Hip injury finishes Thomas’ playoffs
Cavaliers aim for record 14th straight postseason victory.
The Cavaliers will go for a record 14th consecutive playoff victory tonight in Cleveland against a demoralized Boston team that will not have star point guard Isaiah Thomas because of an injured right hip.
The Celtics announced Saturday that Thomas would miss the rest of the playoffs.
Cleveland took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals with a 130-86 victory Friday night in Boston in which the Cavaliers set a playoff record with a 41-point halftime lead (72-31).
Thomas sat out the second half after he aggravated a tear and impingement that coach Brad Stevens said the guard first sustained in Game 6 of the previous round against Washington. He was hampered in Game 7 on Monday and had more tests Saturday.
Stevens said Thomas was “pretty despondent” about sitting. “He’s a tough guy.”
LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 30 points as they tied the 1998-99 Lakers with 13 straight playoff wins. The Cavs’ streak includes the last three games of the 2016 NBA Finals.
The game began just after the three MVP award finalists were announced and James was not among them for the first time since 2008. The finalists are James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard.
During his postgame media session, James insisted the
Warriors at Spurs, late (Golden State leads 2-0) MVP snub didn’t bother him, but he later told Cleveland reporters: “Fourth? I haven’t been fourth in a long time.”
He has won the award four times. His teammates were irked. “Just another chip on his shoulder, which helps us,” guard J.R. Smith said.
“He’s c hasi ng a g host . Right now, that’s the only thing to compare to him.”
James is 3-4 in NBA Finals and is chasing Michael Jordan’s six championships.
“I’m a guy who lives in the moment,” James said. “Our team is in a great groove, and I’m happy to be a part of that groove. At the end of the day, we want to try to put ourselves in position to win every game. That’s the goal.”
Spurs-Warriors: Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard was to miss his second consecutive game Saturday night because of a sprained left ankle, coach Gregg Popovich said before the game. “In the end, I guess it’s my decision,” Popovich said. “He’s not thrilled he’s not playing, but he’s not ready.”
Thunder: Center Enes Kanter left Romania for the United States after police detained him at a Romanian airport. Kanter, who is Turkish, said in a video Saturday morning on his Twitter account that the Turkish embassy canceled his passport and he’d been detained for several hours because of his criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.