Kawhi Leonard insisted the Los Angeles Clippers "have a lot of fight left" after they fell into a 0-2 hole in the Western Conference semi-finals series with the Utah Jazz.
The top-seeded Jazz took a two-game lead on Thursday with a 117-111 victory, Donovan Mitchell racking up 37 points to inspire Utah to triumph.
Leonard was held to 21 points in 39 minutes but is confident the Clippers can overturn the deficit, having come back from 2-0 and 3-2 down in their first-round series with the Dallas Mavericks.
"We all got to put our will out on the floor," the two-time NBA Finals MVP said.
"You know, see what we did in the first two games and try to limit our mistakes and just keep going on from there pretty much.
"We'll see [on Friday] what we got to do, and we've got a lot of fight left. So you know, we're up for the challenge."
Reggie Jackson top-scored for the Clippers with 29 points while Paul George produced a double-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
There was a significant disparity between the two teams in three-point shooting, with the Clippers going 11 for 30 from beyond the arc while the Jazz hit on 20 of their 39 attempts from deep.
"We've got to give them credit," said George. "This is a tough opponent. They weren't number one in the West for no reason.
"But, you know, we are approaching this the same way Dallas was, we still feel we have a lot of possessions that we can clean up, a lot of possessions that are hurting us that's our fault.
"As good as they are playing, as tough as this matchup is, we still feel like there's moments throughout this game, this series, that, you know, we are making plays that are self-inflicted.
"It's a lot of uphill. But we're optimistic that we can get this under control and go back home, one game at a time, and try to tie this series up."
Donovan Mitchell praised the Utah Jazz for taking the pressure off his shoulders in an outstanding team performance that earned a 117-111 victory at home to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Jazz moved 2-0 ahead in their Western Conference semi-finals series, with All-Star Mitchell posting 37 points in a stellar display.
But he was not alone in producing the goods, with newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert contributing 13 points, 20 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in Utah.
"I don't feel like I have to go out there and do everything," said Mitchell, who is averaging 28.4 points in his playoff career, only behind LeBron James (28.7), Jerry West (29.1), Kevin Durant (29.2), Allen Iverson (29.7) and Michael Jordan (33.4).
"I think that's a credit to the guys we have on this team because they can go out there and make plays.
"Everybody's elevated their game."
Having played a leading role himself, Mitchell was keen to laud the impact of Bojan Bogdanovic, whose defensive efforts proved telling.
"Bojan's defense was superb," he said. "He's been taking that role and taking that challenge.
"We make jokes with him all the time and we look at Bojan and say, 'Hey, we pay you to shoot'."
Mitchell seemed to suffer a leg injury late in the contest that left him hobbling, although he dispelled any fitness concerns.
"I'm fine now," he said. "I walked in here and if you want me to sprint for you, I can. I'm good."
The result extended the Jazz's winning streak to six games – the team's longest unbeaten run in the playoffs since celebrating seven consecutive victories in 1998.
Kawhi Leonard and the fourth-ranked Clippers were looking to even the series by splitting Utah's homestand, but the visitors fell short in Game 2.
Reggie Jackson had a team-best 29 points on 11-for-19 shooting as Paul George (27 points and 10 rebounds) and Leonard (21 points) contributed.
Kyrie Irving enjoyed the battle of a "good old-fashioned playoff game" despite the Brooklyn Nets seeing a roaring comeback halted by the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks escaped with an 86-83 victory in Game 3 in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, with the Nets still leading the series 2-1.
Milwaukee had surrendered a 21-point lead before Jrue Holiday put the home team ahead for good with 11.4 seconds remaining.
Kevin Durant's 30 points and 11 rebounds were not enough for the Nets, who were again without injured superstar James Harden (hamstring).
Irving, however, was not too downbeat as he was able to appreciate the contest as a spectacle.
"Shoot, man, they did what they were supposed to do: come out aggressive, backs against the wall, and we had to weather that storm," he said.
"So that definitely kind of put us on our heels for the rest of the game, just playing catch-up, playing their style of basketball, and then they made some big timely shots which carried them forward.
