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On March 1, 2019, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first team to clinch a playoff spot. The Los Angeles Clippers completed the largest comeback in NBA playoff history, overcoming a 31-point deficit against the reigning champion Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the Western Conference first round. It's February, and Bob McKillop is about to complete his 30th season as the basketball coach at Davidson College. I have come to speak with him because Curry has said McKillop is a reason he did play Division I basketball and a reason he has been able to revolutionize the sport. Eventually, as Leonard's star began to rise -- he was named California's Mr. Basketball after his senior season -- major conference schools began calling. Keep it here for all the reaction, analysis, news and more after a thrilling six-game series.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver called it a "homecoming of sorts" for basketball in Canada prior to the start of Game 1 of the championship series. He posted a negative net rating in road games this year, and had a net of 7 at home. He'll look to continue that success against a Celtics team that plays the perimeter remarkably well. He continued to be Toronto’s kryptonite on Friday, hitting another game-winning 3 to keep Charlotte’s slim playoff hopes alive. The Blazers lost to the Nuggets for the third time this season and lost ground at their chase for the third seed.
Game Recap: Warriors 107, Celtics 97
Leonard scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter to erase Golden State's 14-point lead. Lowry's potential championship-winning, 3-point shot at the buzzer fell short after it was partially blocked by Draymond Green. Thompson scored a team-high 25 points, and the Warriors outscored the Raptors 18–0 to start the second half before holding off a late Toronto rally to win 109–104. Thompson had 18 points in the first half to keep Golden State in the game. They trailed by 11 with almost two minutes left until halftime before cutting it to 59–54 at the half. The Warriors' 18 unanswered points to begin the second half were the most in NBA Finals history to start a half.
After losing the Finals to the Raptors, they became the second team to not earn a 3-peat, joining the Miami Heat who lost their quest in 2014 to the San Antonio Spurs who ended their seven-year title drought. They were the second team in NBA history to achieve this feat, joining the Boston Celtics, who played in ten straight Finals (1957–1966). The Milwaukee Bucks entered the postseason with a 60-win season, their first since 1980–81, and with the best record in the league, the first time that has occurred since 1973–74. They would then sweep the Detroit Pistons, resulting in their first series win since 2001 when they won in the conference quarterfinals against the Charlotte Hornets. The Bucks then defeated the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals for the first time in a playoff series since 1983. This was the first NBA Finals appearance for the Raptors, and the league's first finals with games played outside of the United States.
Wrapping Things Up: Home Court Advantage in the NBA Playoffs
Just last season, the host Phoenix Suns fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games. The unprecedented achievement comes just days after Westbrook joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to record 20 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists in a game. His 135 career triple-doubles trails just Magic Johnson and Robertson on the all-time list. The Nuggets, who clinched the Northwest Division title by beating the Trail Blazers, can secure the West’s second seed by winning two of their next three games. In order to clinch No. 1, Denver would need to win its last three games and have Golden State lose its final three. The Pacers are virtually locked into the fifth seed unless Boston loses its final two games and Indiana wins its last two games, which is now the only shot the Pacers have at No. 4.
ABC had exclusive television rights to the 2019 NBA Finals, which was the 17th consecutive year for the network. Durant returned after missing the previous nine games with his right calf injury, and scored 11 points in the first quarter. However, he was lost for the game two minutes into the second quarter when he tried to drive by Ibaka and suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, falling and grabbing his lower right calf.
How Important Is Home-Court Advantage in the NBA Finals?
Game 3 of the Celtics–Pacers first round series aired nationally on ABC and co-existed with the teams' respective regional sports networks. This was the fifth playoff meeting between the SuperSonics/Thunder and the Blazers, but the first since the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder in 2008. Clippers based on 30–22 record against teams in Western Conference (as opposed to L.A. Clippers 28–24 record). The Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Golden State Warriors in six games in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Surely, all that experience would lead Golden State to a strong start against a franchise that had never been here before. These Raptors aren't content with finally getting to this point — this is a team that is seemingly ready to win it all. And if there was going to be an emotional letdown after their biggest win in team history — Game 6 last Saturday to get to this point — the Raptors didn't show it.
Top Finals moments: Allen's big 3 turns tide for Heat
Second, a study proved that home teams were awarded the more beneficial calls by the referees. Every arena plays in a 90-foot court, shoots at a 10-foot rim, and so forth, but the layout of every arena is different. If you’re not used to playing in such an environment, you do so to the detriment of your team.
Coming off two straight seven-game series whereas the Warriors haven't gone to seven yet, the Celtics already have their work cut out for them. Jayson Tatum had over a point per game more on the road this year, but more notably, he shot almost 10 percent better from beyond the arc on the road. While that's more than likely natural variance, it'll be something to look out for as the series goes on. This season Lamb has attempted just two 3-pointers in the last 10 seconds of games that are close . Their magic number to earn home-court advantage in the first round is one . In order for the Celtics to get the third seed, Boston must win out and Philadelphia will have to finish 1-2 or worse.
In the United States, the Finals was televised by ABC in English and ESPN Deportes in Spanish. Play-by-play commentator Mike Breen, and analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson called the series on ABC, while Álvaro Martín (play-by-play) and Carlos Morales were on ESPN Deportes. This was also Doris Burke's last year in the NBA Finals as sideline reporter on TV; a year later, she transitioned to calling the series as an analyst on the ESPN Radio. The game was not without controversy, however, when Warriors investor Mark Stevens pushed Kyle Lowry while attempting to dive for a loose ball, a gesture for which Stevens was banned from attending Warriors games in the future.
Game 3 of their series vs. the Bucks was the first playoff game played in the city of Detroit since Game 6 of the 1985 Eastern Conference Semifinals, which took place at Joe Louis Arena. Postseason games featuring the Pistons had previously been held in the Palace of Auburn Hills and the Pontiac Silverdome. Leonard averaged 28.5 points per game in the series, and joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players to be named Finals MVP with two different teams. Toronto was the first Canadian team to win the NBA title and the first non-American team to win any of the Big Four North American sports titles since the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball won the World Series in October 1993. This was the Warriors' last game ever at Oracle Arena, as they moved to the new Chase Center across the bay in San Francisco at the beginning of the 2019–20 season.
However, in the 2021–22 season, the Raptors resumed playing home games in Toronto and ended with 48 wins; however, they lost in the opening round to the Philadelphia 76ers. Aside from starting the series in a familiar environment, one of the big advantages to having home court is hosting a potential Game 7 if the series goes the distance. The Warriors are still the favorites to win the NBA championship despite going on the road for the first two games of the NBA finals. It was one of the most complete team efforts by the Raptors during the playoffs, with balanced scoring across the board. Team superstar Kawhi Leonard finished with 23 points and eight rebounds while Marc Gasol scored 20 points, but it was Pascal Siakam who stole the show for Toronto.
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