Bumps and bruises taking their toll in playoffs
Utah tops Houston to even series 1-1
Injuries are having a major impact on the NBA playoffs.
A tweak, turn or strain to this or that has sidelined or limited players from All-Stars to reserves — and that has influenced the early outcomes of Round 2.
After Jaylen Brown strained his right hamstring in Boston’s Game 7 win over Milwaukee, he all but begged the Celtics doctors and trainers to let him suit up for the start of their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup with Philadelphia.
Boston managed to win without him in its 117-101 victory over the sluggish 76ers in Game 1 Monday night, thanks to career nights by Al Horford, Terry Rozier and rookie Jayson Tatum.
But despite two days of rest and treatment, coach Brad Stevens said Brown is “very doubtful” for Game 2 tonight.
“The bottom line is with this hamstring injury is it’s not terrible. Not a long-term thing. It shouldn’t linger if he comes back at the right time,” Stevens said.
If Brown can’t go for Game 2, it will again put stress on a Celtics rotation that just recently got back Marcus Smart from a right thumb surgery.
Fred VanVleet appeared to tweak his right shoulder in the second half of the Raptors’ 113112 overtime loss to Cleveland in Game 1 of their series Tuesday night. He missed most of Toronto’s first-round series against Washington with shoulder problems, but the Raptors still turned to him with the game on the line against the Cavaliers. VanVleet missed what would have been a go-ahead 3-pointer in the waning moments of regulation and another in the extra frame.
“I wish I wasn’t hurt,” he said, “but I’m not looking for any excuses.”
Elsewhere in the league, the return of some players and absence of others has been just as noticeable.
Stephen Curry, who sat out all of Golden State’s first-round series win over San Antonio with a sprained ligament in his left knee, gave the Warriors a major lift in his return for Game 2 of the Golden State’s semifinal matchup with the Pelicans on Tuesday night.
Ricky Rubio missed the Jazz’s series-opening loss against Houston on Sunday with a left hamstring injury and is out indefinitely. The Rockets’ Luc Mbah a Moute returned in Game 1 from the dislocated right shoulder he sustained last month. Houston originally thought he’s be out a full month, but he came back ahead of schedule and didn’t show any lingering effects from the injury in 21 minutes of action.
A closer look at tonight’s games: Cleveland leads 1-0.
NEED TO KNOW: The Raptors have lost seven straight playoff games against the Cavaliers, dating to the 2016 Eastern Conference finals, and blew a chance to take a lead in the series by coughing up a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 1. The Raptors missed four potential game-winning shots at the end of regulation, and a wide-open 3 by VanVleet late in overtime.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas. He had 21 points and 21 rebounds in Game 1 and shot 7-for-19, but missed five of six attempts in the fourth. On Wednesday, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said he can live with Valanciunas getting looks in the post if it means fewer touches for Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, and fewer 3-point attempts by the Raptors.
INJURY UPDATE: While VanVleet acknowledged he’s still dealing with discomfort in his shoulder, he plans to play through it for now.
PRESSURE IS ON: The Raptors. The top-seeded team in the East has already surrendered home court advantage to its playoff nemesis and is 0-5 all-time on the road against Cleveland in the postseason.
Boston leads 1-0.
NEED TO KNOW: The Celtics negated the athleticism of the 76ers in Game 1 by knocking down 17 3-pointers. Before the big scoring nights by Rozier (29 points), Tatum (28 points) and Horford (26 points), the Celtics hadn’t had three players score 25 or more points in a playoff game since 2009.
KEEP AN EYE ON: 76ers C Joel Embiid. He had 31 points and 12 rebounds in Game 1, becoming the first Philadelphia player to register 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game since Allen Iverson in 2001. But he said the focus will be on defense in Game 2. “We didn’t stick to the game plan,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff we can definitely correct.” INJURY UPDATE: Smart said Wednesday that his thumb remained “a little sore” after Game 1 but added “I’m good to go” for Game 2.
JAZZ 116, ROCKETS 108: In Houston, Joe Ingles scored a career-high 27 points and Utah squandered a huge early lead before using a big fourth quarter to regain control and beat Houston and tie the Western Conference semifinals at 1-1.
Ingles made a career-best seven 3-pointers and star rookie Donovan Mitchell added 17 points and 11 assists for his first game this postseason where he scored fewer than 20 points and didn’t lead the team in scoring.
The Jazz trailed by two with 8 minutes left before using a 16-2 run to pull away. Game 3 is Friday night in Utah.
After trailing by 25 points at halftime of the 110-96 loss in the series opener, the Jazz jumped out to an early lead in this one and led by as many as 19 in the first half.
Houston regained the lead in the third quarter but couldn’t keep pace with the Jazz.
James Harden had 32 points and 11 assists for Houston.