and we didn’t.”

Kevin Love contributed 19 points and six rebounds and George Hill ended with 13 points for Cleveland, which got no production from Kyle Korver, who finished without a point in 20-minutes and went 0 for 3 from the floor.

Game 4 in the best of seven-game series is Sunday again in Indianapolis.

Game Information

Pacers v Cavaliers Game 3: Watch Live on WatchESPN, ESPN

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INDIANAPOLIS — LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Indiana for a key Game 3 first-round playoff clash with the Pacers on Friday night and you can stream the action live on WatchESPN.

Live coverage of this game is schedule for 7:00 pm ET: Live on ESPN. You can also follow live play by play on ESPN Gamecast.

The best-of-seven series is locked at 1-1, following the opening two games in Cleveland, but after stealing one on the road, the Pacers will be hoping to take care of business when they host a pair of games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“It’s going to be incredible being on the floor,” Indiana center Myles Turner said ahead of the Game 3 battle.

“I think we’re in a great spot. We wanted to go 2-0 but we did our job and got one. I can’t wait to get in front of the Indy fans.”

After losing Game 1 in the series, the Cavs, behind James’ stellar performance of 46 points on 17 of 24 shooting, 12 rebounds and five assists, bounced back to take Game 2 100-97.

Kevin Love chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Kyle Korver ended with 12 points for the Cavaliers to hold on for the victory.

Victor Oladipo led the Pacers with 22 points and six assists, but fell into early foul trouble in the opening minutes of the game, which helped the Cavs to race off out to a 16-1 lead.

Turner added 18 for Indiana, with Darren Collison ended with 16 points and six assists, as the Pacers shot nearly 53-percent in the defeat.

Looking ahead to the third game, Collison believes the home side can’t allow the Cavaliers to start so quickly again, adding that they must also look to slow down James a bit.

“We have to do a better job of containing him, which is easier said than done,” the point guard said.

“We made enough plays to give ourselves a chance to win despite his 46 points.”

Meanwhile, Love, who injured his left thumb late in the game while deflecting a pass, had X-rays after the game, which returned negative and he’s expected to be fine for Friday’s game.

Oladipo, Pacers Hand LeBron, Cavaliers Game 1 Playoff Defeat

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CLEVELAND — Victor Oladipo delivered an impressive performance, and the Indiana Pacers held off the Cleveland Cavaliers for a shocking 98-80 victory Sunday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first series.

Oladipo scored 32 points on 11 of 19 shooting from the field, including 6 for 9 from 3-pointers and added six rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Pacers, who handed LeBron James and Cleveland a first loss in the opening round.

It was the 13th time Oladipo was scoring 30 or more points this season.

Myles Turner had 16 points and eight rebounds, Bojan Bogdanovic ended with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals and Lance Stephenson scored 12 points off the bench for Indiana, which shot almost 46-percent in the win.

Indiana led by as many as 23 points and held the Cavs to the lowest points at home this term.

LeBron James collected a triple-double in the defeat for the Cavaliers.

James, who played 44 of the 48 total minutes, had 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the way for the Cavs, but went 7 of 17 from the floor and missed all four of his 3-point attempts.

JR Smith was the only other Cleveland player reaching double-digit scoring – finishing with 15 points, as Kevin Love grabbed 17 rebounds, but was limited to nine points and the likes of Jeff Green, George Hill and Rodney Hood combined for 17 points.

Game 2 is again at Quicken Loans Arena Wednesday night.

The Cavaliers never led, but battled hard in the second-half before coming up well short.

Game Information

Simmons Flirted With Triple-Double, Sixers Roll Past Heat In Game 1

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PHILADELPHIA — Ben Simmons just missed collecting yet another triple-double this season, as the Philadelphia 76ers hammered the Miami Heat 130-103 in Game 1 of their playoff first-round series on Saturday night to extend their undefeated streak.

JJ Redick scored 28 points and reserve Marco Belinelli added 25 to lead the Sixers, but it was rookie Simmons, who stole the show in his NBA playoff debut.

The star guard collected 17 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds for Philadephia, which played without leading big man Joel Embiid.

