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Posts tagged as “Western Conference Finals”

Timberwolves Claw Back Against Mavericks in Tight Game 4 Victory

May 29, 2024

The Minnesota Timberwolves are refusing to go down without a fight! After three straight heartbreaking losses to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals, the Timberwolves finally secured a crucial win on their home court, defeating the Mavs 105-100 in a nail-biting Game 4.

This victory keeps their season alive and forces a Game 5 back in Minneapolis. The series remains heavily in favor of Dallas, who lead 3-1, but the Timberwolves have shown they have the grit and determination to push this talented Mavericks team to the limit.

Karl-Anthony Towns, the Timberwolves’ star center, had faced criticism for his performance in the first three games. However, he bounced back in a big way for Game 4. Towns was allover the court, near 70% from the field, with 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. His improved play was a major factor in keeping Minnesota competitive throughout the game.

While Towns’ resurgence was important, the key to the Timberwolves’ win was their defense. After struggling to contain Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the previous games, Minnesota tightened up their rotations and made it specially difficult for Kyrie Irving to find his offensive groove. Irving is averaging 27.67 pts in the series, he just scored 16pts in game 4.

While the Timberwolves have shown they can compete, the challenge ahead remains daunting. Dallas still holds a commanding 3-1 series lead, and as history suggests, no professional sports team has overcome a 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series.

However, this win has injected hope into the Minnesota fans. The Timberwolves have proven they can win in this series, and they’ll be looking to extend the series as they head back home for a crucial Game 5.

Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals will be at the Target Center this Thursday, 30th of May.

Denver Nuggets takes 3-0 lead over the LA Lakers in the WCF

May 21, 2023

Denver Nuggets are 1-win away for their first NBA Finals appearance after defeating the LA Laker in the game 3 of the Western Conference finals. This is the first home lost of the Lakers in the post-season. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoff history but Lebron James remain optimistic in his postgame interview.

For second straight games, Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 37 points, 7 rebs and 6 assists, followed Nikola Jokic scoring 24 points with 8 assists but was plague by foul trouble in the game. the Nuggets due received a lot of help from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who finished with 17 points, scoring 12 points in the second half, while Michael Porter Jr. chipped-in 14 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high of 6 assists.

Anthony Davis scored 28 points and 18 rebounds for the Lakers but was -12 in the plus/minus column, while James made 23 points with 12 assists and Austin Reaves added 23 points and 7 rebounds but they could not counter Nuggets balanced offence in the clutch. Five Nuggets players are in double figures which includes Bruce Brown’s 15 pts with 5 rebounds and 5 assists; Michael Porter Jr. with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

Game 4 will still be in LA which is a must for Lakers so they can extend the series to Game 5.

Denver Nuggets defeats LA Lakers to take 2 – 0 lead in the Western Conference Finals

May 19, 2023

Denver Nuggets just took a 2 – 0 lead over the Lakers after defeating the LA Lakers in game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

Nuggets got the win behind Jamal Murray’s explosion by scoring 23 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter. Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic was not as impactful in game 2 as he is in the opener even though he just registered another triple-double, scoring 23 points with 17 rebounds and dished 12 assists, his 7th triple-double in the post season and 4th straight.

The Lakers are not panicking even though they’re down 0 – 2, and James even said this in his postgame interview – “This is not the NCAA Tournament. It’s the first team to four wins.”

In the game, Lebron James was flirting with triple-double, scoring 22 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds, he was also 0 – 6 from beyond in the three-point line in the game and just 1 – 19 in the fourth quarter this postseason. Collectively, James and Reaves both scored 22 for Los Angeles, while Anthony Davis scored just 18 points after scoring 40 pts in game 1.

Game 3 of the WCF will be this Saturday at the crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers are still undefeated this post season.

Warriors defeats Mavericks (126-117) in a come from behind win to to take Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals

May 21, 2022

Golden State Warriors secured their homecourt by taking game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. It was a classic third quarter game by the Warriors by erasing a 19-pt lead by the Mavs and reducing it to just 2-pts entering the 4th quarters.

The Golden State 3rd quarter run was fueled by Kevon Looney’s 20-points games, which also includes 12 rebounds and 2 assists. Otto Porter Jr. and Jordan Poole helped swing the momentum by contributing 11-points and 23-points, respectively.

