An offensive outburst from LeBron James dictated the game, while a second-half explosion from Anthony Davis helped close things out with a 116-108 victory. Damian Lillard‘s dislocated finger appeared to be just fine, but a combined 62 points from he and CJ McCollum was not enough to come away with a win.
For more on the action-packed Game 3, we have you covered with some key takeaways below.
Attack mode LeBron
The Lakers only needed 26 minutes of LeBron James in their Game 2 blowout win. He tallied just 10 points – it was only the fourth time in his career that he was held to 10 points or less in a playoff game and the first time since 2014.
As usual, despite the win, the general masses were critical of LeBron’s Game 2 showing, unhappy with his scoring output. It’s unknown whether or not that was the motivation behind his Game 3 performance, but James was seeing red from the jump.
It only took LeBron until the 10-minute mark of the second quarter to eclipse his scoring output from his last contest. He was a bulldozer in transition, looking to call his own number whenever he had the opportunity. He got to the free throw line early and often and his 3-point shot was falling for the first time this series (he was previously 1-for-8 from beyond the arc). It added another dynamic to his score-first attitude that made him virtually unstoppable.
James would finish the game with 38 points shooting 11-for-18 (61.1%) from the field, 4-for-8 from 3-point range and 12-for-17 from the free throw line, constantly putting pressure on the Blazers defence.
The King (38 PTS, 12 REB & 8 AST) balled out! ????
LeBron looking to attack the way he was tonight exposed Portland’s lack of a matchup for the all-time great.
Lillard’s finger appears as non-factor
When Damian Lillard was forced to leave Game 2 with a dislocated finger, Portland’s season flashed before their eyes. Luckily, the superstar cleared himself to play in Game 3 immediately after the loss, but it was still a question of how will the injury – even on his off-hand – impact his rhythm and performance?
Well… it didn’t take long for Lillard to dismiss any uncertainty. He’d convert his first three 3-point attempts of the game and explode for 14 points in the first quarter alone. Not once did it look like his finger was disrupting his shot or his ball-handling, meaning he was the typical offensive threat we’ve seen all season.
Lillard would post a team-high 34 points to go with seven assists and five rebounds, but he did go quiet in the second half.
The Lakers did a great job of taking Lillard out of the game with a variety of double teams and traps, using fullcourt pressure and off-ball denial to outcast the prolific scorer. He shot 2-for-11 from the field and 1-for-5 from beyond the arc, but still tallied 15 points simply from hitting 10 of his 11 free throw attempts.
It was a positive to see that his finger didn’t bother him but the All-Star didn’t get the result he was looking for.
Davis’ second-half statement
The Trail Blazers switched up the starting lineup, electing to start both Jusuf Nurkic and Hassan Whiteside, presumably to try and make life more difficult for Anthony Davis.
The lineup change had appeared to be working going into the halftime break as Davis was held to just six points shooting 1-for-3 from the field, giving Portland a four-point lead. James was the Lakers’ only source of offence and they needed a completely different version of their other superstar if they were going to pick up the win.
In the second half, Davis turned into the player that’s considered to be among the top tier of the NBA.
The 27-year-old forward exploded for 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and a block in the final two periods. When Los Angeles was trying to put the Blazers away late in the game, it was Davis who stepped up going for 12 points in the fourth quarter, knocking down jumper after jumper to secure the win.
AD would finish with a monster stat line of 29 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and two steals to go with a team-best +/- of 15. It was a tale of two halves for the All-Star big man.
Third-quarter Melo
Carmelo Anthony was transparent in Game 2, finishing with two points, zero rebounds and a +/- of minus-26. He was a key part to the Blazers run to qualify for the postseason and it was no coincidence that his poor performance went hand-in-hand with the blowout loss.
If Portland was going to have a chance in Game 3, they were going to need a better showing from Anthony.
When the team was struggling to counter a game-altering run from the Lakers in the third quarter, Melo was there to weather the storm. It was like a flashback to the late 2000s with James and Anthony trading buckets.
Carmelo erupted for 13 points in the quarter to keep the Blazers in the game. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and gave his team life when it seemed like the Lakers were going to run away with the game.
Portland would still come up short, but Anthony’s 20 points, six rebounds, four steals, two assists and one block was a step in the right direction after a rough showing in Game 2.
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