Ersan Ilyasova had 17 points and 14 rebounds off the bench for the 76ers, who were winning their 17th straight game and had 34 assists on 45 made field goals.

Toronto Raptors Beat Washington Wizards 114-106 In Game 1

It was the Sixers’ first playoff game in five seasons under coach Brett Brown.

Kelly Olynyk led the Miami Heat with 26 points.

Goran Dragic, returning to the starting lineup after missing the final regular season game with a sore knee scored 15 points for Miami, while James Johnson finished with 13.

Thompson, Durant Help Warriors Beat Spurs In Playoff Game 1: Highlights

Fourteen-year veteran Dwyane Wade had 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

Game 2 in this series is on Monday night, again in Philadelphia.

Game Information

Toronto Raptors Beat Washington Wizards 114-106 In Game 1

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TORONTO — Eastern Conference top seed Toronto Raptors recovered from a shaky start to beat the Washington Wizards 114-106 and win Game 1 of their playoff first-round series on Saturday.

Serge Ibaka finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks and Delon Wright scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for the Raptors, who are off to a winning start in a playoff series for the first time in almost 17 years.

DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points, C.J. Miles and OG Anunoby had 12 points each and Kyle Lowry ended with 11 points and nine assists for Toronto, which halted an NBA-worst 10-game losing streak in playoff openers.

John Wall paced the Wizards with 23 points and 15 assists, while Markieff Morris added 22 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat.

Thompson, Durant Help Warriors Beat Spurs In Playoff Game 1: Highlights

Bradley Beal contributed 19 points, Mike Scott had 14 off the bench and Marcin Gortat finished with 12 for Washington, which shot almost 48-percent and had a 59-55 lead at halftime.

“We’ve been here before,” Beal said after the game. “We didn’t come here with the mindset that we were going to sweep them.

“We had opportunities, several opportunities, to win tonight and close it out but we didn’t. Brush it off and move forward.”

The Wizards led 91-88 early in the fourth quarter, but things turned in the favor of the Raptors after Scott was called for a flagrant foul, following an elbow that took down Lowry.

Lowry connected on both free throws and then found Wright for a layup to give Toronto the lead.

Toronto Raptors will again host Game 2 on Tuesday night.

Game Information

Thompson, Durant Help Warriors Beat Spurs In Playoff Game 1: Highlights

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OAKLAND, Calif. — Champions Golden State Warriors opened their 2018 NBA playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs with a comfortable 113-92 victory in Game 1 at ORACLE Arena on Saturday.

Two-time MVP Stephen Curry, who has been sidelined since March 23 with a sprained left knee, did not play in the opening game of the seven-game series.

Curry is expected to sit out the entire first round, but head coach Steve Kerr said his star point guard has been making progress.

“When he’s ready, he’s ready but he’s making progress, which is a good sign,” Kerr said.

Klay Thompson scored 27 points and shot 11 of 13 from the floor, including 5 for 6 from 3-pointers and Kevin Durant finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the way for the Warriors.

“We did not end the season on a high note, we kind of hobbled into the playoffs,” Thompson noted. “We know how talented we are. We know how good we are.

“We have been here before in the postseason and know what it takes to win.”

Seven-footer JaVale McGee started on Saturday and contributed 15 points, while Draymond Green added 12 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and two steals for Golden State, which shot 54-percent from the field and held San Antonio the cold-shooting San Antonio to just 40-percent.

The Warriors, who never trailed in this game, had 32 assists on 44 field goals.

Rudy Gay led the way for Spurs with 15 points six rebounds and two steals off the bench, but leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge, who averaged over 23-points this season, was restricted to 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting.

“We were just very overly excited, overzealous,” San Antonio guard Danny Green, who scored six points, said.

“Overreacting to a lot of things because we are so excited that we’re in the playoffs and playing, obviously, the best team in the world.”

Bryn Forbes scored 14 points off the bench in the defeat for San Antonio, which played without injured star forward Kawhi Leonard.

