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NBA Playoffs live: Cavaliers-Raptors, 76ers-Celtics

AUSSIE star Ben Simmons played the worst game of his young career as Philadelphia blew a 22-point lead against Boston.

6 min read
May 4, 2018 - 1:39PM
Ben Simmons: the future is now

Live: NBA Playoffs

Cleveland crushed Toronto before Philadelphia blew game two in Boston.

ONE point. That’s all Ben Simmons could manage as he produced the worst game of his young career as Philadelphia fell in a 2-0 hole against Boston with a 108-103 defeat on Friday.

Simmons played nothing like the Rookie of the Year favourite he’s been all season long as he made five turnovers in a horror showing.

The 76ers were outscored by 23 points in the 31 minutes the Aussie was on the floor and paid the price for reinserting him into the game midway through the final term.

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith slammed Simmons — who missed all four of his attempts from the field — for being passive.

“That’s just disgraceful,” Smith said. “I don’t know why he bothered to show up.”

Heat guard Goran Dragic — who was preferred to Simmons in the All-Star game this season but eliminated by him in the playoffs — also chimed in on Twitter after the game by declaring Donovan “Spider” Mitchell should be Rookie of the Year.

Philly wasted great shooting nights from JJ Redick (23 points, 5/9 threes) and Robert Covington (22 points, 4/7 threes) and now head home in a tough situation.

Coach Brett Brown’s decision to ride — and die — with his young star will be a talking point.

After blowing a 22-point second quarter lead, Philadelphia trailed by four points with a quarter to play.

But Philly regained the lead in a fighting start to the final stanza — and they did it with Simmons sitting on the bench.

Back-up point guard TJ McConnell made two lay-ups and then pulled down a huge offensive rebound that led to a Robert Covington three as he led a 16-9 run that forced Brown to keep him in the game for longer than his normal rotation.

Despite McConnell’s play (Philly outscored Boston by 16 points in the 17 minutes he played in game two) Simmons was brought back into the game with Philadelphia leading 93-91 with five minutes to play. Within two and a half minutes Boston led 103-97 and the Sixers’ shot at a series-turning road win was lost.

It was a lose-lose situation for Brown. Back the future of the franchise — or the man who was playing better? He chose to rode with Simmons and paid for it.

“It’s a tough decision, I admit it,” Brown said. “This whole playoff experience is something I want our young guys, our star players, to learn from and grow.

“Do you go with TJ still or come back to Ben Simmons? I’m coming back to Ben Simmons. He’s had a helluva year. He’s the Rookie of the Year. He has to learn how to play in these environments and I’m going back with Ben Simmons.”

Earlier, LeBron James and the Cavaliers secured a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Raptors after a 128-110 win thrashing in game two.

James had two 40-point games in the first round against Indiana but Friday’s performance may have been his best of this postseason as he finished with 43 points on 19/28 shooting, 14 assists and eight rebounds.

12.20pm

‘Morris hasn’t forgotten the cheap shot’

Ben Simmons is enduring a nightmare start to Philly’s second round series against Boston and according to Yahoo Sports senior writer Chris Mannix there’s a little history involved.

Simmons and Celtics forward Marcus Morris got into a skirmish when the teams played in London back in January and Mannix says Morris is carrying an edge into this series because of it.

Simmons has just one point, five assists, four rebounds and four turnovers as the 76ers coughed up a 22-point second quarter lead to trail 79-75 with a quarter to play.

JJ Redick has been the Sixers’ most consistent player, tallying 20 points including 4/6 threes. Joel Embiid has 15 points and 14 rebounds but is 6/17 from the field.

Marcus Smart (6/9 for 18 points) and Jayson Tatum (6/10 for 15 points) are enjoying fine outings for the Celtics.

11.45am

Simmons has ‘ZERO impact’ in first half

Philadelphia coach Brett Brown promised we’d see a different 76ers team tonight and for most of the first half he was right.

