Paul George earned the praise of his coach Tyronn Lue as the Los Angeles Clippers hit back to beat the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of the Western Conference semi-finals.
Having lost the opening two games in Utah – with George, the subject of vitriol from the Jazz supporters, struggling to find his best form, although he did score 27 points in Game 2 – the Clippers struck back on their home court on Saturday in a 132-106 victory.
George was decisive, scoring 31 points, converting six three-pointers, while tallying five assists and three rebounds.
His 20 points in the first half set the standard for the Clippers, who also had fellow talisman Kawhi Leonard firing on all cylinders, putting up 34 points in 38 minutes.
"Oh, we're a different team," Lue said when asked to explain the impact of George getting into his stride early on.
"We know that. It's been like that all season long. He's been great. You know, he had one bad game, whatever, but people are going to have bad games."
The Clippers will aim to level the series in Game 4 on Monday, which again takes place at Staples Center, and with Leonard and George at their best, Lue was in a bullish mood.
"With our two guys, we know that they are two of the best in the league," Lue said.
"I don't go to Mastro's [restaurant] to order the ketchup. I go to order the steak. And tonight, our guys were steak. That's what we need."
While the Clippers' stars thrived, Utah guard Donovan Mitchell endured a difficult game, with an apparent recurrence of an ankle injury that kept him out for the final 16 games of the regular season forcing an early exit from the court, though he expects to be fighting fit for Game 4.
Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell insisted he will be "fine" for Game 4 after exiting the team's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers due to ankle pain.
Mitchell left Saturday's 132-106 defeat against the Clippers because of pain in his right ankle as the top-seeded Jazz had their lead reduced to 2-1 in the Western Conference semi-finals.
Jazz star Mitchell finished with 30 points in Game 3 on the road in Los Angeles, where he exited with less than eight minutes remaining and did not return.
Mitchell missed the final 16 games of the NBA's regular season and Utah's playoff opener due to an ankle sprain, but he allayed concerns afterwards.
"I feel like I was able to go back, but no need to risk it down 16, 18 at that point," Mitchell said. "I'll be fine."
"It's when I land," Mitchell said. "It's been just trying to manage it. I don't really know what else to tell you; I don't want to say too much.
"It was just the landing, but I'm good. I'll be ready for Game 4."
Prior to Saturday's matchup, Mitchell scored 37 points in Game 2 and was averaging 1.00 points per minute this postseason (32.7 per game in 32.7 minutes per game). In his career, the Jazz guard has averaged 0.78 points per minute in the playoffs, just behind the all-time record of 0.80 by Michael Jordan (minimum 1000 minutes).
Mitchell added: "Obviously, it's not going to be 100 per cent, but you go out there and you try to compete. Things like this are going to happen.
"You just got to find ways to manage it and get out there and get ready. It's not going to be perfect, but it is what it is."
"He's in good shape," Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said. "He could have gone back in the game, but at that point, the lead had stretched. In fact, while we were talking, I think [Clippers star] Kawhi [Leonard] hit a 3.
"That was my decision not to put him back in at that point. The game had gotten away from us at that point, but he's fine."
According to Stats Perform, the Clippers became the first team to score 130-plus points in a Game 3 win after trailing a series 2-0 since the Jazz in the 1985 Western Conference semis.
The Los Angeles Clippers' stars came through on their return home to drive a needed 132-106 win over the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of the Western Conference semi-finals on Saturday.
Paul George posted 20 points in the first half and finished with 31, while Kawhi Leonard top-scored with 34 of his own as the Clippers led throughout and cut Utah's series lead to 2-1 in the NBA playoffs.
Donovan Mitchell had 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting from the field to lead the top-seeded Jazz, but by the time he found his offensive rhythm the game was largely out of hand in Los Angeles.
Mitchell did not score his first point until almost halfway through the second quarter. The last time he went scoreless in any quarter of a playoff game was April 14, 2019 against the Houston Rockets – a 32-point Utah loss.
Utah kept this one a bit closer, cutting the Clippers' lead to eight points late in the third quarter, but George answered with a three-pointer and the Jazz could not get the margin below 10 from that point on.
Among the key issues for Utah was Bojan Bogdanovic's worst performance in months. The Croatian made just two of 10 shots from the field and had nine points in the game – the first time he has been held to single digits since scoring seven in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 26.
Meanwhile, the Clippers' supporting cast turned in an impressive showing, with Nicolas Batum and Reggie Jackson combining to make nine of their 12 three-point attempts and scoring 17 points each.
Game 4 is scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles.
Nets at Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks can level their Eastern Conference semi-final series with the star-studded Brooklyn Nets in Game 4 on Sunday.
Philadelphia 76ers veteran Danny Green will miss at least the rest of the Eastern Conference semi-final series against the Atlanta Hawks with a calf injury.
An MRI exam confirmed a right calf strain and Green will be re-evaluated in two weeks, the top-seeded 76ers said on Saturday.
Green left the court early in the first quarter of Friday's 127-111 victory over the Hawks, which gave the Sixers a 2-1 lead in the second-round series.
The 33-year-old has started all eight playoff games for Philadelphia and is averaging 7.0 points in 24.9 minutes per game in the postseason.
Green has played for the NBA champions the last two seasons, winning the title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 and the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
He spent the first eight seasons of his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, who he helped take the championship in 2014.
