Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs NBA live streaming free

Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs Preview

The San Antonio Spurs just finished going toe-to-toe with a transformational power forward whose mid-range game stretched their defense to the max, needing seven games to oust Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. Tiago Splitter and the Spurs made life difficult for Nowitzki in the opening round. And now they get Nowitzki 2.0 in the Western Conference semifinals when Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge comes to town. "I think LaMarcus is a younger Dirk who can shoot and drive, play in the post (and do) a lot of things, so it's not going to be easy," Splitter said Monday. "We know that. I think all the team is aware of that; everybody is going to help a little bit." Like Nowitzki, Aldridge relies heavily on the mid-range game, using every inch of his 6-foot-11 frame to get his jumper off against smaller defenders. When faced with someone his size, Aldridge has the strength and nimble feet to get past them, as he did time and time again in the Trail Blazers' defeat of the Houston Rockets in six games. The Rockets rarely had an answer for Aldridge, who beat up the smaller Terrence Jones on the block and took Omer Asik and Dwight Howard away from the basket to stretch the floor. He scored 89 points in the first two games of the series. He averaged 29.8 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in the opening round. "Guys are going to be confident, but still have to think about the way that we got here, working hard and grinding it out," Aldridge said. "I think guys are definitely going to be more confident but this is new territory for most of us." The Blazers haven't been out of the first round since 2000 while the Spurs are looking for a return trip to the NBA Finals. Here are five things to watch when the series opens in San Antonio on Tuesday night:

 

POINT GUARD HEAVEN: In a new golden age of point guards, it would hard to find a more compelling matchup than this one. San Antonio's Tony Parker is the NBA's gold standard, a savvy veteran who changes speeds like an All-Star pitcher. He was at his best in Game 7, dismantling the Mavericks with 32 points. Portland's Damian Lillard is the new kid on the block, a supremely confident second-year player who had perhaps the moment of these young playoffs with a game-winning 3-pointer to eliminate Houston. "He can do everything," Parker said. "He can shoot from the outside, penetrate and so we're going to try to do some stuff to try to contain him. You're not going to stop him."

Match Details
Trail Blazers-Spurs
Date: May 6, 2014
Time:  9:39 PM ET
Coverage:  TNT
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

 

DEFENDING PARKER: As great and fearless as Lillard has been offensively, he still has a lot to learn on the other end of the court. He likely will see the speedy Parker for stretches of the game, but in the biggest moments, look for coach Terry Stotts to put Nic Batum or Wesley Matthews on Parker and try to hide Lillard on Danny Green, who is a standstill shooter and nothing more. That's what generally happened in the regular season series, which was split 2-2.

 

SPURS DEPTH: Even after the Trail Blazers added Dorell Wright and Thomas Robinson in an effort to beef up their beleaguered bench, they still relied heavily on their starting five for most of their production. That stands in stark contrast to the Spurs, who didn't have a player average 30 minutes per game this season. If the series goes deep, that could come into play.

Match Details
Trail Blazers-Spurs
Date: May 6, 2014
Time:  9:39 PM ET
Coverage:  TNT
Location: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

POPULAR GUY: After beating the buzzer to hit his game-winner against the Rockets, Lillard said his phone got quite a workout. "My phone was on 60 percent right after the game," he said. "As soon as I picked it up it was just buzzing and I went on the podium and when I got off of the podium it was dead. I think I had like 350 texts or something like that."

BELINELLI'S STRUGGLES: In his first season in San Antonio, Marco Belinelli put together one of the best seasons of his career. He shot 43 percent from 3-point range and averaged 11.4 points per game in a valuable role off the bench while playing alongside his friend Manu Ginobili. But he was a non-factor in the first round against Dallas, scoring just 22 points total in the seven games. "Beli needs to come back and play better," Parker said. "I think the way they are going to play our wings are going to be more free than against Dallas."

Brooklyn Nets vs Miami Heat NBA live streaming free

Nets-Heat Preview

MIAMI (AP) -- Dwyane Wade hardly thinks the regular-season series between Brooklyn and Miami was meaningless. The Nets swept the Heat, winning three of those games by a mere point, taking the other in double overtime. That's not exactly a show of dominance from a scoring-differential perspective. Doesn't matter, Wade said. The Nets won all four, and that has Miami's full attention as the sides get ready to open an Eastern Conference semifinals series. Miami, the league's two-time defending champion, will host Game 1 on Tuesday night. "They figured out a way to beat us four times and that hasn't happened," said Wade, the Heat guard who missed two of the four Brooklyn-Miami games this season. "So we've got to crack that code."

