After two games in Oakland’s Oracle Arena, the 2018 NBA Finals moved to Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night. But little has changed. Although Cleveland Cavaliers looked great at the beginning of the game, Golden State Warriors still managed to get away with a 110-102 win.

Cavs clicked on all cylinders in the first half, ending it with a six-point lead, while the Warriors struggled and it almost looked like we could end up having a competitive series in the 2018 NBA Finals. Then came Kevin Durant and brought the Warriors back into the game in the third quarter. The teams exchanged leads in the fourth quarter multiple times, but then Durant decided it was time to end it all with one minute left in the game. He drilled a 34-foot 3-pointer with four seconds left on the game clock and just demoralized the Cavaliers who didn’t manage to find a way to recover.

Kevin Durant ended the game with 43 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists. He has also had a very efficient game, shooting 15-of-23 from the field and drilling six out of his nine attempted three-pointers. No other Warriors player managed to score more than 11 points.

“I try not to think about just scoring, but, you know, we struggled to shoot the ball early on and I felt like I had some good looks,“- said Durant after the game. “I started asking for more of them, and I was able to knock down some shots for us.“

Durant’s performance particularly impressed his Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

“That was amazing what he did out there tonight,” – said Kerr. “Some of those shots, I don’t think anybody in the world can hit those but him. He was incredible.“

Warriors will look to use this momentum and try to win Game 4 of 2018 NBA Finals on Friday night, which would bring them their second consecutive NBA title and third in the last four years.

The post Kevin Durant Scores 43 Points as Warriors take 3-0 Lead Over Cavs appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Eastern Conference Finals has officially kicked off on Sunday night with a showdown between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although the Cavaliers were given bigger chance for the win despite not playing on the home court, it was the Celtics who made the statement in the Game 1 and ended up on the better side of the 108-83 score.

Celtics have been playing this entire postseason as the underdogs, being without their two main stars in Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving. Still, Brad Stevens managed to find a winning formula against the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, and now maybe even the Cavs.

Cavaliers never really settled into the game and were trailing 26 points in the first half. They managed to cut into the deficit in the third and entered the fourth quarter being 14 points behind, but that was all they could do. Celtics once again made a big run in the fourth and closed out the Game 1.

LeBron James managed to score only 15 points to go with 9 assists and 7 rebounds, while Kevin Love ended the game with 17 points, 3 assists, and 9 rebounds. The rest of the Cavs starters – George Hill, Kyle Korver, and JR Smith – combined for 14 points.

On the other side, Celtics had three players who scored 20 points or more. Al Horford had a monster game, delivering 20 points, 6 assists, 4 rebound and 2 blocks while playing excellent defense on Kevin Love.

“I feel like the coaches came out with a great game plan for our group,” – said Horford after the game. “We just bought in and did what we were supposed to do.“

Marcus Morris did the same against LeBron James while managing to score 21 points and add 10 rebounds. Jaylen Brown also had a stellar performance with 23 points and 8 rebounds.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is scheduled to take place on Tuesday night.

The post Celtics take 1-0 Lead in the Eastern Conference Finals Against the Cavs appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The biggest upset in the first round of 2018 NBA Playoffs so far was the 98-80 win Indiana Pacers had against the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to the Cavs All-Star forward Kevin Love, this was a wake-up call for his team.

“It’s like that sometimes,” – said Love after practice on Tuesday. “Sometimes you need to get hit in the mouth and that will wake you up pretty fast. That will make you pay attention.So we did that, we fought back, gave ourselves a chance, cut the lead down to single digits, but at that point, they just had a ton of confidence. They’re a good team. They’re a really good team, well-coached with guys who do a lot of different things, so we’re going to have to read and react, continue to watch film, see where we can get better and make sure that our coverages are on point.“

Although the entire Cleveland Cavaliers team had a bad night on Sunday, Kevin Love especially struggled on the offense. Although the 29-year-old had 17 rebounds, he also ended the game with just nine points. Love recognized the issues he had in the first game and will enter the Game 2 prepared.

“I think part of it is on me just to be more aggressive, to get post touches,” – he said. “Sometimes I fall into my own trap of just spacing everybody. That allows other guys to get downhill, Bron to play his game. But I think just mixing it up even when he’s not in the game, getting in the post a little bit more, getting offensive rebounds, getting more touches in there, not even to shoot it in some cases, but just to feel the ball down there and guys to maybe get different looks in two-man game or in second-side action. That’s partially on me too with just coming out and attacking first and being more aggressive.“

The post Kevin Love Says the Loss to Pacers in Game 1 Was a Wake-up Call for Cavaliers appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After two games in Oakland’s Oracle Arena, the 2018 NBA Finals moved to Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night. But little has changed. Although Cleveland Cavaliers looked great at the beginning of the game, Golden State Warriors still managed to get away with a 110-102 win.