While the timetable announced by the team leaves open a potential return should the Sixers advance, Philadelphia will have to a find a way to do so without one of their leaders in pursuit of a first champion since 1983.
"The next guy has to step up," head coach Doc Rivers said Friday. "Not sure who that is going to be yet."
The 76ers face the Hawks in Atlanta in Game 4 on Monday.
MVP Nikola Jokic became the third player in playoffs history with a 30-20-10 performance but says he was not even at the top of his game as the Denver Nuggets lost 116-102 to the Phoenix Suns.
Jokic joined elite company with his performance in the defeat, scoring 32 points, with 20 rebounds and 10 assists.
Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970 for the Milwaukee Bucks and Wilt Chamberlain in 1967 for the Philadelphia 76ers had achieved the feat before in a playoffs game.
Jokic, who received his MVP award pre-game, was downbeat about the result which leaves the Nuggets trailing 3-0 in the series but also his own display, paying credit to Deandre Ayton's defense.
"I'm frustrated with myself because I missed shots and I think I didn’t play on top of my game, especially shooting wise," Jokic said at his post-game video conference.
"I think it'll be much easier for us if I start making shots. Of course, they're making it tough to make those shots."
The Nuggets need to create history to reach the Western Conference final, with no team in NBA history having overcome a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs. Denver hosts Game 4 on Sunday.
"We need try to leave everything out there," he said. "The fourth game if we lose we're out, we go home. We need to go there and fight. That's the mindset."
Jokic added: "Just focus on Sunday. We need to do a much better job, shooting 50 per cent [from the field] and 40 from three.
"Getting to the free-throw line, they're making theirs. We're not getting there enough and we're not even making those."
The Nuggets shot at 41.1 per cent from the field and 34.1 per cent from three-point range in Friday's defeat.
Jokic also said accepting his MVP award pre-game was special moment but paid tribute to others.
"It was a special moment," he said. "This is my trophy but it's because of all of them. I have to thank them. My family, coaches, players, medical staff and the front office."
The Phoenix Suns moved 3-0 up in their Conference semi-final series with a 116-102 victory over the Denver Nuggets despite MVP Nikola Jokic's triple-double on Friday.
Veteran Suns guard Chris Paul was exceptional with 27 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals to spark Monty Williams' side.
Young shooting guard Devin Booker scored a team-high 28 points, while center Deandre Ayton had 15 rebounds along with his 10 points.
Jae Crowder shot four-from-six beyond the arc, adding 14 points for the Suns, who opened up a 10-point lead at quarter-time and were never headed.
Denver center Jokic finished with 32 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, while Monte Morris came off the bench to add 21 points. But they lacked support with Jamal Murray out with long-term injury.
Michael Porter Jr was below his best with 15 points for the game, shooting at 38.3 per cent from the field.
The Suns are one win away from securing their spot in the Western Conference finals where they will face either the Utah Jazz or the Los Angeles Clippers.
Joel Embiid starred as the Philadelphia 76ers claimed a 2-1 lead in their Conference semi-final series with a road win over the Atlanta Hawks 127-111.
Embiid finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, helping the Sixers run away with the game in the third quarter when they outscored the Hawks by 15.
Atlanta's Trae Young scored 28 points and had eight assists but was quelled by the Philadelphia defence led by Ben Simmons, with the Hawks guard shooting at 52.9 per cent from the field.
Simmons scored 18 points, with four rebounds, one steal and seven assists - including a spectacular lobbed pass for an Embiid dunk - while Tobias Harris added 22 points shooting at 62.5 per cent from the field, with eight rebounds and five assists.
The 76ers led by five points at half-time but blew away the Hawks with a 34-19 third quarter and controlled the better part of the second half.
Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers admitted Joel Embiid is playing through pain after leading his side to a 127-111 Game 3 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in their Conference semi-final series.
Embiid scored 27 points, with nine rebounds and eight assists for the 76ers who claimed a 2-1 lead in the series with a crucial road win.
The 2021 NBA MVP runner-up has been battling knee soreness for the latter part of the season and suffered a small lateral meniscus tear in his right knee in Game 4 of the series against the Washington Wizards, missing Game 5.
"He's playing hard. He's giving us everything," Rivers said during his post-game video conference.
"What he's doing is incredible. He is going through a lot, I'll tell you that. It's been great to watch."
Rivers added praise for the 27-year-old Cameroonian, who defensively also had three blocks and a steal, to go with his 27 points in Game 3 against Hawks center Clint Capela.
"He was great. He was patient," Rivers said. "They were going to send two-three guys on him all night.
"I thought overall he kept his patience. We've got to do a little better job on our spacing so he can see guys better but overall I thought our movement, 10 turnovers for the game, told the story."
The Sixers lost starting forward Danny Green after only four minutes to injury and Rivers said the outlook was not positive for the 33-year-old who won NBA titles in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors and 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I have no idea [of the extent]. It's a calf injury," Rivers said. "My doctors will tell you calf injuries aren't great."
Rivers also offered praise to Australian guard Ben Simmons for his role in nullifying Hawks guard Trae Young who scored 28 points, shooting at 52.9 per cent from the field.
"It's been big. It's exhausting when you think about what we're asking Ben to do, follow Trae around and push the ball up the floor with pace," Rivers said.
"It's tough, he's young, he has endurance, he's been good for us."
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