Month: April 2023

Minnesota took on FC Dallas in this MLS Regular Season matchup. Both offenses struggled throughout this match, as Minnesota got off seven shots on goal and Dallas got off two but both failed to convert any chances to goals. Minnesota was called for offsides numerous times throughout the match and just missed multiple close chances on goal.

The No. 8 seed Florida Panthers pulled off one of the most shocking playoff upsets against the Boston Bruins, the favorite most of the season to win the Stanley Cup.

The Bruins crashed out of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday night, stunned in overtime of Game 7 by the Panthers, 4–3. Captain Patrice Bergeron, who missed the first five games of the series, returned to Boston’s lineup for Games 6 and 7, for what were potentially the final games of his career in the NHL.

The Bruins had lofty expectations following their historic regular season, during which they registered the most wins and points by a team in league history. Ultimately, all their hard work was undone by the Panthers in seven games, and Sunday’s loss could potentially signal the end of the Bergeron era in Beantown. 

Speaking to reporters after the game, Bergeron addressed his future with the Bruins, indicating that he’s yet to make up his mind regarding retirement. Via Ty Anderson of 985 The Sports Hub, the 37-year-old said he’d be speaking to his family before coming to a decision. 

“Right now, it’s hard to process anything,” said Bergeron. “It hurts right now.”

The Bruins’ captain appeared to have tears in his eyes during an embrace with longtime teammate Brad Marchand following the Panthers’ game-winning goal on Sunday. 

All love for 37. 💛🖤 pic.twitter.com/wqgMxQLV6g

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 1, 2023

He exchanged hugs with his teammates after the overtime period, prompting an emotional reaction from commentator Jack Edwards.

Bergeron has spent his entire 19-year NHL career in Boston, dating all the way back to the 2003-04 season. He was drafted by the franchise in the second round (No. 45 overall) in the 2003 NHL draft.

The five-time Selke Award winner considered retiring after the 2021-22 season, but ended up signing a one-year deal to return to Boston for the 2022-23 campaign. 

The Warriors are through to the second round of the NBA playoffs, slated to face the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals. For the first time ever, Stephen Curry and Golden State will face off against a LeBron James-led team in the playoffs prior to the NBA Finals.

The significance of matching up against James and Los Angeles isn’t lost upon Draymond Green, who is eagerly awaiting the showdown against his close friend.

Ahead of the matchup against the Lakers, Green indicated he wouldn’t be taking the moment for granted, and urged fans to act similarly.

“Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast. Stop trying to turn the page on Bron so fast. We get so caught up in what’s the next thing that we don’t appreciate the current,” said Green, speaking to reporters. “And then you get to that next thing and looking back like, ‘I wish we still had this. I wish we could still see this.’ For me and our guys, we’re going to appreciate this every step of the way.”

“Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast. Stop trying to turn the page on Bron so fast. We get so caught up in what’s the next thing that we don’t appreciate the current.”

Draymond Green on what it means to still be facing against LeBron James 👊pic.twitter.com/urKQf8PCmD

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) April 30, 2023

Many of the headlining stars of the looming Lakers-Warriors showdown are established veterans who are in the latter halves of their career. 

This could be the last time fans are treated to such a high-caliber playoff matchup while James, Green, Stephen Curry and other aging veterans are still in their prime, and the 33-year-old made clear that he’s going to appreciate every moment. 

After turning in a 50-point masterclass in the Warriors’ huge Game 7 win over the Kings, Stephen Curry was asked to answer a question that has stumped the NBA for over a decade. 

“So, who can stop Steph Curry?”

On Sunday in Sacramento, the answer, clearly, appeared to be no one as Curry set the record for the most points in a Game 7 in NBA history with another game for the ages to keep his team’s season alive. As evidenced by his latest clutch performance, Curry’s all-time talent has only gotten better with age, and based on his reply to the question, the 35-year-old is well aware that teams are still having a hard time trying to slow him down in Year 14.

“Hopefully, we’ll never find out,” Curry told reporters before moving on to the next question.

“Hopefully we never find out.”

Steph when asked who can stop him 😅#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/qO22dm4KXK

— NBA (@NBA) May 1, 2023

Considering the type of afternoon Curry had against the Kings, it’s no wonder the four-time NBA champion was prepared to talk his talk with an epic mic drop following another submission to his highlight reel of big games.

