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NBA Playoffs | LeBron stunned by death after Cavaliers defeat Pacers; Jazz outclass OKC; Rockets dominate Timberwolves

LEBRON James was lost for words and choked back tears when a reporter asked him about a shock death just minutes after a game.

James Matthey
7 min read
April 20, 2018 - 6:47AM
LeBron James was left speechless.
LeBron James was left speechless.

NBA Playoffs

The NBA Playoffs continued on Thursday with the Cavaliers, Jazz and Rockets all walking away victorious.

LEBRON James got his revenge when the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Indiana in the second game of their playoff series after the Pacers were successful in game one.

Elsewhere on Thursday, Utah — who boast Aussies Joe Ingles and Dante Exum — made it 1-1 with a win over Oklahoma City Thunder while Houston went 2-0 up against the Timberwolves.

However, the on-court action was put in perspective when it was revealed the wife of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had passed away on Thursday.

2.05pm

Tragic death rocks NBA

Shortly after the Cavaliers’ win over the Pacers in game two of their playoff series, James was made aware of the death of the wife of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

James was visibly shocked to learn the news of Erin’s passing during an on-court interview on live TV and was lost for words as he tried to comprehend the tragic development.

Reporter Allie LaForce asked if James had a message for Popovich.

“S***,” James eventually said as he choked back tears. “I’m a huge Pop fan, I love Pop. That’s such a tragedy. My best wishes go out to Pop and his family. That’s devastating news.

“The NBA family, we all stick together. I know we compete every night but when something like this happens it really puts things in perspective so I send my well wishes and my prayers up to the heavens above.”

Sportscaster Ernie Johnson clarified on air LaForce informed James of Popovich’s wife’s death before asking him his thoughts on live television.

James backed that up in a video posted to social media where he said LaForce asked him if it was OK to discuss the matter in their interview, and he told critics of the reporter to back off.

Before these revelations, the reaction on social media turned to whether LaForce — or her employer who may have directed her — were right to bring the topic up with James so soon after a game.

The backlash from fans started earlier in the day when Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant was advised of the news while speaking to a media scrum following shootaround.

While the impact wasn’t as severe, fans still weren’t happy with media personnel filming the reaction and posting it to their feeds.

Durant was clearly taken aback by the news and sat stunned struggling to find the words to even respond.

ESPN’s Chris Haynes tweeted out the former MVP’s reaction before deleting the post following multiple negative comments relating to the post.

The Spurs are currently taking on the Golden State Warriors in the NBA playoffs.

“We mourn the loss of Erin,” Spurs general manager RC Buford said in a statement. “She was a strong, wonderful, kind, intelligent woman who provided love, support and humour to all of us.”

2pm

Rockets blast past Wolves

Chris Paul led the way for Houston.
Chris Paul led the way for Houston.

Chris Paul had 27 points and Gerald Green came off the bench to score 21 as the Houston Rockets used a huge second quarter to cruise to a 102-82 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves that gave them a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Houston fell behind early, but went on top for good with a 37-point second quarter, powered by four three-pointers from Green, and the Wolves didn’t threaten again.

The top-seeded Rockets won the opener by three behind a 44-point performance from James Harden on a night when most of the team struggled offensively. Things were much different on Thursday when Harden had just 12 points as one of four Rockets who finished in double figures.

Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns had another disappointing game, scoring all of his five points in the first quarter, after being criticised for finishing with eight in the series opener. The All-Star big man went to the bench with about seven minutes left in the third quarter and didn’t return. Jamal Crawford scored 16 points for the eighth-seeded Timberwolves, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

Harden said Tuesday that he knew Paul would have a big game two after the nine-time All-Star scored 14 points and tied a season high with six turnovers in the first game. Early on, it was clear that Harden was right, as Paul had 15 points, three assists, two steals and a block by halftime.

Paul, who joined the Rockets in an off-season trade from the Clippers, finished with eight assists and three steals.

Houston was up by 22 points with about nine minutes left when Paul made two quick baskets to make it 91-65. The second came on a twirling off-balance lay-up over Nemanja Bjelica that earned him a standing ovation from the home crowd. The Rockets were up by 15 at halftime and opened the second half with a 10-2 run to make it 65-42 with about nine minutes left in the third. Harden made his first three-pointer to get things going after missing all six attempts in the first half, and P.J. Tucker added another one after two free throws by Jimmy Butler. The Timberwolves had scored seven straight points later in the third when Green, the hometown player who was signed off the street in December, hit his fifth three-pointer to leave the Rockets up 74-53 with about 2.5 minutes left in the quarter.

