BASKETBALL NBA ARTICLES

The Portland Trail Blazers are down to their last gap. The No. 8 seed is down 3-0 in their series with the Golden State Warriors and seem likely to get swept on Monday night.... 

The Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks have traded games in this series thus far. Milwaukee stole the first game of the series in Toronto, which the Raptors answered with a narrow win in Game 2. When the scene shifted to Milwaukee, the Bucks again scored a big victory, but the Raptors responded to the bell with a win in Game 4. Milwaukee will look to keep this trend going with a win in Game 5, but Toronto knows it needs to win at home if it wants to survive.... 

The San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies are knotted at two gamesiece heading into a pivotal Game 5 on Tuesday. San Antonio won the first two in the series, but Memphis has won the next two to even the series before the venue switches back to the Lone Star State. The home team has won every game so far this series and although that bodes well for San Antonio, the Spurs were hoping this series would be over already after how the first set of games went.... 

The Wizards are the higher seed and won the first two games and would love to pick this one up to take total control. While Atlanta won easily last time out, this one should be much closer.There has been a war of words between these teams through the first three games, so the intensity should be high in this matchup.... 

The Blazers had a 17-point advantage in Game 3 but blew it, giving Golden State an insurmountable lead. Portland is at home but will be the underdog and it’s going to be hard emotionally to play well in this one knowing that the season is all but over.Golden State was never in danger of losing this series, but winning last time out sets up a shot at the sweep and would allow the Warriors to rest up before their next-round series.... 

The Oklahoma City Thunder have scratched their way back into their series with the Houston Rockets, holding on in a nail-biter to get their first win in Game 3. That sets up a critical Game 4 between these teams in which Houston will either take control or this one will get knotted up.... 

The Los Angeles Clippers earned back the home court advantage by picking up a Game 3 victory in Utah last time out, and now they would love to take a commanding lead over the Jazz in their first-round series.... 

Home court advantage isn’t meaning much in the first-round series between the top-seeded Boston Celtics and No. 8 Chicago Bulls. The road team has picked up the first three games, and Boston badly needs that trend to continue in order to even the series and regain control of this matchup.... 

The Cleveland Cavaliers may have hit a lull at the end of the regular season, but they are looking like the team to beat in the Eastern Conference once again now that the playoffs are here. The second-seeded Cavs will aim to finish the sweep of the Indiana Pacers when the teams face off this weekend.... 

The Memphis Grizzlies fought back to make this a series in Game 3, and now need to win another one at home to really give the San Antonio Spurs something to worry about. The second-seeded Spurs are the better team, but Memphis played well last time out and has the type of defense that can keep it in games.... 

The Boston Celtics aren’t the only high seed in danger of losing their first round series. The Toronto Raptors have looked like the inferior team in their first round matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, and will need to win the crucial Game 4 in order to tie this series up.... 

The Atlanta Hawks blew their chance to steal a game against the Washington Wizards on the road. Now their backs are against the wall when the teams face off in Game 3 of their first round Eastern Conference playoff showdown.... 

The Thunder were much better at home than on the road during the regular season, while Houston’s success dipped away from home. That should be enough to make Oklahoma City a slight favorite in this one, although the Rockets are certainly more talented and may be able to grab this one to take complete control.Westbrook will need some help if Oklahoma City has plans to push the Rockets in this series.... 

Durant’s availability is up in the air again for Game 3, and if he is absent in that one, it is a bigger deal as Portland will return home and have a better chance at winning. The Blazers have no legitimate shot to win this series now that they are down 2-0, but this could be the best opportunity for them to steal one game.While Golden State should still be the favorite, Portland could make a run at the upset, especially if Durant remains on the shelf.... 

So much for being named the City of Champions. The Boston Celtics grasped the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference after a late-season letdown from the Cavaliers, but have been a huge disappointment after such an inspiring performance to end the regular season. The series is heading to the Windy City now and the Chicago Bulls are looking to become just the fifth No. 8 seed ever to knock off a No. 1 in the first round of the postseason. A win in Game 3 would put the Bulls in line to become the first No. 8 to sweep a No. 1 seed.... 

