The Trail Blazers already knew their opponent for the first round playoffs Womens Le'Veon Bell Jersey , and they had already locked up home-court advantage.
But they were still inspired for their regular-season finale against the Utah Jazz.
Damian Lillard had 36 points and 10 assists and the Blazers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 102-93 victory over the Jazz Wednesday night to earn the Northwest Division title.
With the win in the regular-season finale, Portland claimed the third seed in the Western Conference and will play the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans in the opening round.
”One game and we’re playing for the third spot and the division championship,” Lillard said about the team’s motivation against the Jazz. ”And that’s something to be proud of it. That’s something to care about and to play for. We worked too hard not to go and get that, especially on our home floor.”
The Jazz, who saw a six-game winning streak snapped, fell to the fifth seed. They’ll face No. 4 Oklahoma City on the road to open the playoffs. The schedule had not been set.
Utah rookie Donovan Mitchell, who the night before set the new single-season record for 3-pointers with 186 – breaking Lillard’s rookie mark – was 1-for-8 from the perimeter but finished with 17 points.
Ricky Rubio also had 17 while Rudy Gobert had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, who were coming off a 119-79 victory at home against the Warriors on Tuesday night.
”We rushed a little bit. We weren’t all on the same page at times,” Mitchell said. ”We were really taken off our course. When they get into you, you gotta get the guy off you and make the play. Over time that really disrupts you.”
CJ McCollum had 19 points for the Blazers, who led by as many as 24 points in the second half.
For both teams Womens Ben Roethlisberger Jersey , the game was all about seeding because the first-round playoff matches were determined earlier in the evening. The Blazers secured home-court advantage for the first round for the first time since 2009.
Before the game Terry Stotts said the outcome of the Pelicans’ finale against the Spurs was unlikely to have an impact on how Portland approached the Jazz. New Orleans won 112-98.
”Like I told the team, winning the division is a big deal. It’s always going to be there. It’s always going to be in the rafters, the banner will be up in the practice facility,” Stotts said afterward. ”It’s been an up and down season, but I’m really pleased with the way we played tonight. We played well, and have some momentum going into the playoffs.”
Dante Exum, who left Utah’s victory against the Warriors the night before with leg soreness, played for 20 minutes with six points.
The Blazers went up 39-27 on McCollum’s reverse layup in the second quarter and led by as many as 16 points in the first half. Portland led 55-41 at the break and Lillard led all scorers with 19 points.
No Jazz player was in double figures. Mitchell struggled in the first half, going 3-for-13 from the field.
McCollum wrestled a rebound and got the jumper from close in to give the Blazers a 67-50 lead. Lillard’s layup ended the third quarter with Portland 80-59.
Portland extended the lead to as many as 24 points, but the Jazz closed with within 85-74 with 7:39 left on Mitchell’s layup and a free throw. Lillard came back in the game and made three jumpers to push Portland’s lead to 91-76.
”This group’s had an excellent season. They year isn’t over,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. ”We have a chance to play in the post-season. That’s something that these guys have accomplished.”
TIP INS:
Jazz: Derrick Favors played in his 500th game with the Jazz. He’s the 12th player in franchise history to reach the milestone. … It was Gobert’s 31st double-double of the season.
Trail Blazers: Maurice Harkless told reporters before the game that it was unclear if he’d be able to return in the first round. Harkless had arthroscopy on his left knee on March 28. … Evan Turner won the team’s Maurice Lucas Award as the player who best represents Lucas’ spirit in his contributions off and on the court.
FOCUSING ON THE OPPONENT: Both teams were already talking about the first-round matchups.
”It’s just a different style of basketball going into the playoffs Womens Eric Berry Jersey , especially with that team (the Thunder),” Derrick Favors said. We just know it’s something we’ve got to be prepared for, be ready for. We’ve got to be mentally strong going in and just be ready to play, but also have fun and enjoy it.”
Lillard noted that Portland split the regular season series with the Pelicans.
”They stole one from us here, and we felt like that was a game that we should have had. We had a bad third quarter,” Lillard said. ”But they have Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Rondo, E’Twaun Moore, they’ve got a lot of guys that make them a dangerous team.”
BOSTON — The Boston Bruins face an interesting decision entering the final weekend of the regular season starting Saturday when they host the Ottawa Senators.
Do they go for the top spot in the Atlantic Division or provide rest for some of their battered and bruised troops against Ottawa and again on Sunday’s makeup game against the Florida Panthers?
The Bruins lost Thursday night at Florida and were eliminated from the President’s Trophy race. The late loss also allowed the Tampa Bay Lightning to remain tied with Boston for first place in the division and Tampa Bay took a two-point lead with Friday night’s home win over the Buffalo Sabres.
So, to finish first Authentic Clay Matthews Jersey , the Bruins would have to sweep the Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers at home this weekend, while the Lightning failed to get two points at Carolina on Saturday night.
The interesting angle on all this is wondering how the Bruins are better off. If they win the division, they would get one of three Metropolitan teams — the Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils or the Philadelphia Flyers. If they finish second, it’s the Toronto Maple Leafs in a clash of the only two Original Six teams heading to the playoffs.
The Bruins went 0-2-1 on their road trip that ended the road season.
Bodies are in and out of the lineup and there is a feeling some could use some rest after dropping both games in Florida in regulation.
“Hopefully we learn from (this) and hopefully we realize this is going to be the hockey we’re going to play,” Boston’s Patrice Bergeron said after Thursday night’s 3-2 loss. “If we want to play until June that’s how it’s going to be. We have to realize that and be better.”
The Senators, playing out the string like all the Canadian-based teams except the Maple Leafs are 2-3-0 in their last four games but 2-9-0 in their last 11.
The Bruins have won all three of the games between the teams this season, one at TD Garden, where the Sens won all five games counting playoffs last year.
The Senators lost in Pittsburgh Friday night. On Wednesday night, they won at Buffalo as the Sabres clinched the worst record in the league for the coming draft lottery.
“We’re out there, we’re playing to win Authentic Odell Beckham Jr Jersey , we want to win as many games as we can and prove that we belong in the roles that we play,” Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson said after the win in Buffalo. “We want to make sure we play for each other, we play for our fans, we play for the crest on the front. We know that all we can do is go out there and work hard and let the chips fall as they may.”
Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin are likely to split the two weekend games for the Bruins, who are still waiting for the return of Rick and Riley Nash and Sean Karaly while others, like Zdeno Chara and Charlie McAvoy continue to shake off rust.
Rask is 11-7-4 with a 2.17 goals against average and .925 save percentage in the regular season against the Senators but lost to them in last year’s playoffs. Khudobin is 5-0-1 with a 1.81 GAA and .948 save percentage against Ottawa.
Anderson is 12-12-0 with a GAA of 3.05 and a .905 save percentage against Boston in the regular season and beat the Bruins in last year’s postseason.
Mike Condon is 2-4-0 with 2.87 GAA and .907 save percentage against Boston. He defeated the Bruins in the Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro as a rookie.
Hilfe Engel - Forum
Thema drucken
27.09.2018 05:24
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