Image Credit:@twitter/@utahjazz


Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets series is one of the best series in recent years. Once again it's a Jamal Murray who stole a show for Denver Nuggets. Jamal Murray scored 50 points(17-24 FG), 6 assists, 9 3-pointers made with 75 3PT%. His stellar performance led them to victory Utah Jazz with 119 - 107. 


Jamal Murray achieved another feat with his performance in this game. He is now alongside Michael Jordan as the only player to score 40+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5 assists in 3 consecutive games. Jamal Murray is the second player in the 20 seasons with three 25 point halves in a single playoff series. The first one is Allen Iverson as he achieved this feat in the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals.


Donovan Mitchell was also superb in this game with a scoring of 44 points, 6 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals. He also scored 9 3 pointers in a game which are a career-high, playoff-high, and franchise playoff-high for Mitchell and Utah Jazz.     


First Half 


Utah Jazz got 7 points lead in the first quarter within 3 minutes of a game. Utah had 10 points lead when 4:07 to go in the quarter. Denver starts a second quarter with Murray's 3-pointer which cut a lead to 3 points. Plumlee did a good job alongside Murray at the starting of the first 3 minutes to give Utah Jazz lead. 5:41 to go in the second quarter, Murray with a little midrange jumper scored a bucket which gave 7 points lead to the Nuggets.


Second Half


8:49 to go in the third quarter, Donovan Mitchell drained a 3-pointer which cut 6 points lead of Nuggets to 3 points.  Mitchell made another three for Utah and cut a lead to only one point. 3 minutes to go in the third quarter, Mitchell scored on a Murray, Utah 76 - Denver 77. Denver was able to extend its lead to 9 points after the third quarter. 


Jamal Murray hit a 3-pointer at the starting of the fourth quarter for 9 points Nuggets lead. 3:37 to go in the fourth quarter, Murray drained another 3-pointer for Nuggets to get 10 points lead in a game. 6:28 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, A big shot by Grant gave 10 points lead to Denver Nuggets at a crucial moment of a game. 3:36 to go in a game, Denver's player stole a ball and it was in the hand of Murray who was running hot at that moment. He not even think for a second and shoot a ball from a long-range to score a 3 pointer. Nuggets got 14 points lead in a game.  The fourth Quarter was a show between two guards of the opposing teams who are taking their team on their back. Murry won this dual between two guards. He took back his 50 points lost where they lost to Utah Jazz to only 2 points. Mitchell also scored 50+ points in that game.



Denver  Nuggets' Scorer 


Murray ends the game with 50 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Nikola Jokic dropped 22 points with 4 rebounds and 9 assists. Grant scored 18 points with 2 blocks(4 3P made) and Morris added 10 points in a game. Michael l Porter Jr grabbed 12 rebounds with only 2 points.


Utah Jazz's Scorers 


Mitchell was on the board with 44 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Rudy Gobert added 11 points with 11 boards. Mike Conley put a scored of 21 points 5 rebound and 6 assists in a game. Clarkson scored only 11 points who is in superb form in this series. Niang made 10 points in a game.


                                                                  Image Credit:@twitter/@LAClippers



Kawhi Leonard was superb in a series against Dallas Mavericks. Kawhi Leonard led Clippers with 33 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals as he led his team to the next round after this win. He becomes the first player in Clippers franchise history to score at least 30 points with 5 steals in a playoff game. Kawhi Leonard achieves another record on his name that record is five straight playoff games with at least 30 points. 


Luka and his team did a great job in the absence of Porzingis who was sidelined due to knee injury. 


Kawhi Leonard praise Luka Doncic's performance in a series which is a huge compliment for Kawhi. Praise by a defender like Kawhi is a huge thing for any player in NBA. Kawhi Leonard on Luka's performance in a series," He is a great player. This is his first playoffs, He battled every minute, He was out there on the floor, then back down, Led his team every game and he did a heck of a job out there."