The Utah Jazz accomplished what they wanted to in Los Angeles, splitting the pair of games with the Clippers to return home with a chance to get a leg up in their first-round matchup. This is a pivotal game for both sides, and it figures to be a competitive showdown.... 

The Toronto Raptors clawed one back on Tuesday night to even the series with the Milwaukee Bucks. After some struggles in Game 1, their great backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry stepped it up in Game 2. DeRozan and Lowry both hit 50 percent from the floor and ended their nights with over 20 points to lead the way for Canada’s team in the win. They will now put their talents to the test in a pivotal Game 3 in Milwaukee.... 

For the second straight game, the Cleveland Cavaliers had to hold off the hard-charging Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter. Indiana may not have come as close as it did in Game 1, but there is still some trepidation in Cleveland as the Cavs let a 15-point lead midway through the fourth frame get whittled down to five with two minutes remaining. The Pacers have not capitalized on the Cavaliers late-game struggles yet, but now the venue switches from Cleveland to Indianapolis.At 7 p.m. EDT tune into TNT for live television coverage of this NBA playoff basketball game on Thursday, April 20, 2017 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA playoff schedule.... 

Defense wins championships. That’s one of the main reasons why Gregg Popovich has five rings and his unit has put on a clinic against the Memphis Grizzlies for the second straight postseason. Last season it was no surprise to see Memphis struggle on offense with both Marc Gasol and Mike Conley Jr. out for the season with injuries, but both are healthy this season and have just been swallowed up by the San Antonio Spurs. It’s do or die time for the Grizzlies with the next two games in Memphis.At 9:30 p.m. EDT tune into TNT and Fox Sports Southwest for live television coverage of this NBA playoff basketball game on Thursday, April 20, 2017 at FedEx Forum. We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA playoff schedule.... 

Golden State has the deeper team and the home court advantage once again, which is why it is a heavy favorite to move ahead 2-0 in this series when it is over. Not surprisingly, an entertaining back-and-forth affair is expected as Portland desperately tries to figure out a way to stay within striking distance of the Warriors’ elite offense.This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, April 19, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. ET Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. The game will be televised live on TNT.... 

The Celtics are still the superior team and have the home court advantage, so they will be favored despite the recent loss. Chicago has shown a penchant for playing the top teams tough this season and showed it once again in Game 1 by pulling out the win.Jimmy Butler led the way in the upset and the Celtics must do a better job containing him this time around.... 

John Wall was magnificent in the opener and Washington will be the favorites once again as he aims to help the Wizards take control. The Hawks’ defense fell off in the final two quarters and that must be figured out if they have the chance to pull this upset.This is a critical game, because a 2-0 lead for Washington would make it tough for the Hawks to overcome in this first round matchup.... 

The Rockets get another game at home and will be solid favorites to pick up another win. James Harden was fantastic for Houston while Westbrook struggled, and when that happens it makes for a blowout.Westbrook will need to play better in the second game for the Thunder to have a shot in this one.... 

What a response we saw from the San Antonio Spurs. After falling behind the Memphis Grizzlies in the first quarter of Game 1, San Antonio responded by holding Memphis to under 20 points for the last three quarters and secured a big first win of the series. The Spurs will look to match that result in Game 2 to take full control of the series, while the Grizzlies will look for an upset win that would snatch away home court advantage.... 

Joe Johnson pushed the Utah Jazz past the Los Angeles Clippers with a running floater in the lane that dropped in as time expired to give Utah the win in Game 1. It was a gut-punching loss for the Clippers who were down for much of the fourth quarter but kept rallying and had tied the game just 14 seconds before. With rumors of the team being totally dismantled in the offseason, it’s starting to be do or die time for the Clip Show....