Cavs clicked on all cylinders in the first half, ending it with a six-point lead, while the Warriors struggled and it almost looked like we could end up having a competitive series in the 2018 NBA Finals. Then came Kevin Durant and brought the Warriors back into the game in the third quarter. The teams exchanged leads in the fourth quarter multiple times, but then Durant decided it was time to end it all with one minute left in the game. He drilled a 34-foot 3-pointer with four seconds left on the game clock and just demoralized the Cavaliers who didn’t manage to find a way to recover.

Kevin Durant ended the game with 43 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists. He has also had a very efficient game, shooting 15-of-23 from the field and drilling six out of his nine attempted three-pointers. No other Warriors player managed to score more than 11 points.

“I try not to think about just scoring, but, you know, we struggled to shoot the ball early on and I felt like I had some good looks,“- said Durant after the game. “I started asking for more of them, and I was able to knock down some shots for us.“

Durant’s performance particularly impressed his Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

“That was amazing what he did out there tonight,” – said Kerr. “Some of those shots, I don’t think anybody in the world can hit those but him. He was incredible.“

Warriors will look to use this momentum and try to win Game 4 of 2018 NBA Finals on Friday night, which would bring them their second consecutive NBA title and third in the last four years.

The post Kevin Durant Scores 43 Points as Warriors take 3-0 Lead Over Cavs appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Eastern Conference Finals has officially kicked off on Sunday night with a showdown between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although the Cavaliers were given bigger chance for the win despite not playing on the home court, it was the Celtics who made the statement in the Game 1 and ended up on the better side of the 108-83 score.

Celtics have been playing this entire postseason as the underdogs, being without their two main stars in Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving. Still, Brad Stevens managed to find a winning formula against the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, and now maybe even the Cavs.

Cavaliers never really settled into the game and were trailing 26 points in the first half. They managed to cut into the deficit in the third and entered the fourth quarter being 14 points behind, but that was all they could do. Celtics once again made a big run in the fourth and closed out the Game 1.

LeBron James managed to score only 15 points to go with 9 assists and 7 rebounds, while Kevin Love ended the game with 17 points, 3 assists, and 9 rebounds. The rest of the Cavs starters – George Hill, Kyle Korver, and JR Smith – combined for 14 points.

On the other side, Celtics had three players who scored 20 points or more. Al Horford had a monster game, delivering 20 points, 6 assists, 4 rebound and 2 blocks while playing excellent defense on Kevin Love.

“I feel like the coaches came out with a great game plan for our group,” – said Horford after the game. “We just bought in and did what we were supposed to do.“

Marcus Morris did the same against LeBron James while managing to score 21 points and add 10 rebounds. Jaylen Brown also had a stellar performance with 23 points and 8 rebounds.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is scheduled to take place on Tuesday night.

The post Celtics take 1-0 Lead in the Eastern Conference Finals Against the Cavs appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The biggest upset in the first round of 2018 NBA Playoffs so far was the 98-80 win Indiana Pacers had against the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to the Cavs All-Star forward Kevin Love, this was a wake-up call for his team.

“It’s like that sometimes,” – said Love after practice on Tuesday. “Sometimes you need to get hit in the mouth and that will wake you up pretty fast. That will make you pay attention.So we did that, we fought back, gave ourselves a chance, cut the lead down to single digits, but at that point, they just had a ton of confidence. They’re a good team. They’re a really good team, well-coached with guys who do a lot of different things, so we’re going to have to read and react, continue to watch film, see where we can get better and make sure that our coverages are on point.“

Although the entire Cleveland Cavaliers team had a bad night on Sunday, Kevin Love especially struggled on the offense. Although the 29-year-old had 17 rebounds, he also ended the game with just nine points. Love recognized the issues he had in the first game and will enter the Game 2 prepared.

“I think part of it is on me just to be more aggressive, to get post touches,” – he said. “Sometimes I fall into my own trap of just spacing everybody. That allows other guys to get downhill, Bron to play his game. But I think just mixing it up even when he’s not in the game, getting in the post a little bit more, getting offensive rebounds, getting more touches in there, not even to shoot it in some cases, but just to feel the ball down there and guys to maybe get different looks in two-man game or in second-side action. That’s partially on me too with just coming out and attacking first and being more aggressive.“

The post Kevin Love Says the Loss to Pacers in Game 1 Was a Wake-up Call for Cavaliers appeared first on SportzBonanza.