"But we had our chances down the stretch. It was a possession-by-possession game. Both teams battling. So that's a good old-fashioned playoff game right there."
Durant highlighted how fine margins determined the outcome of a game that could have gone either way.
He said: "They played more physical, they were there at the rim and they just played their regular way, the way they've been playing the whole season.
"I think we got great looks, we need to knock them down, but they also did a good job of contesting and being physical and blocking shots at the rim.
"But for the most part we got back into the game, had plays down the stretch and they just ended up making a couple more shots."
Donovan Mitchell produced another monster performance as the top-seeded Utah Jazz took down the Los Angeles Clippers for a commanding 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semi-finals.
After going off for 45 points in the opener, All-Star Mitchell posted 37 points to lead the Jazz to a 117-111 victory at home to the Clippers in Game 2 in the NBA playoffs on Thursday.
Mitchell was supported by fellow All-Star and newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, who put up 13 points, 20 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in Utah.
Utah's Mitchell is averaging 28.4 points in his playoff career, only behind LeBron James (28.7), Jerry West (29.1), Kevin Durant (29.2), Allen Iverson (29.7) and Michael Jordan (33.4).
The in-form Jazz extended their winning streak to six games – the team's longest unbeaten run in the playoffs since celebrating seven consecutive victories in 1998.
Kawhi Leonard and the fourth-ranked Clippers were looking to even the series by splitting Utah's homestand, but the visitors fell short in Game 2.
Reggie Jackson had a team-best 29 points on 11-for-19 shooting as Paul George (27 points and 10 rebounds) and Leonard (21 points) contributed.
In the Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Milwaukee Bucks escaped with an 86-83 victory against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3.
The Bucks had their backs against the wall after falling into a 2-0 hole against the second-seeded Nets, but responded on home court in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee surrendered a 21-point lead at home to the Nets before Jrue Holiday put the Bucks ahead for good with 11.4 seconds remaining.
Giannis Antetokounmpo posted 33 points and 14 rebounds, while Khris Middleton top-scored with 35 points and 15 rebounds as Kevin Durant's buzzer-beating three-point attempt for the Nets bounced off the rim.
The Bucks are the only NBA team in the last 15 years to have two players (Antetokounmpo and Middleton) score 15-plus points in a quarter with no other team-mates posting a point (regular season or postseason), according to Stats Perform.
Antetokounmpo and Middleton combined for 68 points and 29 rebounds. Per Stats Perform, they are the first duo to combine for those numbers in a playoff game since Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 2001.
Durant's 30 points and 11 rebounds were not enough for the Nets, who were again without injured superstar James Harden (hamstring).
76ers at Hawks
The top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers will visit the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semi-final matchup on Friday. The series is level at 1-1.
Giannis Antetokounmpo insisted "a win is a win" after the Milwaukee Bucks escaped with an 86-83 victory against the Brooklyn Nets, despite blowing a big advantage in Game 3.
The Bucks had their backs against the wall after falling into a 2-0 hole against the second-seeded Nets in the Eastern Conference semi-finals but responded on home court in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee surrendered a 21-point lead at home to the Nets before Jrue Holiday put the Bucks ahead for good with 11.4 seconds remaining on Thursday.
The Bucks were forced to dig deep during the closing stages, however two-time MVP Antetokounmpo did not dwell on the manner of the win as Milwaukee cut Brooklyn's lead to 2-1 in the NBA playoffs.
"At the end of the day, a win is a win," said Antetokounmpo, who posted 33 points and 14 rebounds.
"It doesn't matter if you win by 30. It doesn't matter if you win by one.
"You can go back home and celebrate the ‘W.' "
Khris Middleton top-scored with 35 points and 15 rebounds as Kevin Durant's buzzer-beating three-point attempt for the Nets bounced off the rim.
The Bucks are the only NBA team in the last 15 years to have two players (Antetokounmpo and Middleton) score 15-plus points in a quarter with no other team-mates posting a point (regular season or postseason), according to Stats Perform.