In a game Klay Thompson dubbed “The Stephen Curry Game,” the Warriors superstar shot 20-of-38 from the field and nailed seven of his 18 three-point attempts while dishing six assists and grabbing eight rebounds. Factor in the stakes of the defending champions facing elimination in the first round as a sixth seed against a No. 3 seed on the road, and Sunday’s Game 7 checked all of the boxes for the criteria of a classic game from the NBA’s greatest shooter.

As he so often has throughout his career, Curry left his opponent scrambling for answers with his crafty shotmaking and limitless range while leading Golden State to another huge win. With the first round now in the books, up next for the Warriors will be a second-round date against LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the seventh-seed Lakers, a.k.a the latest team hoping to find answers for the Curry conundrum.

The obituaries were written. For Bob Myers. For Draymond Green. For the Warriors dynasty as we know it. Nine years, four championships with a 73-win season mixed in and this is where it would end: in Sacramento, against the upstart Kings, who rolled into San Francisco and blew out Golden State on Friday and would assuredly find a way to win again in front of 20,000 frothing fans at home on Sunday

“Do these championship Warriors still have what it takes to win a Game 7 on the road?” asked ABC broadcaster Mike Breen.

Answer: They did.

Correction: Stephen Curry did. Golden State’s 120–100 win wasn’t a team-wide masterpiece. It was closer to a team-wide mess. Andrew Wiggins had 17 points … but needed 16 shots to get them. Klay Thompson had 16 … on 19 shots. Jordan Poole was bad offensively. Gary Payton II was worse. The Warriors shot 43% from the floor, 32.6% from the three and 63.3% from the free throw line. Golden State’s most efficient second option was Kevon Looney (11 points) who made his biggest impact on the glass (21 rebounds).

But … Curry. In an elimination game on the road, Curry submitted the greatest Game 7 scoring performance in NBA history. 50 points. He was 20–38 from the floor. He was 7–18 from three. He collected eight rebounds. He handed out six assists. He committed just one turnover. “This may be one of his greatest performances ever,” Jeff Van Gundy said. It was probably the best.

“He was elite,” said Mike Brown. “He put those guys on his back and said ‘we’re not losing tonight and I’m going to make sure that happens.’”

Said Steve Kerr, “You just have to remind yourself every once in a while, big picture, this is one of the greatest players in the history of the game.”

Officially, Game 7 was a 20-point blowout. But the Kings led by two at halftime. Poole had five points. Thompson was 1–10. Curry’s 20 points was all that was keeping the Warriors in it. In the third quarter, Golden State blew it open. Curry had 14 points. Thompson scored nine. Looney grabbed ten boards. “He was unbelievable,” said Brown. Golden State collected 13 offensive rebounds in the third quarter alone.

The defense turned up. Thompson struggled offensively, but was a game-high plus-30 because of his defense on Kevin Huerter (2–9) and De’Aaron Fox (5–19). Draymond Green was everywhere. Looney, too. “Our calling card has usually been our defense,” said Curry. After getting clobbered on the glass in Game 6, the Warriors won the battle (55–49) in Game 7. Sacramento had 11 points off turnovers in part because Golden State only committed seven of them.

“Tonight was the best game plan discipline that we have had all year,” Kerr said. “And one of the great games that I can remember since I’ve been here in terms of being that locked in for 48 minutes.”

None more so than Curry. Curry’s list of accomplishments is lengthy. Nine-time All-Star. Four-time NBA champion. Two-time MVP. Still—this was special. Curry admitted there were some nerves going into Game 7. “Because it matters,” said Curry. But he knew how Sacramento was going to play. (“Mostly small [with] different rotations.”) On Saturday, the Warriors tinkered with the game plan. They focused on spacing. They went heavy on pick-and-roll. They established a more deliberate pace. “Keep the game as simple as possible,” said Curry. The 38 shots, Curry said, were a result of the holes he was seeing in the Kings defense.

For Curry, a little space is all he needs. “Once he got it going,” said Fox, “it was tough to slow him down.” After Game 6, Malik Monk noted how the Kings knew they could outrun the Warriors. “We’re younger than they are,” Monk said, correctly. Green brought up Monk’s comments after the game. Asked about them, Curry smiled.

“The competitive spirit is always in us,” Curry said. “We didn’t need soundbytes to motivate us. But it did help to know that they thought they had something with the pace.”

The celebration, if there is one, will be quick. The Lakers come to town on Tuesday for Game 1 of the conference semifinals. It renews a decades-old rivalry between Los Angeles and San Francisco. And a fresher one between Golden State and LeBron James, who the Warriors battled over four straight Finals during this run—one Kerr said deserves enormous respect.

