Eastern Conference Finals

Game 1

Toronto Raptors 84 Cleveland Cavaliers 115


The Cleveland Cavaliers came into these Eastern Conference Finals having won eight straight playoff games and waiting a full eight days before playing a game tonight, so there was a possibility they could have come out rusty. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors just came out of two grueling seven-game series to make their first conference finals appearance ever. They were hoping to use that momentum plus the Cavs layoff to steal the opening game of the series.

And the Raptors came out on fire, scoring on seven of their first ten shots from the floor and gaining an early lead before the Cavs could get their act together. The Cavs would recover and take a five point lead after the first quarter. But Toronto felt they could withstand that early assault and stay in the game.

That would not happen. The Cavs stormed out to a massive lead in the second quarter and never looked back. Kyrie Irving led the way for Cleveland with 27 points in just 31 minutes of play while Lebron James threw down a thunderous dunk in the second quarter that got the team and the crowd going wild. He would finish with 25 points. The Cavs would go into halftime with a 22 point lead and cruised to an easy victory. Kevin Love finished with 14 points for the Cavs. DeMar Derozan led the Raptors with 18 points was held to just eight points in this game.

Cleveland leads series 1-0.

missfee said:

Jeff Hornacek will be the Knicks new head coach....whoop de damn doo.....not doing handstands over him, but at least he's not Rambis.

Only the Knicks could screw up a coaching search. Thibodeau was right there for them.

uPtoWnNY said:

Jeff Hornacek will be the Knicks new head coach....whoop de damn doo.....not doing handstands over him, but at least he's not Rambis.

Only the Knicks could screw up a coaching search. Thibodeau was right there for them.

I don't think a big name coach wants to come there and

bump heads with Phil Jackson.

They should have cancelled the EC playoffs.

Graycap23 said:

Empress said:

Graycap23 said:

They should have cancelled the EC playoffs.

-----at least my home team is in the final 4 Gray, where is yours?? Oh yeah, they didn't make the playoffs

Lol.....I hear u.

My team is run by the 3 stooges so they won't be in anyones Finals for years to come.

Decades even.

phunkdaddy said:

uPtoWnNY said:

Jeff Hornacek will be the Knicks new head coach....whoop de damn doo.....not doing handstands over him, but at least he's not Rambis.

Only the Knicks could screw up a coaching search. Thibodeau was right there for them.

I don't think a big name coach wants to come there and

bump heads with Phil Jackson.

Even when Phil leaves, a Big Name Coach would still have to deal with the owner.

Eastern Conference Finals

Game 3

Cleveland Cavaliers 84 Toronto Raptors 99


The Toronto Raptors came home from Cleveland down 0-2 after being thoroughly routed in their first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals and knew if they had any chance of staying in this series, they desperately needed a victory tonight. They hoped that coming back home in front of 20,000 wildly cheering fans inside their arena and with at least 2,000 fans outside the arena in what is known as "Jurassic Park" would give them a decided edge over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Early on, things looked better but still somewhat iffy for the Raptors. Kyle Lowry got into early foul trouble, getting three fouls midway through the second quarter. But Toronto would be picked up by DeMar DeRozan, who stepped up his game and scored nine points during a 22-7 run that turned a 38-35 game into a 60-42 Raptors lead with 1:22 left in the first half.

The Cavs would make a couple of runs in the second half to get within striking distance of the Raptors, but they couldn't keep Bismack Biyombo off the glass. He grabbed a franchise record 26 rebounds in the game while also scoring seven points and blocking four shots. DeRozan finished with 32 points while Kyle Lowry finished with 20 points despite his foul trouble, and the Raptors handed the Cavs their first defeat in these playoffs. Lebron James led the Cavs with 24 points while J.R. Smith added 22 points. But Kyrie Irving had an awful game, scoring 13 points on just 3 for 19 shooting from the floor.

Cleveland leads series 2-1.

Leflop James..................

Western Conference Finals

Game 3

Golden State Warriors 105 Oklahoma City Thunder 133


The Golden State Warriors won all three games they played against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the regular season; the most recent victory coming during an overtime game in which Stephen Curry hit a 3-point shot at the end of overtime to secure a key win. OKC wanted to make sure that situation would not repeat itself.

And early on the Thunder were doing just that, jumping out to a 13 points lead in the first quarter. Golden State would om back to tie the game at 40 points in the second quarter, but shortly afterward Warriors forward Draymond Green kicked OKC center Steven Adams in the groin after a foul. It was the second time in the series Green hit Adams there. The crowd screamed for Green to be kicked out of the game, but he was issued a flagrant foul instead and remained in the game.