The Timberwolves led by as many as nine early and the game was tied with about eight minutes left in the second quarter before Houston scored 16 straight points, highlighted by three three-pointers from Green, to take a 46-30 lead with about 4.5 minutes left in the first half.

Minnesota missed six straight shots, including three that were blocked, and had committed two turnovers as the Rockets built the lead.

— AP

12.35pm

Jazz edge past Thunder

Donovan Mitchell was on fire in the fourth quarter.
Donovan Mitchell was on fire in the fourth quarter.

Rookie Donovan Mitchell scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to help the Utah Jazz defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 102-95 and tie their Western Conference playoff series at one win apiece.

Derrick Favors had career playoff bests of 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Jazz, and Ricky Rubio had 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the first playoff win of his seven-year career.

Russell Westbrook had 19 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds for the Thunder. Paul George, who scored 36 points in game one, finished with 18 on 6-for-21 shooting. Carmelo Anthony scored 17 points, but made just six of 18 shots.

Utah out-rebounded Oklahoma City 56-46 to take home-court advantage from the Thunder. Game three will be on Sunday (AEST) in Utah.

Oklahoma City had two chances in the final minute to trim Utah’s lead with the Jazz leading 99-95, but Anthony missed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Utah led 53-46 at halftime behind 12 points from Rubio and 10 points and eight rebounds from Favors. Oklahoma City made just nine of 25 shots inside the three-point line in the first half. George led the Thunder with 11 points at the break.

Adams picked up his fourth foul with 6:46 left in the third quarter and the Thunder down 65-58, yet Oklahoma City responded with a run. George’s three-pointer put the Thunder up 69-67. Oklahoma City closed the quarter on a 21-9 run to take a 79-74 lead. The Thunder held the Jazz to 7 for 23 shooting in the third quarter before Mitchell took over in the fourth.

— AP

11.45am

LeBron makes good on selfish prophecy

After a demoralising loss in game one some critics called for Cleveland superstar LeBron James to be more aggressive and make more plays himself rather than providing for teammates.

Coach Tyronn Lue said James’ play in that defeat to Indiana was typically selfless but vowed to put him in a position to score more points this time around — and he did just that.

“Coach Lue said, ‘I guess what I’m going to have to do is draw up plays where he has no option other than to score and go to the basket, I can’t give him the option of making a better basketball play,’” ESPN reporter Allie LaForce said.

“He said, ‘I will make sure he gets to the basket and scores early in this game.’”

James got to the basket alright, stuffing the statsheet in the Cavs’ narrow 100-97 win on Thursday. He finished with 46 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to single-handedly guide his team to the narrow victory.

“I played my game,” he said.

James scored the opening six points of the game and getting things going with a lay-up after charging into the paint.

The Cavs took an early 16-3 lead and James had all of his team’s points. He took less than six minutes to accumulate that many, which is the most points any player has scored in the first six minutes in a playoff game in the past 20 years.

“What a transformation being put on here by LeBron James,” one ESPN commentator said.

Cleveland was ahead 33-20 at the end of the first quarter with James having scored 20 points himself to go with six rebounds and three assists.

He maintained the rage in the second quarter despite starting it on the bench. He added nine more points to his tally to have almost three times as many points (29) as the Cavaliers’ next best scorer Kevin Love (10).

It’s reportedly the first time anyone has put up stats like the ones LeBron dished up in the first 20 minutes of a playoff game.

Indiana fought back but Cleveland still had the advantage, taking a 58-46 lead into halftime.

The Cavs’ lead shrunk even further in the third, ahead by seven with one quarter left to play as they held on grimly for the three-point win after James iced some final minute free throws.

Lue shook up his starting line-up for game two and Kyle Korver contributed 12 points, all on threes, made several hustling plays and took two charges.

James was his unstoppable self and there wasn’t a whole lot the Pacers could do about him in the first half.

“We just wanted him to set the tone and he did that by getting to the basket early, making a couple jump shots,” Lue said.

“But we ran the same first play until they stopped it. He kept getting what he wanted. We just kind of followed his lead from there.”

— with AAP

Originally published as NBA Playoffs | LeBron stunned by death after Cavaliers defeat Pacers; Jazz outclass OKC; Rockets dominate Timberwolves

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Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/sport/basketball/nba/nba-playoffs-cavalierspacers-thunderjazz-rocketswolves/news-story/3eba9d5986e4a0a147d2b0117075c6fe