We’re down to 14 teams remaining in the NBA postseason thanks to the Golden State Warriors completing their sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. The Warriors join the Cavaliers as the first two teams to move on to the second round and it’s starting to feel like we may very well see these two teams again June. The Raptors also took a 3-2 lead on the Bucks and the Hawks tied their series with the Wizards at two games a piece. Here is how it all went down.
NBA playoff scores 2017: Warriors finish off sweep of Trail Blazers
The Blazers are the second team to be eliminated from the playoffs.
Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
The Raptors reminded us their depth has great potential
It wasn’t DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry that led the Raptors to their Game 5 win. It was Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell. Powell stepped up when asked Monday night, as explained by our Raptors blog, Raptors HQ:
Let’s begin with the obvious highlight: Norman Powell. Despite playing no meaningful minutes in the series’ opening three games, Powell came into Game 5 as the Raptors secret weapon. His aggressive inside-out game on both ends of the court confounded the Bucks with 25 points on 8-of-11, including 4-of-4 from three (he hasn’t missed from there in two games), and 5-of-5 from the line, plus four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Norm looked to personally break Milwaukee’s spirit with a series of dunks — he saved the rudest, a crusher on Thon Maker, for last — to send them on their way, whimpering. It was an awe inspiring performance. “Powell came in with a lot of energy,” said Bucks coach Jason Kidd. “And they’re feeding off that.” And how.
Ibaka, meanwhile, finished with 19 points, six rebounds, and this monster smash on Giannis Antetokounmpo. We weren’t sure anyone was able to dunk on Giannis, but Ibaka did it.
We’ll now see if this young Bucks team has enough experience to rally in Game 6 to avoid elimination. The Cavaliers are waiting on the winner of this series.
Wizards let the Hawks back into the series
Don’t get me wrong, the Hawks played spectacular at home in this series, earning every bit of each win. But the Wizards had a chance to take a commanding lead and they could not do it. Game 4 is an important chance for teams that are up 2-1 to really take hold of a series and the Wizards were not ready to do that.
The Hawks were led by a balanced attack in this game, with seven players scoring in double-figures. Dwight Howard had (easily) his best game of the series with 16 points and 15 rebounds in 31 minutes, while Paul Millsap was Atlanta’s best player with 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Dennis Schröder (18 points), Kent Bazemore (16 points, seven assists) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (15 points) also produced well, with Jose Calderon (10 points, five assists) operating as the shock value in the best possible way.
You know what they say. A series doesn’t start until the road team gets a win. We’ll see who shows up for Game 5 back in Washington.
The Warriors started the first quarter of Game 4 in a way that was impressive even for the Warriors. They put up an easy 45 points in the first 12 minutes and went into quarter two with a 23-point lead. To be honest, this game was over before it even started. It wasn’t that the Blazers weren’t trying, it’s just that the Warriors are too good.
A 14-0 run started things off, and nothing got better for Portland. It was a reminder of how last season’s winningest team in NBA history just added Kevin Durant. It’s tough to see this team losing in a seven-game series when they shoot as well as they did on Monday night.
Durant returned from injury and played 20 minutes, recording 10 points on seven shots. In other news, Stephen Curry had 37 points and went 7-of-11 from the three-point line. The Warriors reminded us how dominant they can be. They’ll surely see more competition next round, but they’re going to be hard to beat.
Monday night’s scores
Raptors 118, Bucks 93 (Raptors HQ recap | Brew Hoop recap)
Hawks 111, Wizards 101 (Peachtree Hoops recap | Bullets Forever recap)
Warriors 128, Blazers 103 (Golden State of Mind recap | Blazers Edge recap)
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