Game Information

 

 

Curry Scores 29 pts, Warriors Rout Spurs 136-100 For 2-0 Series Lead

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OAKLAND, Calif., Sporting Alert — Stephen Curry had a game-high 29 points and four Golden State starters scored in double figures in the Warriors’ run-away 136-100 win over the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

The All-Star point guard who shot 8-of-13 from the field, buried six 3-pointers and scored 15 of his total points in a 33-16 first-quarter breakaway, as Golden State took full advantage of the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who missed the game with an ankle injury.

Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs
Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs did not play in Game 2

Curry also collected seven rebounds and seven assists in the comfortable victory as the Western Conference No. 1 seeded side took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

Golden State reserve guard Patrick McCaw added 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three 3-pointers, Kevin Durant scored 16 points.

Draymond Green had 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots for the Warriors, who got a season-best 63 points from the bench.

“They came out with a sense of urgency from the beginning and they played that way for 48 minutes,” acting Warriors head coach Mike Brown told reporters.

Klay Thompson finished with 11 points, but was 4-of-10 from shooting with six rebounds, while Shaun Livingston and Ian Clark each had 10 points for Golden State to secure its 10th consecutive playoffs win this season.

Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors in the NBA

“That’s just been the message all year, just play with urgency and start the game off with some energy and throw the first punch,” Durant said.

“Unlike Game 1 we did that tonight. We know they’re a little undermanned but they still play extremely hard, so we knew we couldn’t come out here and relax and think they were just going to give us the game. We had to go take it.”

Meanwhile, Jonathon Simmons, who started in place of Leonard, led the Spurs with 22 points and shot 8-of-17 from the floor.

Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili NBA Playoffs
Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili talk during NBA playoffs series v Houston

San Antonio, which never led in the game, trailed by as many as 41 points and was outperformed 46-44 in points in the paint and 20-13 fast break points.

The visitors shot 37-percent, well below the Warriors’ 56.2 percent, while making just 8 of their 23 shots from 3-pointers compared to Golden State’s 18-for-37 from long distance.

The defeat on Tuesday night saw the Spurs going behind 2-0 in a playoff series for the first time since being swept by the Phoenix Suns in the Western semifinals in 2010 and San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich warns that the series could be over if the men from Texas doesn’t get it together.

A disappointed Popovich deems that as a group, his players never believed they could have won the game.

“I don’t think we believed,” the veteran coach said. “I’m disappointed.

“The only way I can process this is I think it’s not about the O’s and X’s or rebounds or turnovers or anything like that.

“You have to believe. I don’t think as a group they really did, which means probably a little bit feeling sorry for themselves psychologically.

“It showed in the lack of edge, intensity … That was disappointing.”

Davis Bertans finished with 13 points for the Spurs in the defeat.

Game 3 is on Saturday in San Antonio.

Celtics Beat Wizards in Game 7; Advanced To Face Cavs In East Finals

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BOSTON, Sporting Alert — Isaiah Thomas scored 29 points and Kelly Olynyk added a career playoff-best of 26 points off the bench and the Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 115-105 in Game 7 on Monday night to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Boston will host defending champions Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the conference finals on Wednesday night.

Isaiah Thomas of the Celtics
Isaiah Thomas Celtics at free throw line

The Wizards and the Celtics kept the fans on the edge for most of the contest with traded buckets and runs, before the home side came to life.

Trailing 76-72 late in the third quarter, the Celtics caught fire and used a 13-3 run to build an advantage.

The lively spurt improved to 22-5 in the opening minutes of the fourth as Thomas and Olynyk made key buckets to extend the Celtics’ lead to 94-81.

Washington made it a contest with a 7-0 run in less than a minute, following a timeout by Scott Brooks, but Olynyk went to work again to help close out the contest.

Thomas added 12 assists, while Olynyk, who scored 11 of Boston’s 13 points late in the battle, shot 10-of-14 from the field and added five rebounds and four assists.

By himself, reserve Olynyk also outscored Washington’s bench 26-5.

Kelly Olynyk of Boston
Kelly Olynyk of the Boston Celtics at press conference

Starting center Al Horford finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go with six rebounds and five assists, Jae Crowder had 14 points with five rebounds and Marcus Smart ended with 13 points and six boards off the bench for the Celtics.

