Tyronn Lue is confident the Los Angeles Clippers can turn around their 3-1 deficit in the Western Conference Finals with the Phoenix Suns, describing the challenge as "very doable".
The Clippers fell to an 84-80 loss to the Suns on Saturday, leaving Los Angeles needing to win three straight games to progress to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
In Conference Finals, teams that have led 3-1 have gone on to win a seven-game series 52 times, with that advantage reversed on just four occasions.
Falling 3-1 behind is typically a death knell for a team in any round, with teams that have claimed 3-1 leads in best-of-seven series winning 95 per cent of the time (251-13).
But Lue has experience of coming from 3-1 down to prevail, having done so as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers when they incredibly overturned that deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
The Warriors did not surrender the same lead in 2017, avenging that loss with a 4-1 Finals win over the Cavs.
Drawing inspiration from the Clippers coming from 2-0 down against the Utah Jazz in the previous round, Lue stated his belief in his team to overcome the odds.
"We beat Utah and won four games in a row," Lue said. "So it's very doable."
The Clippers' hopes of fighting back would be significantly boosted were Kawhi Leonard to return from a knee sprain that has seen him miss the final two games of the Jazz series and all four games with Phoenix so far.
But Paul George, who had a double-double with 23 rebounds and 16 rebounds in Game 3, does not want Leonard to rush back regardless of the Clippers' perilous situation.
"I can't speak for him, to the health of Kawhi," George said. "If he's not 100 [per cent], we don't want him out there. I mean, that's just as a brother, as a team-mate.
"His health long term is more important than what's going on now. I can't speak on the extent of his injury or, you know, what he [can] and cannot give us.
"Like I've been saying, his health is just more important than anything else."
Raptors reportedly hiring Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic as head coach
The Toronto Raptors have found their successor to Nick Nurse, hiring Memphis Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic to be their head coach.
The news was first reported Saturday by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Rajakovic will become the 10th coach in franchise history and was picked over Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee, according to Wojnarowski.
A native of Serbia, Rajakovic has been an NBA assistant coach since 2014, serving on the Grizzlies' staff the last three seasons.
His first coaching job in the NBA was with the Oklahoma City Thunder and after six seasons there he spent the 2019-20 season with the Phoenix Suns before becoming Taylor Jenkins' top assistant on the Memphis bench.
The last three seasons with Rajakovic on the staff, the Grizzlies have won a pair of Southwest Division titles while making the playoffs each time. They've compiled a .614 winning percentage - fifth best among all NBA teams in that span.
Rajakovic replaces Nurse, who led the Raptors to the franchise’s only title in 2019, but was fired on April 21, nine days after losing 109-105 to the Chicago Bulls in their play-in game.
Nurse, who was hired by the Philadelphia 76ers on May 29, led Toronto to a pair of Atlantic Division titles, however, the team finished last in the Atlantic this season with a 41-41 record to miss the playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons.
Rajakovic's hiring fills the final open coaching vacancy in the NBA.
Nuggets beat Heat to get within one win of franchise's first NBA championship
Aaron Gordon provided a huge lift with 27 points and the Denver Nuggets received contributions from several sources in a 108-95 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday to get within one win of the franchise’s first NBA championship.
Nikola Jokic worked around foul trouble to tally 23 points and 12 rebounds and Bruce Brown scored 11 of 21 points down the stretch to help the Nuggets take a 3-1 lead in the series. Denver can wrap up the title at home in Game 5 on Monday.
Jamal Murray scored 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting but had 12 assists. His shooting struggles were offset by Gordon, who was 11 of 15 from the field with six rebounds and six assists. Brown connected on 8 of 11 field goals and his third 3-pointer of the night with 1:21 left pushed the advantage to 108-91.
Jokic went to the bench with 9:24 to play after he committed his fifth foul with Denver holding a 10-point lead. He checked back in just over five minutes later with the Nuggets leading 96-87.
Jimmy Butler scored 25 points and Bam Adebayo added 20 with 11 rebounds, but the Heat had their final lead at 23-20 early in the second quarter. They cut the deficit to 94-87 midway through the fourth before Brown scored Denver’s next eight points to make it 102-91.
Miami appears to be wearing down with its sixth loss in eight games since taking a 3-0 lead over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
Denver Nuggets with one hand on NBA trophy after taking 3-1 finals series lead
The Denver Nuggets are within one game of claiming their first NBA championship after dismantling the Miami Heat 108-95 in the fourth game of the NBA finals.
The Nuggets return to Denver for game five of the seven-game series, where they will aim to win the franchise’s first Larry O’Brien trophy in their 56-year history.
Nikola Jokic again proved a mismatch for Miami, wthe Serbian posting 23 points and 10 rebounds.
He was ably supported by Aaron Gordon, who finished with a game-high 27 points in one of the best performances of his career.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined for 45 points for the Heat, who were ultimately let down by another poor shooting effort from three.
Miami shot just 32 per cent from deep, while the Nuggets drained half of their three-point attempts.
The Heat kept pace with the Nuggets early, maintaining just a four-point deficit at the half.
But Denver exploded for 31 points in the third quarter, claiming an advantage which, despite a rally late in the fourth, Miami were ultimately unable to overcome.
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