NBA Playoffs 2018: Latest Scores, Round 2 Bracket, Standings and More
LeBron James continued his incredible 2018 NBA postseason performance as he dropped home a buzzer-beating shot to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 105-103 win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of their second-round series Saturday. With the win, the Cavs are one victory away from a sweep.
Earlier in the day, Al Horford hit a game-winning layup in overtime before coming up with a clutch steal on the other end to help the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-98. Like the Cavs, the C's now have a 3-0 series advantage.
The Western Conference now takes center stage as the Utah Jazz host the Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans do the same versus the Golden State Warriors Sunday.
Here's a look at Saturday's scores, the playoff results so far and quick Game 4 previews for Sunday's games.
Saturday Scores
Boston 101, Philadelphia 98 (OT)
Cleveland 105, Toronto 103
NBA Playoff Bracket: Eastern Conference
1st Round
No. 1 Toronto Raptors 4, No. 8 Washington Wizards 2
No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers 4, No. 5 Indiana Pacers 3
No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers 4, No. 6 Miami Heat 1
No. 2 Boston Celtics 4, No. 7 Milwaukee Bucks 3
2nd Round
Cleveland 3, Toronto 0
Boston 3, Philadelphia 0
Conference Finals
Winners of second-round matchups face off. Higher seed has home-court advantage.
NBA Playoff Bracket: Western Conference
1st Round
No. 1 Houston Rockets 4, No. 8 Minnesota Timberwolves 1
No. 5 Utah Jazz 4, No. 4 Oklahoma City Thunder 2
No. 6 New Orleans Pelicans 4, No. 3 Portland Trail Blazers 0
No. 2 Golden State Warriors 4, No. 7 San Antonio Spurs 1
2nd Round
Golden State 2, New Orleans 1
Houston 2, Utah 1
Conference Finals
Winners of second-round matchups face off. Higher seed has home-court advantage.
NBA Finals
Eastern Conference winner vs. Western Conference winner. Team with better regular-season record has home-court advantage.
Golden State Warriors at New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Golden State Warriors 119-100 in Game 3 after two tough road losses to start the series. Once again, Pels point guard Rajon Rondo dominated a playoff game, this time with 21 assists. Big man Anthony Davis was the best player on the floor with 33 points and 18 rebounds.
As proved during Game 3, the Pels' starting lineup can hang with the Warriors. The issue for New Orleans is the battle of the second units, as Golden State's bench looks to have a clear edge with Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala and David West providing steady veteran presences.
But that wasn't the case in Game 3, as former Warrior (and current Pelican) Ian Clark came off the bench to score 18 points. Solomon Hill also gave the reserves a boost by knocking down a trio of three-pointers. If New Orleans receives some more life from the bench, then this series could take a whole different shape.
The sportsbooks still give the Warriors an edge in their Game 4 matchup, as they are 5.5-point favorites, per OddsShark. The over/under total is also drastically high, clocking in at 231 points. It's not a surprise given that the lowest scoring game in this series still featured 219 points.
This game is a close call, but look for the Warriors to bounce back and win Game 4. The Dubs shot 38 percent from the field (and 29 percent from three-point range) in Game 3, with Warriors point guard Steph Curry making just six of his 19 field goals. Simply put, that's unlikely to happen again.
The Pels may catch fire from the field yet again (they made half of their shots in Game 3), but the Dubs are more than capable of beating them in a track meet.
Houston Rockets at Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz upset the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of their second-round series primarily because Houston routinely left Jazz forward Joe Ingles wide-open en route to his 27-point performance. Ingles made 10 of his 13 shots (and seven of his nine threes) that night, which helped the Jazz swing the momentum in their favor heading home.
However, Houston righted the ship quickly with a 113-92 Game 3 win that was essentially over in the second quarter. The defense, which suffered from a lack of energy and miscommunication during Game 2, came to play in Game 3 and quieted the raucous Jazz crowd early. Utah committed twice as many turnovers (16 vs. the Rockets' eight) and shot just 41.7 percent from the field.
The Rockets defense is one of the keys for the rest of this series. They aren't going to have trouble scoring, as they've averaged 110.3 points per game through three contests. But as the Jazz showed in Game 2, they can beat the Rockets at their own game and win a high-scoring matchup. Utah scored 116 points in Game 2 even though Donovan Mitchell shot just 6-of-21 from the field.
And now Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio, who suffered a hamstring injury in Game 6 of the first round and has missed this entire series, is questionable to play Sunday, per a team report. Having Rubio back will help alleviate some pressure off Mitchell, who has made just 10 of his last 37 field-goal attempts. Furthermore, it would bump Royce O'Neale back to the bench, which will strengthen a second unit that has received great performances from Alec Burks and Jae Crowder of late.
Houston is a five-point favorite Sunday, per OddsShark, with the total set at 209 points. However, if Rubio is back and plays a full allotment of minutes, then the pick here is for Utah to hold serve at home and knot the series at two games apiece. In conjunction, look for Mitchell to get back on track in Game 4 and energize the home fanbase.