First Quarter


Clippers started a game with a 5-0 run in the first 2 minutes of a game.  4:06 minute to go in the quarter, What a ball movement by the Clippers to score a  bucket which is started with Kawhi and finished with Harrell. This play shows how Clipper's players are engaged with each other in a game. Just under 2 minutes to go Finney Smith drove inside that was counted and he drew a foul. This tied a game for the Clippers in the quarter.  


1:07 minutes to go, Morris fouled a Doncic very hard which called a flagrant -2. After this incident, Morris ejected from the game. 35 seconds to go, Luka's 3-pointer gave 3 points lead to the Lakers. Boban's dunk gave 5 points lead to the Clippers. 


Second Quarter 


Clippers started a quarter with a 7-0 run to get 2 points lead in a quarter. 3:48 minutes to go, George scored a bucket with a foul but he missed a free-throw. 48 seconds to go, Paul George's corner 3-pointer gave 8 points lead to the Clippers. Clippers got 6 points lead after play of a first half in a game.


First Half: Los Angeles Clippers 57 - Dallas Mavericks 51


Third Quarter


In the first starting 6 minutes of the quarter, Los Angeles Clippers made a 20-3 run to get 23 points lead in a game. Minute left in a quarter, Back to back 3 points play by Luka Doncic cut a 23 points lead to 12 points for Dallas Mavericks. 11 seconds to go, What a move by Luka Doncic on Paul George, He made Paul George danced left to right and leaned in, drew a foul, counted a bucket and one. Luka  Doncic socred last 9 points for Dallas Mavericks in the quarter. Luka scored 16 points in the third quarter from Dallas' 23 points in a quarter.



Fourth Quarter


Once again Clipper started a quarter with a 3-pointer.  Finney Smith's 5 points play and Luka Donic's 3 points play to cut a lead to just 6 points when 9:28 minutes remaining in the quarter. 8:26 to go, Curry had no chance to guard Kawhi, It was a total mismatch that Kawhi went inside and throws it down with two-handed jam. 5:27 to go, Reggie Jackson scored a 3 pointer and before this, he scored a 3-pointer which was a crucial moment in a game. 


 4:50 to go, Zubac finished with a dunk and scored a free throw which gave Clippers 16 points lead in a game. Clippers made 20-10 run in span of 4 minutes to get 16 points lead. 4:07 to go, What a move by Luka on Clippers player, he drove to the bucket with a euro-step made a bucket on Kawhi, and drew a foul on him. Reggie Jackson scored 4 3-pointers in the last quarter of a game. Clippers got a victory with  111 - 97.


Full Game: Los Angeles Clippers 111 - Dallas Mavericks 97 



Los Angeles Clippers' Scorers 


Kawhi leads Clippers with 33 points,14 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. Paul George made 15 points with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Ivica Zubac was on the board with 15 points and 11 boards in a game. Riggie Jackson scored 14 points with 5 rebounds and an assist.


Dallas Mavericks' Scorers 


Luka nearly scored a triple-double in a game with 38 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists. Fenny-Smith added 16 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Tim Hardwau Jr scored only 10 points in a game which was not good for Dallas. He is the third guy in scoring after Luka and Porzingis. Only 3 players scored in double-figure for Dallas Mavericks. 





                                                                                                          Image Credit:@twitter/@Lakers



LeBron James and Anthony Davis get some records on their names. LeBron James scored 13 triple-doubles with 30+ points which are a record by any player. This is Lakers' first playoff series win since 2012. LeBron James finished a game with 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Anthony Davis scored 43 points with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Lakers duo combined 79 points on 28-39 shooting to give a victory over Portland and advance into the semifinals of the Western Conference.


Damian Lillard's absence was the main reason where Portland has no chance in this game against the Los Angles Lakers. This is the first game after 18 years in which two players scored more than 35+ points in a game, In 2002 Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal dropped 36 points and 35 points in that game.    