“To do this for a decade, it’s incredible,” Kerr said. “The energy that it takes to fight off challengers year after year and have to prepare and win big games and do it over and over again. There is a reason these guys are Hall of Famers and champions. This is not a one-year flash in the pain. This is a decade that they have done it. It’s incredible to watch.”

And it will be. For at least one more series. 

With a single fourth-quarter sequence, the smashmouth Eastern Conference series that kept being framed from a 1990s perspective suddenly looked a whole lot like one straight out of 2023. And it was because of yet another star player injury that threatens to turn the tide.

With just over five minutes to go in Game 1 Sunday between the Heat and Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Miami star Jimmy Butler drove to his right and rose for a shot as he drew contact from New York swingman Josh Hart. Hart inadvertently kicked his foot into Butler’s right foot, prompting him to roll his ankle and writhe in pain as soon as the play concluded.

Butler somehow toughed it out and remained in the game. But the fourth-quarter closer largely stood in the opposite corner, far away from the action, as 37-year-old Kyle Lowry ran the offense instead.

Even without any late-game heroics from Butler, Miami managed to hold onto Game 1, 108–101, in part because of how the Heat game-planned the Knicks, who were without a star of their own. Julius Randle ended up sitting out the series opener after reaggravating a left ankle sprain during Game 5 of the Cleveland matchup. As such, much of the Knicks’ playmaking responsibility fell to New York floor general Jalen Brunson, who had 25 points—and seven assists to go with his five turnovers—but took 23 attempts to log them. “Today, I was horrific,” Brunson told reporters after the defeat. “This one’s on me. I’ve got to be better.”

There were a handful of reasons for that, though. Miami dug in and got comfortable sinking into the paint to guard against Brunson’s drives toward the rack. Taller, longer defenders like Caleb Martin and Jimmy Butler provided resistance against him. And as the Knicks struggled more and more from outside—Obi Toppin hit three triples after halftime, but the rest of the team shot just 1-for-12 from distance in the second half—other defenders began crowding the paint to wall off driving lanes. (The ability to do that eventually helped cool off RJ Barrett’s hot start, too.)

All told, the Knicks shot just 7-of-34 (20.6%) from deep Sunday. That obviously won’t cut it for New York in this series. Counting both the regular season and playoffs, the Knicks went 1–7 in contests where they made seven triples or fewer. And it’s part of why Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks need Randle: The Heat, who limited their turnovers and kept New York off the offensive glass, are tough defensively. They excel at making the floor smaller. (Mitchell Robinson, the NBA’s top offensive rebounder and someone who slayed the Cavs on the glass in the first round, took a nasty fall at one point Sunday, and looked a bit hobbled.) Erik Spoelstra has his team use zone defense more than any other club, and it confounds opposing offenses at times.

The Heat, winners in five of their first six to start the postseason—they didn’t manage to win five of six at any point in the regular season—were led by Butler until his injury. He had 25 points, 11 boards, four assists and a couple steals. Other key efforts stemmed from Gabe Vincent (20 points), who started the game hot, and Lowry (18 points), who kept the offense going late. It wasn’t close to the blistering 45% from three that Miami shot in Round 1 during the huge upset series victory over Milwaukee. But it still managed to be enough.

Star Bam Adebayo (battling through a hamstring injury) and the Heat role players were already going to be massive in this series, but that becomes even more true now, with Tyler Herro out due to his broken hand, and Butler potentially hobbled, too. Oddly, the Knicks didn’t make a point of attacking Butler late in the fourth period, when he stayed in despite barely being able to walk at first. It’s unclear still whether he’ll be available to go in Game 2.

“You just don’t know with ankle sprains,” Spoelstra told reporters after the game. “I don’t even know if we’ll know more by tomorrow. We’ll just have to see. It’ll be a waiting game.”

Regardless of whether Randle is back for Game 2, New York would be wise to set plenty of perimeter screens to force Miami’s defense to move and utilize swingman Quentin Grimes, who returned after missing the last two games of the Cleveland series. He played just four minutes in the second half, and failed to attempt a shot in that span. But Grimes’s shooting ability could help space things a bit more, giving Miami less opportunity to load up at the rim.

We can talk adjustments and strategies all day long. But with a star forward from each team already banged up, it might come down to who can play through the pain. After all, with the history in a bloody rivalry like Heat-Knicks, how could it be any other way?

The Panthers were handed their first loss of the 2023 USFL season after stumbling early and often against the Generals.

Steph Curry didn’t allow the Warriors to lose on Sunday, reminding the sports world of his true greatness.