The Portland Trail Blazers and their superstar Damian Lillard made another spectacular comeback on Tuesday night. Despite trailing 17 points with less than six minutes left on the clock against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Blazers managed to turn the game around and come out with a spectacular 125-124 win.

Portland dug themselves a deep hole with poor defense in the first three quarters, allowing 30+ points in each period. The fourth quarter continued in the same manner, and the Pelicans were up 117-100 with 5:55 remaining in the game.

At that point, the Blazers’ defense finally started to click while the team proved critical on the offense as well. They embarked on a 16-0 run in the next three minutes and were suddenly back in the contest.

New Orleans managed to stay ahead until the final 10 seconds, with All-Star forward Brandon Ingram having an opportunity to close out the game with two free throws. Ingram, usually a safe bet from the line, surprisingly missed both and opened the door for the Blazers.

On the next possession, Lillard was fouled almost immediately and went on to sink both of his free throws to make it 123-124. Portland then got the ball back after the Pelicans’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker lost the ball on the inbound.

Lillard returned to the free-throw line after another foul and scored two more to make it 125-124. New Orleans managed to get off the last shot, but Zion Williamson failed to make it count.

Lillard was the star of the night, scoring 50 points and dishing 10 assists. Gary Trent Jr. added 22 points while no other Blazer scored more than 10.

“We needed some things to go our way,” said Lillard after the game. “B.I. misses two free throws. Then we come down back on the defensive end, and on the inbounds pass, they fumble it out of bounds. So some things had to go our way on top of us putting stops together and making timely plays on defense and offense.”

The post Trail Blazers Return from 17-Point Deficit in 6 Minutes to Beat the Pelicans appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New Orleans Pelicans will be without star player Anthony Davis for 1-2 weeks after he was diagnosed with a sprained finger Saturday morning.

Davis got injured during the Pelicans’ 128-112 loss to the Portland Trailblazers Friday night. He contributed 27 points and seven rebounds in the game despite playing with taped fingers at some point. He left play 1:18 minutes into the game to take care of his finger.

With the latest news, the Pelicans faces an uphill battle as they approach two of the league’s best teams: the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets. New Orleans will face both teams before the month ends, meaning Davis might not participate in either game.

Playing without Davis will obviously be a big blow to the team. The 25-year-old has already been voted for the All-Star game after an average of 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game this season.

Aside from the injuries, Davis has also been the subject of player tampering, with the Los Angeles Lakers having already shown interest in him. He’s also very confident in his abilities and sees himself as the “best player in the league.

“Honestly, I see myself as the best player in the league, most dominant player in the league, Davis said last October.

The post Pelicans’ Anthony Davis Out for 1-2 Weeks with Injured Finger appeared first on SportzBonanza.

NBA Playoffs 2018 are finally here. Regular season wrapped up on Wednesday and now we know who made it to the postseason, and who will spend their time planning vacations.

We decided to use this small window between the end of the regular season and start of the first round of the playoffs on April 14th to think hard about everything we have seen in the past 82 games and enter the “predictions business.” We made our picks for the winners of all the NBA Playoffs 2018 first-round series and we shall stick with them until the very end. This time we are predicting Western Conference. (You can check out our Eastern Conference predictions here.)

Even the regular season in the Western Conference was crazy and exciting. We didn’t know whether Minnesota Timberwolves or Denver Nuggets will make the postseason cut, while only top two seeds were locked. The first round of the NBA Playoffs 2018 will be even crazier, but there can only be one winner per series. Here is what we think who that will be.

(1) Houston Rockets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves

Prediction:
Houston Rockets win 4-1

Why:
Since Jimmy Butler is coming from an injury, he won’t have a great impact on the series. However, he will manage to win one game for the Minnesota Timberwolves at home, under the condition that both Karl Anthony Towns and Andre Wiggins bring their A game. The rest of the series will be blow-out wins from the Houston Rockets.

(2) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs

Prediction:
Golden State Warriors win 4-2

Why:
Why won’t the Golden State Warriors sweep the series? Because they don’t have Stephen Curry, and the San Antonio Spurs have Gregg Popovich. There will be a couple of close games, and this will be overall uncomfortable series for the Warriors. Note: In case that Kawhi Leonard finds his way back before the tip-off of the first game in the series, we take the Spurs.

(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans

Prediction:
Portland Trail Blazers win 4-1

Why:
No one expected the Portland Trail Blazers to be the third seed in the Wild West, and somehow they did. Damian Lillard has been phenomenal this season, and he is the type of player who can drop 50 on you in a heartbeat. But so is Anthony Davis, you will say. Well, Davis doesn’t have a capable supporting cast like Lillard and never won a playoff game. He will now, but that will be all.

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Utah Jazz

Prediction:
Oklahoma City Thunder win 4-1

Why:
First of all, hat down to Quin Snyder for taking Utah Jazz to the fifth seed with a rookie point guard, defensive specialist, and group of outcasts. Donovan Mitchell has absolutely balled this season, and we wouldn’t be surprised if he was to win the Rookie of the Year award. With all of that said, there is no way Jazz takes the Oklahoma City Thunder to six games or more. Despite all of their ups and downs during the season, the Thunder are a team built for the postseason and have tons of playoff experience. This and the sheer will of Russell Westbrook is taking OKC to the second round.