Seemingly energized, the Thunder outscored the Warriors 24-7 the rest of the half, with many of the baskets coming against Green. In a play that summarized the second quarter perfectly, Green went in for a layup and got it blocked by Kevin Durant, then Durant made a 3-pointer on the other end to give the Thunder a 64-47 lead. To add further insult to injury, Green fouled Russell Westbrook on a 3-point shot with just a little over a second remaining in the half, and OKC went into the half with a 25 point lead. Kevin Durant had 23 points on 6-for-10 shooting and shot 10 of 10 free throws in the first half, and Westbrook had 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds at the break. It was the most points scored against the Warriors in any half this season.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry shot 4 for 13 in the first half, Klay Thompson went 5 for 14 and Drayomd Green went just 1 for 8 from the floor.

OKC continued the onslaught by making 17 of 22 shots in the third quarter to take a 117-80 lead into the fourth. They would lead by as much as 41 points before cruising to victory. Kevin Durant led OKC with 33 points while Russell Westbrook scored 30 points, dished out 12 assists, and grabbed eight rebounds. Four other OKC playes finished in double digits, with Serge Ibaka adding 14 points and eight rebounds, Alvin Roberson and Dion Waiters each adding 13 points, and Eric Kanter adding 10 points and 12 rebounds. Stephen Curry finished with 24 points for the Warriors while Klay Thompson finished with 18 points, but each had a poor shooting night, and no other player for Golden State finished with double digits.

Oklahoma City leads series 2-1.

Yeah I'm woman enough to admit it, we played god awful last night. Oh well, it was only game 3, we don't ever lose back to back and we've been down 2-1 before and have come back, so not worried at all.

As far as the Green vs. Adams situation, I see that the headlines are asking if Green should be suspended one game for the kick in the groin incident. Maybe, maybe not. But while we are on the topic of suspension, where was all of this discussion at when Adams called the Warriors "monkeys" last week after game 1? No one said a word and no one said that he should be suspended for the obvious slur, however, he issues an apology and all is supposed to be forgotten. And him being from New Zealand is not an excuse.

[Edited 5/23/16 5:41am]

Graycap23 said:

Leflop James..................

OKC

OKC

OKC...............YES

Graycap23 said:

OKC

OKC

OKC...............YES

Graycap23 said:

OKC

OKC

OKC...............YES

They better win tomorrow. I like their chances better at 3-1 than 2-2.

Eastern Conference Finals

Game 4

Cleveland Cavaliers 99 Toronto Raptors 105


The Toronto Raptors had a very strong performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game 3, but the question would be whether they could sustain this momentum. They came out swinging in this game and exploded in the second quarter, leading by as much as 18 points.

But the Cavs would claw their way back into this game, led by Lebron James, Kyrie Irving, and Channing Frye. The would pull witihin striking distance of the Raptors by the end of the third quarter, and they would make their first 11 shots from the floor in the fourth quarter to take a one point lead, despite Toronto hitting their own shots from the floor. It appeared the Cavs would begin to take the game away from the Raptors and take a commanding lead in this series.

But Toronto would step up defensively and on the glass. They got huge shopts from Kyle Lowry, who led the Raptors with 35 points while DeMar DeRozan finished with 32 points. They once again got a huge performance from Bismack Biyombo, who grabbed 14 rebounds including a couple in the closing minute to keep possession for the Raptors. Lebron James led the Cavs with 29 points while Kyrie Irving added 26 points and Channing Frye added 12 points off the bench in a losing effort. After hitting their first 11 shots from the floor in the fourth quarter, they were held to just one shot on eight attempts down the stretch.

Series tied at 2-2.

Well I guess all the folks who said the Cavs would sweep Toronto are too busy eating feet, but the real question is, can Toronto beat the Cavs in Cleveland?

missfee said:

Well I guess all the folks who said the Cavs would sweep Toronto are too busy eating feet, but the real question is, can Toronto beat the Cavs in Cleveland?

It won't become a series until Toronto wins a game in Cleveland, like OKC did.

728huey said:

Wow! What a game last night!

Go Raptors Go!!

Empress said:

Wow! What a game last night!

Go Raptors Go!!

That center of theirs is becoming a star.

Graycap23 said:

phunkdaddy said:

Graycap23 said:

That center of theirs is becoming a star.

Amazing since he was useless when he played for Charlotte.

I know. Somebody got into his head...........I love it. That block on Leflop James was as good as it gets.

I'm taking bets on the ultimate number of times dudes that will get kicked in the nuts. The over/under is 5.5. We're sitting on 3 right now.

RodeoSchro said:

I'm taking bets on the ultimate number of times dudes that will get kicked in the nuts. The over/under is 5.5. We're sitting on 3 right now.

Kicked or punched...because there's been punches thrown down there just as much as kicks.

Have the Warriors forgotten how to play defense? Cavs weren't much better last night - J.R. Smith is the poster-child for 'matador defense'.

The NBA not suspending Green is bullshit.