Antetokounmpo and Middleton combined for 68 points and 29 rebounds. Per Stats Perform, they are the first duo to combine for those numbers in a playoff game since Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 2001.
"We ran a lot of pick-and-roll, the first two games, in Brooklyn. I was able to get my spots, just wasn't making the shot, making the right pass or the right read," Middleton said.
"Tonight, I just tried to make the right read and make those shots. I can see what they are giving, just trying to take advantage of that."
On Milwaukee's defense, Holiday added: "I think part of it is playing desperate, knowing the situation, knowing what this game means to us and what it means to be home.
"And then the other part of it is the performance we had the first two games, showing that's not the type of defense we play. That was really out of character."
The Utah Jazz will once again be without All-Star Mike Conley for Game 2 of the Western Conference semi-finals against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a right hamstring strain.
Conley sat out the Jazz's 112-109 victory to open the second-round series in the NBA playoffs after hurting his hamstring in the series-clinching Game 5 win over the Memphis Grizzlies last week.
The Jazz guard will remain sidelined for Thursday's clash as top-seeded Utah look to open a 2-0 lead over Kawhi Leonard's Clippers.
Conley has been averaging 17.4 points, a postseason career-high 8.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds through five games in the playoffs.
During the regular season, Conley averaged 16.2 points, 6.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The Jazz have won five consecutive games – the franchise's longest winning streak in the playoffs since claiming seven straight in 1998.
This is the first time Utah have won the first game of a series since the 2017 opening round, also against the Clippers. The Jazz are 10-3 (76.9) all time in a best-of-seven series when leading 1-0, winning each of their last three such series, according to Stats Perform.
Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell posted 45 points in Game 1 – he now has three of the franchise's five 45-point games in the playoffs, including the franchise record (57 against the Denver Nuggets in the 2020 first-round series).
Utah have made at least 17 three-pointers in five consecutive games, the longest streak in the postseason in NBA history.
In fact, the Jazz attempted 50 threes in Game 1, their most in a playoff game in franchise history.
In theory, the Milwaukee Bucks appeared to be the biggest obstacle on the Brooklyn Nets' path to an NBA championship.
To stand a chance of winning a seven-game series against the NBA’s premier trio of team-mates – Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving – you've got to be able to score points, and a whole lot of them.
Despite a recurring run of injuries that often rendered their Big Three to a Big Two – or many times a lonely One – the Nets were a remarkable 27-2 when allowing 112 or fewer points in a game during a regular season which they finished as a de facto 1A to the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference.
The true magic number when it comes to facing Brooklyn, however, is 120, as the Nets were a pedestrian 8-13 when opponents scored above that mark. So, how many teams averaged 120 points per game this season?
Just one, as a matter of fact. That would be the Bucks.
And what team had the most games this season totalling 120 or more points? Again, the answer is Milwaukee, whose 39 games hitting the mark was six more than the next closest competitor – which, you guessed it, would be the Nets.
Well, after two games of the most anticipated series of this year's conference semifinals, Brooklyn's perceived greatest threat had offered no challenge whatsoever.
After comfortably winning Game 1, even with Harden playing a mere 43 seconds after aggravating a previous hamstring injury, the Nets unequivocally justified their status as the favourites to claim the Larry O'Brien Trophy with a 125-86 Game 2 thrashing that came with Harden cheering on his fellow well-paid team-mates in street clothes.
In hindsight, those results were ones we maybe could have seen coming. Sure, the Bucks effortlessly disposed of the reigning East champion Miami Heat with a first-round sweep, but it came without their offense performing at its usually potent level.
Milwaukee shot just 32.7 per cent from three-point range for the series, well below their 38.9 per cent success rate for the season, and they had at least 15 turnovers in three of the wins. The Bucks advanced mostly on good defense, coupled with an unquestionably abysmal shooting performance from the Heat over the four games.
In the Brooklyn series, the Bucks haven't been able to hit water from a boat, going into Game 3, having shot a paltry 24.6 per cent from beyond the arc over the first two clashes.
