LeBron, Cavaliers Snap Losing Streak in Big Way
The question rolling around the NBA for the early part of this season has been "what is wrong with the Cleveland Cavaliers?" LeBron James added his input to that question in a big way on Friday night, as he went off for 57 points in a 130-122 Cavs win over the Washington Wizards. The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the two-time defending Eastern Conference Champions, as James posted his second-highest career total in points and the highest in the NBA this season. He did so on 23-of-34 shooting, which was the most shot attempts in a game since Kobe Bryant's final career game with the Los Angeles Lakers. The King's big night helped his team shoot 56 percent from the field, handing the Wizards their second shootout loss on their home floor this week. Washington shot 53 percent from the floor, getting 36 points from Bradley Beal, but fell to .500 on the season at 4-4. James added 11 rebounds and seven assists to go along with his most points in a game since putting up a career-high 61 points in March of 2014 against the Charlotte Hornets. The win puts the Cavs a game under .500 at 4-5, as they will look to get going for good when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. The Wizards will hope to get back over .500 when they visit the Toronto Raptors Sunday night.
Predators Top Ducks in Western Conference Finals Rematch
The National Hockey League only had two games on their schedule Friday night, but one of which was a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals. That went to the Nashville Predators, as did last year's Conference Finals, as Roman Josi scored a goal and assisted on another in a 5-3 win at the Honda Center on Friday. Scott Hartnell, Matt Irwin, Viktor Arvidsson, and P.K. Subban all scored in their first game since the Predators eliminated the Ducks in six games during last year's playoffs. Pekka Rinne made 35 saves on Friday, helping Nashville snap a four-game, regular season losing streak at Anaheim, which dated back to April of 2014. The Ducks did make things interesting late after trailing by three in the second period. They were able to pull the game within one during the third, but Subban's empty-net goal with 18 seconds left sealed the deal on the night. The loss for the Ducks gives them two in a row, as they fall to 6-6-1 this season. The Predators got off to a quick start with two goals in each of the first two periods, and improved to 6-5-2 on the season. They will continue their west coast trip when they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, while the Ducks hit the road on Saturday to visit the San Jose Sharks.
Irving, Celtics Rally to Seventh Straight Win
The Boston Celtics' 2017-18 season got off to the worst possible start the team could imagine in no time with the injury to Gordon Hayward and an 0-2 beginning, but they have found a way to find their groove and now sit atop the Eastern Conference. Boston rallied from an 18-point deficit on Friday night to get past the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 101-94 victory, which is their seventh in a row. The win makes the Celtics the first team with a 7-2 record after losing the first two games of the season in NBA history. Kyrie Irving led the charge with 25 points, five rebounds, and six assists, helping his team outscore the Thunder by 25 in the second half. The Celtics' newly-acquired point guard scored 22 of his 25 after halftime, as he finished 10-of-22 from the floor. Al Horford also came up big with 17 of his 20 points after the break, while Jaylen Brown added 10 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, who has allowed 94 or fewer points in every game during their win streak. The Thunder got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Paul George, as well as 19 points and 11 assists from Russell Westbrook on the night. They also got a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds from Carmelo Anthony, who shot just 3-of-17 in the Thunder's fourth loss of the year. They will hit the road to visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, while the Celtics will look to extend their win streak on the road against the Orlando Magic on Sunday night.
The question rolling around the NBA for the early part of this season has been "what is wrong with the Cleveland Cavaliers?" LeBron James added his input to that question in a big way on Friday night, as he went off for 57 points in a 130-122 Cavs win over the Washington Wizards. The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the two-time defending Eastern Conference Champions, as James posted his second-highest career total in points and the highest in the NBA this season. He did so on 23-of-34 shooting, which was the most shot attempts in a game since Kobe Bryant's final career game with the Los Angeles Lakers. The King's big night helped his team shoot 56 percent from the field, handing the Wizards their second shootout loss on their home floor this week. Washington shot 53 percent from the floor, getting 36 points from Bradley Beal, but fell to .500 on the season at 4-4. James added 11 rebounds and seven assists to go along with his most points in a game since putting up a career-high 61 points in March of 2014 against the Charlotte Hornets. The win puts the Cavs a game under .500 at 4-5, as they will look to get going for good when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. The Wizards will hope to get back over .500 when they visit the Toronto Raptors Sunday night.
Predators Top Ducks in Western Conference Finals Rematch
The National Hockey League only had two games on their schedule Friday night, but one of which was a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals. That went to the Nashville Predators, as did last year's Conference Finals, as Roman Josi scored a goal and assisted on another in a 5-3 win at the Honda Center on Friday. Scott Hartnell, Matt Irwin, Viktor Arvidsson, and P.K. Subban all scored in their first game since the Predators eliminated the Ducks in six games during last year's playoffs. Pekka Rinne made 35 saves on Friday, helping Nashville snap a four-game, regular season losing streak at Anaheim, which dated back to April of 2014. The Ducks did make things interesting late after trailing by three in the second period. They were able to pull the game within one during the third, but Subban's empty-net goal with 18 seconds left sealed the deal on the night. The loss for the Ducks gives them two in a row, as they fall to 6-6-1 this season. The Predators got off to a quick start with two goals in each of the first two periods, and improved to 6-5-2 on the season. They will continue their west coast trip when they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, while the Ducks hit the road on Saturday to visit the San Jose Sharks.
Irving, Celtics Rally to Seventh Straight Win
The Boston Celtics' 2017-18 season got off to the worst possible start the team could imagine in no time with the injury to Gordon Hayward and an 0-2 beginning, but they have found a way to find their groove and now sit atop the Eastern Conference. Boston rallied from an 18-point deficit on Friday night to get past the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 101-94 victory, which is their seventh in a row. The win makes the Celtics the first team with a 7-2 record after losing the first two games of the season in NBA history. Kyrie Irving led the charge with 25 points, five rebounds, and six assists, helping his team outscore the Thunder by 25 in the second half. The Celtics' newly-acquired point guard scored 22 of his 25 after halftime, as he finished 10-of-22 from the floor. Al Horford also came up big with 17 of his 20 points after the break, while Jaylen Brown added 10 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, who has allowed 94 or fewer points in every game during their win streak. The Thunder got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Paul George, as well as 19 points and 11 assists from Russell Westbrook on the night. They also got a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds from Carmelo Anthony, who shot just 3-of-17 in the Thunder's fourth loss of the year. They will hit the road to visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, while the Celtics will look to extend their win streak on the road against the Orlando Magic on Sunday night.