The post Opinion: NBA Playoffs 2018 First Round Predictions – Western Conference appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Portland Trail Blazers and their superstar Damian Lillard made another spectacular comeback on Tuesday night. Despite trailing 17 points with less than six minutes left on the clock against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Blazers managed to turn the game around and come out with a spectacular 125-124 win.

Portland dug themselves a deep hole with poor defense in the first three quarters, allowing 30+ points in each period. The fourth quarter continued in the same manner, and the Pelicans were up 117-100 with 5:55 remaining in the game.

At that point, the Blazers’ defense finally started to click while the team proved critical on the offense as well. They embarked on a 16-0 run in the next three minutes and were suddenly back in the contest.

New Orleans managed to stay ahead until the final 10 seconds, with All-Star forward Brandon Ingram having an opportunity to close out the game with two free throws. Ingram, usually a safe bet from the line, surprisingly missed both and opened the door for the Blazers.

On the next possession, Lillard was fouled almost immediately and went on to sink both of his free throws to make it 123-124. Portland then got the ball back after the Pelicans’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker lost the ball on the inbound.

Lillard returned to the free-throw line after another foul and scored two more to make it 125-124. New Orleans managed to get off the last shot, but Zion Williamson failed to make it count.

Lillard was the star of the night, scoring 50 points and dishing 10 assists. Gary Trent Jr. added 22 points while no other Blazer scored more than 10.

“We needed some things to go our way,” said Lillard after the game. “B.I. misses two free throws. Then we come down back on the defensive end, and on the inbounds pass, they fumble it out of bounds. So some things had to go our way on top of us putting stops together and making timely plays on defense and offense.”

The post Trail Blazers Return from 17-Point Deficit in 6 Minutes to Beat the Pelicans appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The New Orleans Pelicans will be without star player Anthony Davis for 1-2 weeks after he was diagnosed with a sprained finger Saturday morning.

Davis got injured during the Pelicans’ 128-112 loss to the Portland Trailblazers Friday night. He contributed 27 points and seven rebounds in the game despite playing with taped fingers at some point. He left play 1:18 minutes into the game to take care of his finger.

With the latest news, the Pelicans faces an uphill battle as they approach two of the league’s best teams: the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets. New Orleans will face both teams before the month ends, meaning Davis might not participate in either game.

Playing without Davis will obviously be a big blow to the team. The 25-year-old has already been voted for the All-Star game after an average of 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game this season.

Aside from the injuries, Davis has also been the subject of player tampering, with the Los Angeles Lakers having already shown interest in him. He’s also very confident in his abilities and sees himself as the “best player in the league.

“Honestly, I see myself as the best player in the league, most dominant player in the league, Davis said last October.

The post Pelicans’ Anthony Davis Out for 1-2 Weeks with Injured Finger appeared first on SportzBonanza.

NBA Playoffs 2018 are finally here. Regular season wrapped up on Wednesday and now we know who made it to the postseason, and who will spend their time planning vacations.

We decided to use this small window between the end of the regular season and start of the first round of the playoffs on April 14th to think hard about everything we have seen in the past 82 games and enter the “predictions business.” We made our picks for the winners of all the NBA Playoffs 2018 first-round series and we shall stick with them until the very end. This time we are predicting Western Conference. (You can check out our Eastern Conference predictions here.)

Even the regular season in the Western Conference was crazy and exciting. We didn’t know whether Minnesota Timberwolves or Denver Nuggets will make the postseason cut, while only top two seeds were locked. The first round of the NBA Playoffs 2018 will be even crazier, but there can only be one winner per series. Here is what we think who that will be.

(1) Houston Rockets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves

Prediction:
Houston Rockets win 4-1

Why:
Since Jimmy Butler is coming from an injury, he won’t have a great impact on the series. However, he will manage to win one game for the Minnesota Timberwolves at home, under the condition that both Karl Anthony Towns and Andre Wiggins bring their A game. The rest of the series will be blow-out wins from the Houston Rockets.

(2) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs

Prediction:
Golden State Warriors win 4-2

Why:
Why won’t the Golden State Warriors sweep the series? Because they don’t have Stephen Curry, and the San Antonio Spurs have Gregg Popovich. There will be a couple of close games, and this will be overall uncomfortable series for the Warriors. Note: In case that Kawhi Leonard finds his way back before the tip-off of the first game in the series, we take the Spurs.

(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans

Prediction:
Portland Trail Blazers win 4-1

Why:
No one expected the Portland Trail Blazers to be the third seed in the Wild West, and somehow they did. Damian Lillard has been phenomenal this season, and he is the type of player who can drop 50 on you in a heartbeat. But so is Anthony Davis, you will say. Well, Davis doesn’t have a capable supporting cast like Lillard and never won a playoff game. He will now, but that will be all.

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Utah Jazz

Prediction:
Oklahoma City Thunder win 4-1

Why:
First of all, hat down to Quin Snyder for taking Utah Jazz to the fifth seed with a rookie point guard, defensive specialist, and group of outcasts. Donovan Mitchell has absolutely balled this season, and we wouldn’t be surprised if he was to win the Rookie of the Year award. With all of that said, there is no way Jazz takes the Oklahoma City Thunder to six games or more. Despite all of their ups and downs during the season, the Thunder are a team built for the postseason and have tons of playoff experience. This and the sheer will of Russell Westbrook is taking OKC to the second round.

The post Opinion: NBA Playoffs 2018 First Round Predictions – Western Conference appeared first on SportzBonanza.