Things are coming down to the wire, with ten teams left playing in the first round of the playoffs. In the past two days, we have seen some exciting NBA action and many racial controversies that have prompted teams to boycott games. Day 9 of the playoffs pushed through yesterday, but the following games will be postponed until further notice. Here are your playoffs updates.
First Round – Day 9
Dallas Mavericks (7) vs Los Angeles Clippers (2) – Clippers 3-2
The Los Angeles Clippers take the lead in the series with a blowout victory against the Dallas Mavericks that ended with a 154 to 111 score. This means that the Clippers are one win away from advancing into the semifinal round of the playoffs.
Heads turned Marcus Morris stepped on Luka Doncic's injured left ankle in the 3rd quarter of the game. Morris is adamant that this was not done on purpose. Even if it was intentional, though, there wasn't much the Mavericks would have been able to do because they were trailing by 29 points at that point.
The Clippers won by 43 with the help of all of their players. Paul George scored a game-high of 35 points and followed by Kawhi Leonard's 32 points.
Utah Jazz (6) vs Denver Nuggets (3) – Jazz 3-2
By the end of the 3rd quarter, the Denver Nuggets were trailing closely behind the Utah Jazz by 4 points. Jamal Murray saved the Nuggets in the 4th quarter by scoring 18 points in the final minutes to rally the Nuggets away from elimination.
Murray posted 42 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Nikola Jokic contributed with 31 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
The Jazz are one note away from advancing to the playoffs' semifinal round, but it seems that they aren't out of the woods just yet. The Nuggets came out to fight last evening, and they want it bad.
First Round – Day 10
Oklahoma City Thunder (5) vs Houston Rockets (4) – Tied 2-2 (Postponed)
Portland Trail Blazers (8) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (1) – Lakers 3-1 (Postponed)
Orlando Magic (8) vs Milwaukee Bucks (1) – Bucks 3-1 (Postponed)
Team owners, NBPA, and NBA back boycott
Racial injustice and the controversies it has brought up are coming out again. Jacob Blake, a black man from Kenosha, Wisconsin, was shot in the back several times in the back as he was entering his car with his children. Americans rallied to support Jacob Blake and called for justice, and in the protest, two more people were killed. This news left NBA players in the bubble outraged and broken. After thinking that they have made inches towards their envisioned future of equality and abolishing systemic racism, some people bring it two steps back.
Most players feel that the NBA restart should never have happened in the first place. After the killing of George Floyd and the coronavirus pandemic, many of them thought that it would not be right to come back. But they did it for the sport and the fans. Some players also feel that the playoffs' rising popularity has also taken attention away from the movement.
The Milwaukee Bucks, whose hometown is Wisconsin, released a statement after educating themselves about all the facts of the events that transpired and are calling for accountability of people involved in the matter.
The Milwaukee Bucks started the boycott, which would have given the Orlando Magic win due to forfeit, but Orlando refused to take it. Shortly after, the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, and Portland Trail Blazers followed and boycott today's games. No official announcements have been made whether tomorrow's games will be postponed, but it has been reported that the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors have been considering boycotting tomorrow's games as well.
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