Portland’s Damian Lillard says he likes the first-round matchup against the Pelicans Browns Baker Mayfield Jersey , but in almost the same breath he lists the reasons why New Orleans is dangerous.
After splitting their four regular-season meetings, the third-seeded Blazers and sixth-seeded Pelicans open the playoffs Saturday night at the Moda Center.
”They stole one from us here, and we felt like that was a game that we should have had. We had a bad third quarter,” Lillard said. ”But they have Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Rondo, E’Twaun Moore, they’ve got a lot of guys that make them a dangerous team.”
The Blazers won the season’s first meeting with New Orleans, 103-93, back in October. But two months later the Pelicans beat the Blazers 123-116 in Portland without Davis. DeMarcus Cousins had 38 points and New Orleans extended its lead to as many as 18 points in the third quarter.
The Pelicans lost Cousins for the season because of an Achilles injury in January, and many thought the team’s playoff hopes were over. Instead, New Orleans rallied Authentic Pat Neshek Jersey , going 21-13 the rest of the way and ending the season on a five-game winning streak.
”We were just starting to find our groove before he went out and when he got hurt it kind of pushed us back,” Davis said. ”We were trying to figure out how we wanted to play, and then we figured it out and were able to push through it.”
Davis stepped up in Cousins’ absence, averaging 30.4 points and 11.8 rebounds.
”When Cousins went down, everybody kind of wrote them off and they’ve done a great job of really competing since then,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. ”Anthony Davis has been an outstanding player. It’s been a tough matchup for us, games are close.”
Lillard, who goes into the game averaging 26.9 points, had 41 points in the final meeting of the season with the Pelicans, a 107-103 Blazers win in New Orleans.
”Dame had a hell of a game, but it’s playoffs and you can put everything behind what happened before,” Stotts said. ”The playoffs is a different animal.”
Other things to watch as the Blazers and Pelicans begin their playoff series:
GUESSING THE BEARD ISN’T COMING BACK: The Pelicans acquired Nikola Mirotic in a trade after Cousins went out. He initially joined the squad as a sixth man and was inconsistent. But late this season Authentic Ryan Johansen Jersey , he shaved his beard, joined the starting lineup and he’s been thriving ever since, scoring no fewer than 21 points in a game during the Pelicans’ season-ending five-game winning streak.
LUCKY THIRTEEN: The Blazers went on a 13-game winning streak, starting with a victory over Golden State just before the All-Star break that boosted their playoff position. And despite their late four-game losing streak, the Blazers still finished 49-33 and clinched the Northwest Division title. ”We would have liked to have a 50-win season but you can’t complain about a division championship or 49 wins,” Lillard said.
ROAD COURT ADVANTAGE: The Pelicans were just as good on the road (24-17) as they were at home (24-17). ”On the road we’ve been really, really good at just locking in and giving ourselves an opportunity to come up with wins … That’s what you have to do in order to be a playoff team,” coach Alvin Gentry said.
HIGH MILEAGE: CJ McCollum topped the NBA for the most miles on the court this season with 218. It was the third straight season he’s led the league in the stat. Jrue Holiday is No. 2 overall with 211.40 miles.
GOING FORWARD: Game 2 is set for Tuesday before swinging to New Orleans for games on Thursday and the following Saturday. The ”if necessary” games go like this: Tuesday, April 24, in Portland; Thursday, April 26, in New Orleans; and Saturday Mark Walton Color Rush Jersey , April 28, back in Portland.
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TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ will take the mound against Luis Severino on Saturday in a repeat of the Opening Day matchup won by the New York Yankees.
With the July 31 deadline for trades without waivers looking, Happ is considered a prime candidate to be dealt and the Yankees would be one of the interested teams, according to speculation.
The possibility of Severino (13-2, 1.98 ERA) and Happ (10-4, 4.03) soon becoming teammates adds another intriguing dimension to their matchup in the second game of a three-game series at the Rogers Centre.
The Blue Jays started the series with a 6-2 victory Friday night with Justin Smoak capping a five-run second inning with a three-run homer.
The Yankees (56-29) are 7-4 against the Blue Jays (41-46) in the season series so far, including a 4-3 record at the Rogers Centre as they complete their third and final series of the season there this weekend.
The win Friday ended the Blue Jays’ four-game losing streak against the Yankees.
Severino is an obvious choice for the All-Star Game to be played at Washington’s Nationals Park on July 17.
Happ is one of the few Blue Jays with a legitimate chance to go to the game.
Severino will be a leading candidate to win the American League Cy Young Award if he continues his current pace. He leads the majors in wins and is second in ERA.
The 24-year-old enters Saturday with a scoreless streak of 13 2/3 innings. He has allowed three runs or fewer in 15 straight starts, the longest such streak by a Yankees pitcher since Ron Guidry had a 15-game streak April 8-June 22, 1978. The only longer streak by a Yankee is 20 set by Russ Ford during the 1910 and 1911 seasons.
“I always feel great when Sevy’s on the mound,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The record in a lot of ways speaks for itself. The ability to get deep into games. He’s been really good against the elite competition, it seems like, as well.
“He’s putting himself in that conversation as one of the best in the game. There’s no doubt about it.”
Severino is 2-3 with a 4.12 ERA in nine career games (eight starts) against the Blue Jays and 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA in two starts against them this season. In five career starts at the Rogers Centre Bengals Authentic Jerseys , he is 1-1 with a 2.81 ERA.
Happ had his worst start of the season Sunday when he allowed seven runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings in a 9-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
He did not allow a run until the fifth when Nicholas Castellanos did most of the damage with a grand slam.
“I felt like I was a pitch away from getting out of it,” Happ said after the game. “Again, I look at the hard-hit balls and there was two or three today. I didn’t feel like I was in the middle of the zone getting hurt today, but it is what it is. It’s not a pretty outing.”
His only start against the Yankees this season was a loss on Opening Day, March 29, when he allowed three runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings as Severino picked up the win. In 17 career starts against the Yankees, he is 8-3 with a 3.53 ERA.
The Yankees have lost five of their past seven road games and are 23-16 in away games this season. They are 7-8 when visiting American League East cities this season.
The Blue Jays are 13-20 against AL East teams. They are 4-3 on their homestand and are 23-22 at home for the season.
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