Bucks beat Rockets 141-133, tie Nets for 2nd place in East
By STEVE MEGARGEEMay 8, 2021 GMT
MILWAUKEE (AP) Brook Lopez had 24 points and Khris Middleton scored 21 of his 23 in the second half to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Houston Rockets 141-133 on Friday night for their fifth consecutive victory.
The Bucks (43-24) tied Brooklyn for second place in the Eastern Conference standings. Milwaukee also has the tiebreaker advantage over Brooklyn because they won two of their their three regular-season meetings.
Philadelphia (46-21) leads the East.
“Looking at the big picture, it would be nice to hold on to it,” Middleton said. “I don’t think it would be the end of the world if we don’t. But I think the main focus for us is to find a way to get ourselves playing our best basketball going into the playoffs.”
Jazz, in quest of clinching top seed, host lowly Rockets
Field Level Media
09 May 2021, 00:05 GMT+10
On Friday afternoon, the Utah Jazz announced that All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell will be sidelined at least one more week due to his sprained ankle.
On Friday night, the Jazz looked as if they might not need Mitchell.
They will, of course, if their stay in the playoffs is long, but they werein tune without Mitchell in a 127-120 win over the Denver Nuggets. Leading the way was Bojan Bogdanovic, who hit 16-of-23 field-goal attempts and 8-of-11 3-pointers en route to a career-high 48 points.
With all due respect to MVP contender Nikola Jokic, who scored 24 points for the Nuggets, it was Bogdanovic who looked like the MVP based on this performance, which led the Jazz (49-18) to their fourth straight win.
May 7, 2021
Watch Kevin Porter Jr. initiate the offense in Houston, and it’s not hard to see the similarities between him and his playmaking predecessor.
The 21-year-old guard sports a silky step-back jumper. He can sling cross-court skip passes with ease. His feel in the pick-and-roll is advanced for his age, and in a pinch, Porter can manipulate his body to draw contact near the rim. Making a direct comparison between Porter and James Harden is a bit of an insult to the former MVP. But the outline of a dynamic leading man is clear with Houston’s new young guard.
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May 4, 2021
Should we be worried about the Lakers as we enter the final weeks of the regular season? The first instinct is to dismiss any concern at all, noting that with both stars healthy, only the Nets have a chance to defeat the reigning champs this summer. But perhaps the answer isn’t so simple.
Los Angeles’s health is no guarantee even as Anthony Davis works himself back into shape. LeBron James is still battling ankle trouble, and Dennis Schröder will miss at least the next week due to COVID-19 protocols. Even if healthy, the Lakers will likely have to beat three of the Clippers, Nuggets, Suns and Jazz to reach the Finals, with Los Angeles not expected to hold home court in any single series. It’s foolish to bet against LeBron as we’ve seen time and again. But this is a stacked conference and an imperfect Lakers roster, with plenty of obstacles in the way on the road to the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Don’t pencil LeBron & Co. into the Finals just yet.