The early stages of the series also exposed Milwaukee's greatest weakness during what was otherwise another splendid regular season under Mike Budenholzer – an inability to adequately defend the three. The Bucks permitted opponents to make 38.4 per cent of their trey attempts over the 72-game schedule, with only the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves yielding a higher percentage.
Against a locked-in team like the Nets, that can be – and has been – a recipe for disaster. The first team in league history to make 15 or more three-pointers in six straight games during a single postseason, Brooklyn have connected at an incredible 43 per cent rate from long distance so far in these playoffs, going into Thursday evening's third clash with the Bucks.
If the Nets could even come close to keeping that pace the rest of the way, that likely spells doom for the rest of the NBA. The three-point shot has been a strong indicator of success in this postseason, as teams have won at a 70 per cent clip (35-15) when recording a higher three-point percentage than their opponents and are 25-7 when hitting 15 or more triples in a game.
Moreover, teams that have shot better than 40 per cent from three-point range are 24-5 this postseason, and the five teams that lost each faced an opponent that also eclipsed the 40 per cent mark in that game.
So, assuming the Nets don't do the unthinkable and somehow lose this series, is it a fait accompli they'll represent the East in the Finals?
They did lose two of their three match-ups with the 76ers during the regular season, though it's hard to put much stock in those outcomes considering Brooklyn were without at least two of Durant, Harden and Irving in all of those games.
Philadelphia getting past the upstart Atlanta Hawks cannot be considered an absolute given either, but the Sixers will provide an interesting test provided they do get past their pesky second-round foes.
They have the lowest ratio of three-point attempts to total field-goal attempts of any of the eight remaining teams, not too surprising for an offense centred around MVP runner-up Joel Embiid and the perimeter-averse Ben Simmons. But while the Sixers generally aren't bombing away with the same frequency as those still left standing, it could be argued that outside shooting may be the single biggest factor in determining how far they ultimately go this summer.
Next to Embiid's ever-present fitness concerns, Seth Curry might just be the X-factor when it comes to determining whether the 76ers can end a 20-year Finals absence. When Curry is going well and Embiid is healthy, Philadelphia are awfully difficult to beat. And Steph's little brother is certainly doing just that right now, having averaged 24 points while shooting 61.9 per cent (13 of 19) from three-point range over his last three games.
The 76ers went 20-3 during the regular season when Curry made three or more three-pointers in a game, and they've hit the all-important 120-point mark in five of their seven playoff games thus far. If it comes to fruition, a Philly-Brooklyn match-up in the East Finals would surely be a treat.
As for the West, the Clippers could represent the most imposing roadblock to the Nets' first NBA title in franchise history – on paper, at least. No team shot above the coveted 40 per cent standard from three-point range more times during the regular season than Tyronn Lue's group, whose 42 such games were seven more than the team second on that list (again, the Nets). The Clippers also led the league in three-point percentage at 41.1 per cent.
There's no questioning the Clippers' talent and depth. Trust, however, is another matter. This is largely the same cast that famously blew a 3-1 series lead to the Denver Nuggets in last year’s West semifinals, and they couldn't hold on to a 13-point half-time advantage in losing Tuesday's series opener to a Utah team playing without starting point guard Mike Conley.
History isn't on the Clippers' side either, as they've never advanced past the conference semis in eight previous tries.
And what about the Jazz, for that matter? Utah may not possess the Nets' overall star power and haven't displayed the same level of recent dominance as their potential Finals foes, but they did lead the league in wins this season, are capable of shooting their way out of any deficit and haven't lost a game when Donovan Mitchell has taken the court since April.
That is only a seven-game winning streak since Mitchell missed over a month with a sprained ankle, but has there been a better postseason performer than Utah's All-Star guard over the last two years?
In 12 playoff games over that period, Mitchell has averaged 34.4 points on 50.6 per cent shooting, and a 45-point masterpiece against the Clippers on Tuesday was his fourth outing with at least 44 points during that stretch.
Of course, superlative individual efforts don't always coincide with championship glory. Just ask Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
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