JJ Redick, Robert Covington and Dario Saric combined to hit seven first half threes — more than the 76ers’ entire total in game one — as the visitors exploded to a 22-point lead midway through the second quarter.

But the Celtics closed the half with a 26-8 run to trail 56-52 at halftime.

Jaylen Brown made his return to the Celtics lineup midway through the first quarter after missing game one with a hamstring injury.

Ben Simmons was yet to put his stamp on the game, tallying just one point, three assists and three rebounds. “Ben Simmons not looking like he wants anything to do with the ball in the entire first half,” Washington Post NBA writer Tim Bontemps tweeted.

10.30am

Absolute massacre in ‘Lebronto’

LeBron James had 43 points and 14 assists, Kevin Love added 31 points and 11 rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors 128-110 to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round playoff series.

James became the first player in NBA history to have more than 40 points with 14 assists in a playoff game.

J.R. Smith scored 15 points, Jeff Green had 14 and George Hill 13 as the Cavaliers posted their eighth consecutive postseason victory over the Raptors.

James had eight rebounds, narrowly missing his second straight triple-double. He connected on 19 of 28 attempts, while Love shot 11 for 21.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and Kyle Lowry had 21 for the Raptors. Toronto won a team-record 59 games and finished as the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference this season, but was easily shoved one step closer to a third straight postseason exit at the hands of James and the Cavs.

Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Fred VanVleet scored 14 points, but the Raptors lost back-to-back home games for the first time all season.

Toronto matched Houston by going 34-7 at home in the regular season, and went 3-0 at home against Washington in round one. The Raptors had not lost consecutive home games since dropping Games 3 and 4 of the second round to Cleveland last May.

The series shifts to Ohio for Game 3 on Saturday night. Toronto has gone 0-5 at Cleveland over the past two postseasons, losing by an average margin of 24.2 points per game.

The Cavaliers are 21-3 at home against Eastern Conference opponents in the playoffs over the past four years.

Beast. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Beast. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

The Raptors, who let a 10-point lead slip away in a 113-112 overtime loss in Game 1, were up 54-45 midway through the second quarter but saw their lead dwindle to 63-61 at halftime.

Cleveland took control as Smith scored six points in an 18-5 spurt to begin the third quarter. The Cavs outscored the Raptors 37-24 in the third to take an 11-point edge into the fourth, and Toronto didn’t challenge again.

James was on target in Cleveland’s game-changing third quarter, connecting on seven of 10 attempts and scoring 15 points. Love added nine as the Cavs took a 98-87 lead to the fourth.

“Kevin Love was phenomenal,” James said. “The All-Star we know and have grown to love.”

— AP

8am

NBA warns Drake over ‘bad language’

Drake made a late entrance to today’s game after the NBA warned the rapper over his use of “bad language” following the Cavaliers’ Game 1 win over Toronto.

USA Today Sports reported the league had a word with Drake following his ugly confrontation with Cleveland star Kendrick Perkins.

Drake is a regular fixture at Raptors games and often inserts himself into proceedings by conversing with players and referees.

Perkins clearly didn’t appreciate something that was said and had to be pushed away by teammate JR Smith at halftime of Cleveland’s 113-112 win.

Toronto Star sports columnist Bruce Arthur heard Drake call Perkins a “f***ing p****”.

The pair also exchanged more words after full-time.

7.45am

Knicks hire new coach

Former Memphis Grizzlies coach David Fizdale is the new coach of the New York Knicks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported.

Fizdale, a long-time assistant who was part of the Miami Heat during their title-winning years, was sacked midway through his second season with the Grizzlies late last year.

He replaces Jeff Hornacek, who won 31 and 29 games in his two seasons in charge in the Big Apple.

Wojnarowski reported Fizdale had agreed to a four-year contract.

Originally published as NBA Playoffs live: Cavaliers-Raptors, 76ers-Celtics

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/basketball/nba/nba-playoffs-live-cavaliersraptors-76ersceltics/news-story/2bc4b68e19aac334dea7e06fd9ce96de