NBA Playoffs 2018-19, April 20th: 3 Talking Points as the Philadelphia 76ers dominate
The first round of the NBA 2018-19 playoffs are going on in full swing and there are a bunch of exciting matches that are taking place on a daily basis. It has been a really entertaining set of series, most of which were decided on the final day of the NBA regular season.
The Orlando Magic upset the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of the playoff series but since have not shown much on the offensive end and are now down 2-1 in the series. They still play the Raptors at their home court tomorrow night.
The Golden State Warriors too let go of a 31 point lead in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Oracle Arena, but have managed to take back the lead and now face the Clippers at the Staples Center tomorrow to try and take a decisive 3-1 lead.
The Portland Trail Blazers face off against the home team Oklahoma City Thunder in a delicately poised series, which the Blazers are currently leading 2-1. With these games in mind, let us take a look at the matches that happened on 20th April and gave us our 3 biggest talking points.
#3 The Utah Jazz almost beat the Houston Rockets
The Utah Jazz came so close, but in the end, were still so far as they dropped their 3rd consecutive game to the Houston Rockets, who now lead the series 3-0. After two slow starts in Houston, the Jazz came out energized, with the home court on their side.
James Harden set a new record, but for the worse, as he became the first player to miss his first 15 shots. Still, he never stopped attacking and came up with 14 of his total 22 points in the 4th quarter to lead the Rockets to another victory, 104-101.
Donovan Mitchell came back strong in this game and led the Utah Jazz from the front, scoring a game high 34 points in 42 minutes on the court. Rudy Gobert was a menace on defense, getting himself 7 blocks but was not involved much on the offensive end of the game.
The Utah Jazz are now looking at a clean sweep in Game 4 of this playoff series. The good thing for them is that they still will be at home for it and should look to consolidate and come back harder. They have been able to contain Harden, but their own lack of offense has been their undoing.