At the end of regulation on Saturday night at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the crowd went wild. Why?

Well, they saw their hometown Toronto Raptors win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals by a 100-94 final in a back-and-forth contest and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Kawhi Leonard, who was acquired last summer in a risky move by Raptors president Masai Ujiri, came through with a huge game once again to send Toronto into pandemonium.

Leonard scored 27 points and gathered 17 rebounds to lead his team to their fourth consecutive victory in the series.

Few gave the Raptors a chance after falling down 2-0 to the #1 seeded Bucks after the first two games of the conference finals. However, a scrappy, energetic team led by one of the NBA’s biggest stars was able to completely turn the series around.

Milwaukee, led by MVP frontrunner Giannis Antetokounmpo, was proven to be just too young and inexperienced to get past the resolve of the NBA’s only Canadian franchise.

The Toronto Raptors’ reward for winning the series is a date with the back-to-back champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The series will begin on Thursday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

The post Raptors Win Nerve-Wracking Game 6 to Advance to NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After only losing 1 game in their first two playoff series, the Bucks find themselves in an unfamiliar position after the Toronto Raptors’ Game 4 win.

The Raptors took advantage of a strong night from their bench and the Milwaukee Bucks’ defensive fragility to win 120-102 in Toronto and even the Eastern Conference Finals at two games apiece.

Six players, including 3 bench players, finished with 13 or more points for Toronto, constituting a balanced team attack. Kyle Lowry, Toronto’s starting point guard, led the team with 25 points.

The real difference maker in this game was the Raptors’ bench production. Unheralded players such as Norman Powell, Serge Ibaka, and Fred VanVleet played lots of minutes on Tuesday night and provided energy and scoring off of the bench.

The Bucks were unable to take advantage of 30 Khris Middleton points and 25 from Giannis Antetokounmpo, putting them in a completely unfamiliar situation.

Milwaukee now has the chance to turn the series back in their favor in Game 5 at home. The Raptors will look to win their third consecutive game and head back to Toronto in Game 6 with a chance to clinch the series on their home court.

The next game will take place on Friday.

The post Raptors Dominate Bucks, Even Eastern Conference Finals at 2 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Boston Celtics are currently battling Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and have been a better opponent than anyone could expect. Celtics entered the playoffs without their two-star players, Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, but still managed to get this far and NBA Finals now don’t look impossible.

Missing out the series against the Cavs has been especially tough for Kyrie Irving. He was traded to the Celtics by the Cavaliers in 2017 and was de-facto the leader of the team until he went down with a left knee injury in early April. According to Celtics coach Brad Stevens, it’s “killing” Irving that he can’t make a contribution to the team’s efforts, but the good news is that his recovery is going great.

“In our sit-downs, or just our casual conversations, he seems to be in a great place,” – said Stevens. “It’s killing him not to be out on the floor. But I think that would be the case, obviously, any time you’re playing this deep into the playoffs, especially in a new place. Other than that, his recovery is going great. We’re excited about that. But he seems to be in a good place.“

Despite not being out there on the basketball court, Kyrie Irving has been present at Celtics’ home postseason games providing leadership and guidance to this young roster.
After asking for a trade from Cleveland in summer of 2017, Kyrie Irving landed in Boston who sent Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn Nets 2018 first-round draft pick in the opposite direction.

Irving ended up playing 60 regular season games in his first season with the Celtics, averaging 24.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

The post Brad Stevens: It’s “Killing” Kyrie Irving That He Can’t Play In Playoffs 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.

At the end of regulation on Saturday night at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the crowd went wild. Why?

Well, they saw their hometown Toronto Raptors win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals by a 100-94 final in a back-and-forth contest and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Kawhi Leonard, who was acquired last summer in a risky move by Raptors president Masai Ujiri, came through with a huge game once again to send Toronto into pandemonium.

Leonard scored 27 points and gathered 17 rebounds to lead his team to their fourth consecutive victory in the series.

Few gave the Raptors a chance after falling down 2-0 to the #1 seeded Bucks after the first two games of the conference finals. However, a scrappy, energetic team led by one of the NBA’s biggest stars was able to completely turn the series around.

Milwaukee, led by MVP frontrunner Giannis Antetokounmpo, was proven to be just too young and inexperienced to get past the resolve of the NBA’s only Canadian franchise.

The Toronto Raptors’ reward for winning the series is a date with the back-to-back champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The series will begin on Thursday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

The post Raptors Win Nerve-Wracking Game 6 to Advance to NBA Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After only losing 1 game in their first two playoff series, the Bucks find themselves in an unfamiliar position after the Toronto Raptors’ Game 4 win.

The Raptors took advantage of a strong night from their bench and the Milwaukee Bucks’ defensive fragility to win 120-102 in Toronto and even the Eastern Conference Finals at two games apiece.

Six players, including 3 bench players, finished with 13 or more points for Toronto, constituting a balanced team attack. Kyle Lowry, Toronto’s starting point guard, led the team with 25 points.

The real difference maker in this game was the Raptors’ bench production. Unheralded players such as Norman Powell, Serge Ibaka, and Fred VanVleet played lots of minutes on Tuesday night and provided energy and scoring off of the bench.

The Bucks were unable to take advantage of 30 Khris Middleton points and 25 from Giannis Antetokounmpo, putting them in a completely unfamiliar situation.

Milwaukee now has the chance to turn the series back in their favor in Game 5 at home. The Raptors will look to win their third consecutive game and head back to Toronto in Game 6 with a chance to clinch the series on their home court.

The next game will take place on Friday.

The post Raptors Dominate Bucks, Even Eastern Conference Finals at 2 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Boston Celtics are currently battling Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and have been a better opponent than anyone could expect. Celtics entered the playoffs without their two-star players, Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, but still managed to get this far and NBA Finals now don’t look impossible.

Missing out the series against the Cavs has been especially tough for Kyrie Irving. He was traded to the Celtics by the Cavaliers in 2017 and was de-facto the leader of the team until he went down with a left knee injury in early April. According to Celtics coach Brad Stevens, it’s “killing” Irving that he can’t make a contribution to the team’s efforts, but the good news is that his recovery is going great.

“In our sit-downs, or just our casual conversations, he seems to be in a great place,” – said Stevens. “It’s killing him not to be out on the floor. But I think that would be the case, obviously, any time you’re playing this deep into the playoffs, especially in a new place. Other than that, his recovery is going great. We’re excited about that. But he seems to be in a good place.“

Despite not being out there on the basketball court, Kyrie Irving has been present at Celtics’ home postseason games providing leadership and guidance to this young roster.
After asking for a trade from Cleveland in summer of 2017, Kyrie Irving landed in Boston who sent Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn Nets 2018 first-round draft pick in the opposite direction.

Irving ended up playing 60 regular season games in his first season with the Celtics, averaging 24.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

The post Brad Stevens: It’s “Killing” Kyrie Irving That He Can’t Play In Playoffs 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.