Bradley Beal paced the Wizards with 38 points on 12-of-22 shooting.

Beal was posting a playoffs career-high in points, which included a late four-point play in a battling 24-point second half individual performance.

“I don’t care how well I played,” Beal said after the defeat. “I don’t care if I played bad.

“The end result…The only thing that matters is getting a win.”

However, the shooting guard was dissatisfied with the overall result as he saw his season coming to an end.

Otto Porter Jr. finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, John Wall added 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds and Markieff Morris ended with 18 points and nine boards for the Wizards, who, according to ESPN Stats and Information, were playing their first Game 7 since 1979.

John Wall and Bradley Beal
John Wall and Bradley Beal of Wizards

As a team, the Celtics outpaced the Wizards 48-5 in points off the bench, while Boston made 11 shots from 3-point attempts.

“We needed it,” Olynyk admitted. “That’s a tough team that we played seven tough games against and they can score. We needed to help out the starters, help out Isaiah.”

Thomas added: “That says a lot about the team we are and we believe in each other.

“The game wasn’t always what we wanted it to be and it wasn’t a perfect game. But we kept going and stayed the course.”

The Celtics, who are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference will be hoping for a better series in the post-season against the Cavaliers after losing the regular season series to Cleveland 3-1.

“What a special opportunity to get a chance to compete against them,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said ahead of the Cavs matchup.

Harden Missing; Leonard-less Spurs Rout Rockets, Win Series 4-2

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HOUSTON — James Harden went missing on the most important night of the season, as the Houston Rockets were eliminated from the 2017 NBA playoffs after losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals on Thursday night.

On a night when Kawhi Leonard was forced to sit out with a sore left ankle, LaMarcus Aldridge led a balanced Spurs offensive effort, as the visitors embarrassed the Rockets 114-75 in Game 6 to win the series 4-2. Box Score | Play-by-Play | Team Stats | Videos

 

Defeat in this series now means Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni has failed to win against Greg Popovich and the Spurs in five postseason series.

LaMarcus Aldridge of Spurs
LaMarcus Aldridge of the San Antonio Spurs

Aldridge posted an impressive double-double with 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way, as all five San Antonio starters scored in double figures in the close out game.

Jonathon Simmons, who started in place of Leonard, added 18 points and Patty Mills, who started as the point guard, ended with 14 points and seven assists for the Spurs, who dominated from the opening whistle.

Dejounte Murray chipped in with 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals off the bench and Pau Gasol had 10 points with 11 rebounds for San Antonio.

Danny Green had 10 points and six rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 53.1 percent from the floor, but were only 5-for-22 from 3-pointers.

“Everybody picked it up,” Popovich said. “Four, five, six guys all had good games. It wasn’t one guy scoring 40 or anything like that.

“Everybody contributed. It was a real team effort with (32) assists and just (seven) turnovers.

“They played well at the offensive ends with a lot of sets, and at the defensive end it was one of our best nights as far as scrambling around trying to keep up with these guys.”

Trevor Ariza led Houston with 20 points with five rebounds, and Clint Capela added 15 points and 12 boards in the defeat.

James Harden of the Houston Rockets
James Harden of the Houston Rockets during the NBA playoffs 2017

Meanwhile, James Harden, who had five points on 1-of-2 shooting with five turnovers at halftime, finished with only 10 points and shot the ball 11 times before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

The regular season MVP candidate also dished out seven assists, but was heavily criticized after the game after several pundits called out the star guard for quitting on his team.

The Spurs dominated Houston 62-18 in points in the paint and led by as many as 42 points in the blowout.

“For whatever reason, this game we didn’t have the juice and the stuff,” D’Antoni said.

“It was right across the board, so we’ll figure that out and get better this summer and then come back and do it again.”

San Antonio will now face No. 1 seed Golden State in the Western Conference Finals.

Game 1 in the series is Sunday.

Meanwhile, after missing Game 6 against Houston, Leonard said he will be ready to play in Game 1 against the Warriors.