First Half 


First Quarter



8:42 to go, Lebron gave a ball to McGee with the behind back pass and McGee tried to dunk on Nurkic but he blocked a shot of McGee. Anthony Davis scored the first 8 points for Lakers in the first quarter. 2:18 to go, LeBron drove to the rim and scored a bucket with a foul. 3 points play by LeBron James gave Lakers a lead. Lakers made 13-0 run in the last minutes of the quarter.  


Second Quarter :


Just under 5 minutes to go Portland got 5 points lead. 1:30 minutes to go, Portland had 7 points lead but Lakers made comeback in the quarter and tied a game at 68-68 with LeBron hitting last moment 3-pointer in the quarter. 

 

LeBron James scored 24 points with a rebound and 5 assists. Anthony Davis dropped 12 points with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. In Portland's team CJ McCollum lead a team with 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Carmelo Anthony added 18 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist. Portland Trail Blazers were super in the first half of the game from the long-range with making 10 3's from 15 and shooting percentage of it 66.7%.


First Half: Los Angeles Lakers 68 - Portland Trail Blazers 68


Second Half 


 Third Quarter 


Los Angeles Lakers made 11-0 run in the last 2 minutes of a game when 6:55 remaining in the quarter and they got 11 points lead in a game. 3:37 to in the quarter, It was a physical play but Anthony Davis finished with a dunk and drew a foul for 3 points play. 32 seconds to go, CJ McCollum scored a bucket to cut a lead to 5 points but in the next possession, Lakers replied with 3-pointer. Lakers got 8 points lead after the third quarter.


Fourth Quarter  


9:45 to go in the quarter, Portland Trail Blazers tied a game at 100-100 with Simon's 3-pointer. Lakers had 14 points lead in a game. 7:08 to go, Haward finished with a dunk what a set up by Caldwell-Pope. 6:43 to go, Portland Trail Blazers tied a game with a 3-pointer but Lakers replied with Caldwell-Pope's 3-pointer. 6:10 to go, offensive 3-second call violation by Lakers. 


5:11 to go, Anthony Davis finished with a jumper which extended a lead to 5 points for Lakers. 4:30 to go, Anthony Davis made a layup and drew a foul, Anthony Davis' 3-points play gave 5 points lead to Lakers. Another 2 free throws made by Anthony Davis gave 7 points lead to Lakers. 3:56 to go, Once again Anthony hammered a ball down, first, it started with Alex Caruso who stole a ball and passed a ball to Danny green. Danny Green made an alley-oop pass to Anthony Davis. Just under 3 minutes to go, Lakers got 13 points lead in a quarter.  Once the game was tied at 109-109 but Lakers made 20-7 run to get a victory.



Full Game: Los Angeles Lakers 131 - Portland Trail Blazers 122

Los Angeles Lakers' Scorer 



Anthony Davis was superb in this game as he scored 43 points on 14/18 shooting with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. LeBron James dropped 36 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists on 14/19 shooting with a shooting percentage of 73.68%. Caldwell-Pope scored 14 points with 5 rebounds. Alex Caruso didn't score many points in a game but he was all over the floor for Lakers and made some very good play on defense at the right time. Howard scored 11 points and 6 rebounds for Lakers. 


Portland Trail Blazers' Scorer


 CJ McCollum dropped 36 points with 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal. Melo added 27 points with 7 rebounds and Nurkic is on the board with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, and a block. Trent Jr added 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in a game. Simons scored 13 points with 5 rebounds and 2.  


                                                                                         Image Credit:@twitter/@Raptors/@Celtics



Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors are back and they will play each other on Monday after Milwaukee Bucks and other teams and NBA players boycotted its playoff game on Wednesday in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake. This thing made a huge impact on American sports and the first NBA postponed games for three days and after this many other sports followed this. 


NBA announced on Friday that the playoffs will resume Saturday after the league and its players agreed on its new social justice initiatives. NBA players and coaches nearly canceled the NBA playoffs but in meetings of players, coaches and owners, they decided to resume the NBA postseason.


Now Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors will face in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Toronto Raptors are the current NBA champion and they are in good form in this bubble environment.   


Both Teams won their previous series with 4-0 which means they are in very good form. 