Just like in game 1, all of Golden States’ starters scored double-digits points; Curry (32); Thompson (15); Wiggins (16); Looney (21); Porter Jr. (11) and Poole (23).

Compare to game 1; Mavs played a much better game getting a 42-points game from Luka Doncic and a 31-points contribution from Jalen Brunson. As a team, Mavs made 46.7% (21-45) of their shot from beyond the arc, but in the 3rd qtr, the team only made 2 of their 13-shot in the 3-point area.

Game 3 will in Dallas, where they’ve been playing great in the past two series.

Golden State Warriors takes game 1 of the Western Conference Finals

May 19, 2022

Golden State Warriors are 3-wins away for their sixth trip to the NBA Finals in the past eight years.

Game 1 was more on the defensive that offense, since the Warriors D forced Luka Doncic into just 6-for-18 shooting and a playoffs season-low 20 points. This was after coming off a 35-point and 63% shooting game to eliminate the top-seeded Phoenix Suns.

On the Golden State side, it was fairly a balanced scoring, where seven Warriors who played for at least 13 minutes are in double figures. It was a double-double night for Steph Curry, scoring 21 points with 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Received plenty of help from Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole contributed 19 points apiece, Klay Thompson had 15 and, Kevon Looney, Draymond Green and Otto Porter Jr. each had 10-points.

Andrew Wiggins was primary defender on Luka Doncic forcing him to a 6-of-18 shooting, that includes 3-for-10 on three-point range.

As a team, Golden State shot 46-82 (56.1%) from the field and 10-29 (34.5%) from behind the arc, while the Mavs shot 31-86 (36%) field goal and 11-48 or 22.9% from the three-point line.

To be fair, it could just be fatigue on the Mavs after coming off a 7 game series against the Phoenix Suns but they won’t have any more excuse in game 2, which will still be at Chase Center this Friday night.

Warriors defeats Grizzlies (110 – 96), first to qualify for the Western Conference Finals

May 14, 2022

Golden State Warriors are back in the Western Conference Finals by defeating the Memphis Grizzlies, 110 – 96.

It was a must win for the Warriors after an embarrassing lost in Game 5 at Memphis, when they trailed by as many as 55 points and lose by 39. It was an evenly matched games until in the closing minutes of the game where Warriors found their stroke in the 3-point line and went on a 21-3 run to close the game.

It started with Andrew Wiggins who scored 10 of his 18 points in the 4th qtr with a pair of timely 3s that kept them in the game, then Steph Curry found his shooting touch late in the closing minute. together with Klay Thompson, who shot 8 of 14 from 3-point range — 11 for 22 for the game – this was his fourth career postseason game with eight 3s, tying Ray Allen, Curry, and Damian Lillard for most in NBA history.

GSW also got a huge boost from Kevon Looney grabbing 22 rebounds and Draymond Green with 14-points, 15-rebounds and 8-assists.

The Grizzlies are without their 3rd-year star PG Ja Morant, who is suffering from a bone bruise, which the team blamed on Jordan Poole pulling on the knee while going for a loose ball in Game 3.

The Warriors are also missing key personnel namely; Gary Payton II with a broken his left elbow, which suffered from an awkward fall after being hit over the head by Brooks in Game 2; Otto Porter Jr. with soreness in his right foot and Veteran Andre Iguodala, who is still sidelined with a left cervical disc injury. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is also MIA, since entering league’s Health & Safety protocols, he is expected to be back by Game 1 of the WCF.

The Golden State Warrior will face the winner of the game 7 matchup between Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks.

Phoenix Suns takes Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals via D. Ayton lob

June 23, 2021

Phoenix Suns defended their home-court by winning game two of the Western Conference Finals with the help of Deandre Ayton’s lob dunk with 0.9 secs left on the game clock. Prior to Ayton’s game winning dunk, Paul George missed two crucial free throws that could have given the Clippers a 3-point lead.

Here’s a clip of Ayton’s winning dunk in every angle via @NBA;

The series will now moves to Staple Center where the LA Clippers in a must win game 3.

Both the Phoenix Suns are the LA Clippers are without their superstars; Chris Paul is currently in NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol, while Kawhi Leonard is out with right knee sprain.

Cleveland Cavaliers defeats the Boston Celtics (87-79) in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals

May 28, 2018

Lebron James is one assist away from a triple-double. They will face the winner between the Houston Rocket and Golden State Warriors.