LeBron, Cavs Take Commanding 3-0 Series Lead
LeBron James is 123-0 when his teams take a 3-0 series lead, so in other words, the Toronto Raptors could very well be doomed. James put up 35 points on the road to lead his Cavs to a 115-94 rout of the Raptors on Friday for, yes, a 3-0 series lead. Kevin Love added a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Cavs pull away in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Raptors by 19 in the final 12 minutes. The dominant effort from the defending champs helped overcome a 37-point night from DeMar DeRozan, as the Raptors played without point guard, Kyle Lowry. Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points in the loss, but Toronto could not get contribution anywhere else. Cleveland is now looking for their second consecutive sweep this postseason, as they are the first team since the Minneapolis Lakers in 1949 and 1950 to win their first seven playoff games in back-to-back seasons. They won 10 in a row last season before dropping Games 3 and 4 to the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals. They will look to complete another sweep on the road come Sunday.
Spurs Overcome Harden, Rockets For Series Lead
James Harden went off for 43 points on his home floor Friday, which would normally result in a Houston Rockets victory, but the San Antonio Spurs had other things in mind. Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points apiece to give the Spurs a 2-1 series lead with a 103-92 Game-3 win in the Toyota Center. It was San Antonio's first game without Tony Parker, who is out for the remainder of the postseason with a torn quadriceps. It was their first postseason game without the point guard since 2001, as he had appeared in an NBA-record 221 straight playoff games. Patty Mills will be the replacement the rest of the way and had 15 points in 30 minutes on Friday. Clint Capela's double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds was the closest thing Harden got for support for Houston. Trevor Ariza made five three-pointers in the first half, but had nothing else going for him the rest of the way. Game 4 of the series is also in Houston on Sunday night.
Ducks Stun Oilers, Blues Avoid Elimination
The Anaheim Ducks dropped the first two games on their home ice, and on Friday night, they trailed 3-0 with just over three minutes remaining at home. That's when the rallied started, as Ryan Getzlaf, Cam Fowler, and Rickard Rakell scored within three minutes to tie the game with 15 seconds left and send it into overtime. It took two extra periods, but Corey Perry took a feed from Getzlaf to net the game-winner and complete the improbable comeback by beating Cam Talbot for a 4-3 double-OT win for Anaheim. Despite Talbot surrendering the big lead, he finished with 60 saves on the night. Anaheim became the first team to force overtime or win a playoff game after trailing by three goals with less than four minutes left in NHL history. The win is the Ducks' third straight, which puts the Oilers on the brink of elimination heading back home. Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Drake Caggiula had regulation goals for the Oilers, who seemed to be well on their way to their third road win of the series. These two teams will go at it again on Sunday night in Edmonton for Game 6.
Elsewhere, the St. Louis Blues stopped the red-hot Nashville Predators for the time being on Friday night, as they were able to avoid elimination with a 2-1 Game-5 win at home. Jaden Schwartz scored early in the third, which proved to be the game-winner, and season-saver, for the Blues. Dmitirij Jaskin also scored for St. Louis after finding out moments before the game that he was in the lineup for Alexander Steen, who is suffering from a lower-body injury. Before Friday night, Jaskin had just one goal in 51 games this season. Schwartz's goal came just 25 seconds into the final period, which was his team-high fourth of the postseason, including three game-winners. Jake Allen made 21 saves for the Blues and only got beat by James Neal on the night. Pekka Rinne had 30 stops in the loss for the Predators, who have another shot to close out the series back on their home ice for Game 6 on Sunday.
LeBron James is 123-0 when his teams take a 3-0 series lead, so in other words, the Toronto Raptors could very well be doomed. James put up 35 points on the road to lead his Cavs to a 115-94 rout of the Raptors on Friday for, yes, a 3-0 series lead. Kevin Love added a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Cavs pull away in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Raptors by 19 in the final 12 minutes. The dominant effort from the defending champs helped overcome a 37-point night from DeMar DeRozan, as the Raptors played without point guard, Kyle Lowry. Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points in the loss, but Toronto could not get contribution anywhere else. Cleveland is now looking for their second consecutive sweep this postseason, as they are the first team since the Minneapolis Lakers in 1949 and 1950 to win their first seven playoff games in back-to-back seasons. They won 10 in a row last season before dropping Games 3 and 4 to the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals. They will look to complete another sweep on the road come Sunday.
Spurs Overcome Harden, Rockets For Series Lead
James Harden went off for 43 points on his home floor Friday, which would normally result in a Houston Rockets victory, but the San Antonio Spurs had other things in mind. Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points apiece to give the Spurs a 2-1 series lead with a 103-92 Game-3 win in the Toyota Center. It was San Antonio's first game without Tony Parker, who is out for the remainder of the postseason with a torn quadriceps. It was their first postseason game without the point guard since 2001, as he had appeared in an NBA-record 221 straight playoff games. Patty Mills will be the replacement the rest of the way and had 15 points in 30 minutes on Friday. Clint Capela's double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds was the closest thing Harden got for support for Houston. Trevor Ariza made five three-pointers in the first half, but had nothing else going for him the rest of the way. Game 4 of the series is also in Houston on Sunday night.
Ducks Stun Oilers, Blues Avoid Elimination
The Anaheim Ducks dropped the first two games on their home ice, and on Friday night, they trailed 3-0 with just over three minutes remaining at home. That's when the rallied started, as Ryan Getzlaf, Cam Fowler, and Rickard Rakell scored within three minutes to tie the game with 15 seconds left and send it into overtime. It took two extra periods, but Corey Perry took a feed from Getzlaf to net the game-winner and complete the improbable comeback by beating Cam Talbot for a 4-3 double-OT win for Anaheim. Despite Talbot surrendering the big lead, he finished with 60 saves on the night. Anaheim became the first team to force overtime or win a playoff game after trailing by three goals with less than four minutes left in NHL history. The win is the Ducks' third straight, which puts the Oilers on the brink of elimination heading back home. Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Drake Caggiula had regulation goals for the Oilers, who seemed to be well on their way to their third road win of the series. These two teams will go at it again on Sunday night in Edmonton for Game 6.
Elsewhere, the St. Louis Blues stopped the red-hot Nashville Predators for the time being on Friday night, as they were able to avoid elimination with a 2-1 Game-5 win at home. Jaden Schwartz scored early in the third, which proved to be the game-winner, and season-saver, for the Blues. Dmitirij Jaskin also scored for St. Louis after finding out moments before the game that he was in the lineup for Alexander Steen, who is suffering from a lower-body injury. Before Friday night, Jaskin had just one goal in 51 games this season. Schwartz's goal came just 25 seconds into the final period, which was his team-high fourth of the postseason, including three game-winners. Jake Allen made 21 saves for the Blues and only got beat by James Neal on the night. Pekka Rinne had 30 stops in the loss for the Predators, who have another shot to close out the series back on their home ice for Game 6 on Sunday.