Boston Celtics have won 3 games out of the four matches in the regular season which means that Celtics have upper hand in terms of confidence over Toronto. 


Boston Celtics Strength :


Boston Celtics have very good and one of the best young talents in the NBA like- Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and they added one of the best point guards in NBA Kemba Walker. Apart from Kemba Walker, All play defense very well.


Young Players :


Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are both played great against Philadelphia 76ers. Particularly Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown playing great on the defense meanwhile Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker playing great on the offense. Jayson Tatum played a great in defense against Philadelphia 76ers. 


Jayson Tatum scored 27 PPG, 9.25 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.25 BPG, and 0.5 SPG. Jayel Brown is there on the scoring sheet with 21.5PPG, 5.75 RPG, 2.5APG, and 1 SPG. Kemba Walker added 24.25PPG with 1.25SPG, 4.25RPG, and 3.8 APG in a series against Philadelphia 76ers with + rating in all games. This is a very good number against very good teams like Philadelphia 76ers.    


These 3 players are playing great basketball in recent times. Jayson Tatum's plays applaud by his teammates as he is a superstar in their team. Now he can change the mode of a game at any time on his own and he is playing great on both sides of the floor. Jaylen Brown is giving him great support from the offense and defense. Marcus Smart is always there with defense and Kemba also with his offense. 


Celtics' Weakness 


Bench 


It looks like they don't have a great bench just like the Toronto Raptors which could give them some trouble. In a series against Nets, Toronto Raptors bench scored record-breaking 100 points in a game. If the Celtics starter failed to give a good performance against the Toronto Raptors means they are in trouble. Gordon Hayward missing games due to an injury.  


Toronto Raptors' Strength 


Teams Performance:


Toronto Raptors are a current NBA champion and they are playing like an NBA champion in this bubble environment. They won 11 games out of 12 in this bubble environment which is a huge boost for them. OG Anunoby playing great for Toronto Raptors in current games which is a plus point for them. Pascal Siakam is always a hidden gem for Toronto Raptors. He never comes in a limelight but he is a superstar of must needed moment for Toronto Raptors. His performance will decide the outcome of the series. 

VanVleet playing great from the last season and he continued his performance till Now. Kyle Lowry is a leader of Toronto and He is doing a great job for them. Serge Ibaka doing very good for Toronto Raptors from coming off the bench.


Toronto Raptors Weakness 


They have a very bad record against Boston Celtics in a regular season. In a bubble environment, they only lost one game and it was against Boston Celtics. They lost 3 games against Boston Celtics in a regular season. Injury of Kyle Lowry can affect their games in the upcoming series. 


Regular Season's Games :


1. Boston Celtics 112 - Toronto Raptors 106 2. Boston Celtics 118 - Toronto Raptors 102 3. Boston Celtics 97 - Toronto Raptors 113 4. Boston Celtics 122 - 100 Toronto Raptors.


Celtics got an edge over Toronto and they have upper hand over Toronto to win a Semifinals of the Eastern Conference.





                                                                                                     Image Credit:@twitter/@tomwarren


Players voted to continue the playoffs in the meeting of the National Basketball Association in Bubble at Disney World Florida after they decided to not play games in the protest over the police shooting and racial inequality according to the statement of NBA. 


NFL teams canceled their practice before their start of the season which is just two weeks away and Major League Baseball games were called off on Thursday. Also WNBA, Teams of major sports joined the NBA players in this act.  


The first team was Milwaukee Bucks who sat out of a game in the protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake and after that day's all NBA games had been postponed. Other sports also decided not to play their games. After that day there is the uncertainty that the NBA will resume or not. In the first initial meeting, Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers were against playing in playoffs. But in the second meeting players decided to resume the NBA playoffs. 


As per the NBA statement by NBA Executive Vice President Mike Bass regarding NBA playoff games, " NBA playoff games for today will not be played as scheduled. We are hopeful to resume games either Friday or Saturday. There is a video conference call meeting scheduled later this afternoon between a group of NBA players and teams governors representing the 13 teams in Orlando, along with representatives from the National Basketball Players Association and the league office and NBA Labor Relations Committee Chairman Michael Jordan, to discuss next steps."



Players have made a huge impact after deciding not to play games, this is the statement of boycotting the games and they pushed their owners to use their political strength for social justice. 



                                                                                                    Image Credit:@twitter/@trailblazers



Damian Lillard will miss the 5th game of the series when Portland Trail Blazers are already behind 3-1. He will miss the game due to the right knee sprain and it will be a huge blow for Damian Lillard.


 

Now Lakers have the big chance to win a series and advance to the next round. There were some injury issues for both teams in the last game. Damian Lillard's injury is big that he can not play in game 5. Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis faced some injury issues in this game but Anthony Davis will play in game 5. 


Los Angeles Lakers got a dominating victory in the last game and they are now in a great form. All players are playing too well in series just the first game was bad for them for Lakers. LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Kuzma played very well with very good efficiency from shooting in a game. Which is very good news for Lakers and not good for Portland Trail Blazers.


Portland made into the playoff with the huge help of their star point guard Damian Lillard and also they won the first game due to the help of Damian with his crazy long-range shooting in a game. 


Lakers' players will face fewer difficulties to guard their guard in the absence of Damian. CJ McCollum already faced some injury in this bubble environment and he is not playing at his best. LeBron played like a playoff LeBron in the last game. There is no one who can guard playoff LeBron in the Portland Trail Blazers' team. 


For Portland to win Nurkic, McCollum, and Anthony has to play at their highest level and bench players must have to step up for them in the next game but Portland doesn't have bench core like Lakers which means Lakers are already in driver position in a series.


CJ McCollum, Carmelo Anthony, and Nurkic must have the big scoring game to win just like Murray and Nikola Jokic did in the fifth game against Utah Jazz. They both scored 73 points in that game which were more than half points for their teams. 


Lakers are now favorite to win the next game and advance to semifinals of the Western Conference.

                                                                                             Image Credit:@twitter/@WeAreMessi


Lionel Messi is one of the greatest football of all time. He plays for Barcelona from his childhood, Barcelona is the main reason for the development of the Messi as a footballer. Messi achieved many things with Barcelona and he gave many magical moments to Barcelona. 


But now all things look different for Barcelona and their captain Lionel Messi. Messi's decision to leave Barcelona put the whole football world in shock. Messi is frustrated with Barcelona after humiliating loss to Bayern Munich 8-2 in the UCL and they also lost La Liga title to their arch-rival Real Madrid where they are favorite to win a title and they also was top of the table when football resumed after coronavirus pandemic. Barcelona was not doing well in recent years. Messi declared his decision to leave Barcelona as per reports. 


Already Messi is 33 years old, There are many footballs left in him and which team doesn't want to sign Messi.  


PSG's coach already said after UCL loss," He is very welcome, very welcome, Which coach says no to Messi." 


This means if Messi's decision to play with PSG is happening than PSG would like to get him but PSG's top priority would be defense, They would like to add more defense in PSG's team. 


Messi achieved many things under the Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola when he was with Barcelona. So Messi would like to play with his former coach who is best suited for him and his one of the best friends is in Manchester City- Sergio Aguero. 


Messi has a contract until 2021 but he is not happy with the club and he already gave his decision to leave Barcelona. Barcelona is fully aware that the clause which allows Messi to leave for free expired on June 10. Barcelona now able to hold him until the Messi's 


Messi won 34 trophies in Barcelona, 6 Ballon d'Or, 6 European Golden Boot, and 7 Pichichi. Messi scored 634 goals and made 256 assists which means 890 goals and assists for Barcelona. He played 731 games for Barcelona in from them he started in 649 games for Barcelona. He won 513 games, lost 83, and 135 came with no result. This all stats show how much Messi is important for Barcelona. If Messi will leave Barcelona and join other clubs like Manchester City or PSG or Mancher United than it would be great for those clubs which will sign him If this happens and he will leave a big hole in Barcelona.