Match Details
Nets-Heat
Date: May 6, 2014
Time:  7:00 PM ET
Coverage:  TNT
Location: AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL

History shows the Heat will struggle in that code-cracking plan. This series marks the 26th time that teams will meet in a best-of-seven series after one club went 4-0 or better against the other in the regular season. In each of the first 25 such instances, the regular-season winner also won the playoff matchup.
 

Match Details
Nets-Heat
Date: May 6, 2014
Time:  7:00 PM ET
Coverage:  TNT
Location: AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL

Advantage, Brooklyn. "I think they know what's coming," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "We've seen them four times. I think we have the utmost respect for them and they have the utmost respect for us. Hopefully, it can be a great series." The buildup for this started in July, when the Nets added Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and started talking about a championship. That got Miami's attention. The 4-0 record, that just got even more of Miami's attention. "The goal from the beginning when we came in here was to win a championship and we understand that in order to do that, you have to go through the best," Pierce said. "And Miami being that team over the last couple years, we figured this was going to be a test for us." It's the fifth time Pierce and LeBron James will be on opposite sides of a playoff series. Pierce won the first two when James was in Cleveland; James has won the last two since coming to Miami, topping Garnett and Pierce when they wore Boston colors.

Toronto Blue Jays vs Philadelphia Phillies MLB live streaming free

J.A. Happ has thrown just 4 1/3 innings this year, with none in his last 11 days. He's still hoping to make a case to join the Toronto Blue Jays rotation when he starts Monday night on the road against his first big-league team, the Philadelphia Phillies. This outing for Happ (0-0, 4.15 ERA) was scheduled to be a spot start, with no off days for Toronto (14-17) this week thanks to this four-game stretch against the Phillies (15-14). The first two games are in Philadelphia before these teams that met in the 1993 World Series play twice in Canada beginning Wednesday. With Brandon Morrow being placed on the disabled list over the weekend, there is an opportunity for Happ to make more of a bid to start. The concern is that he hasn't thrown a pitch since the last of his three relief appearances April 23. "It's a little bit of a concern, but what are you going to do?" Happ told the Blue Jays' official website. "I think when I go out there I'm going to try and forget about that and just focus on trying to execute. I can't really change the reality of that, that is what it is. I'll do my best."

 

The main competition for Happ now figures to be rookie Marcus Stroman, who was called up Sunday. Happ began his career with the Phillies from 2007-10. The left-hander is 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA in two starts against them, and this marks his second outing as a visitor to Citizens Bank Park. "It has been long enough I think that it's not a huge issue, but I definitely have a lot of great memories and an appreciation for that place," Happ said. "It's a great place to play."
 

Match Details
Blue Jays-Phillies
Date: May 5, 2014
Time:  7:05 PM ET
Coverage:  CSN
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

 

Philadelphia is hitting .287 against left-handers for one of baseball's better marks, although it was limited to four hits Sunday against two Washington southpaws in a 1-0 victory. The lack of offense wasn't an issue because Roberto Hernandez pitched four-hit ball over 7 1/3 innings. Chase Utley's RBI single in the first inning accounted for the only run. "That set the tone for our game," manager Ryne Sandberg said. Marlon Byrd went 0 for 3 as his seven-game hitting streak in which he batted .448 with two homers and 10 RBIs ended.

 

The Phillies had a major league-worst 5.53 ERA in interleague games a year ago and fared worse in their lone AL series this year with a 5.96 ERA in losing two of three at Texas to open the season. Right-hander Kyle Kendrick (0-2, 3.52) is searching for his first win since Aug. 6. He's 0-7 with a 4.87 ERA in his last 12 starts. Kendrick is 0-1 with a 6.91 ERA in three outings against the Blue Jays. He has had trouble against Jose Reyes, who is 13 for 33 against him. Melky Cabrera is hitless in five at-bats versus Kendrick but he's batting .377 over his last 14 games. Toronto's Jose Bautista has reached base in every game for the longest such streak to begin a season since Cincinnati's Joey Votto did it for the first 33 in 2011.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Washington Nationals MLB live streaming free

While Zack Greinke is looking to open 6-0 for the second time and continue an historic streak, the Los Angeles Dodgers are unsure of Yasiel Puig's status after a scary crash. Puig is day to day for the visiting Dodgers, who will try to defeat the Washington Nationals for the sixth straight meeting in Monday night's opener of a three-game set. Greinke (5-0, 2.04 ERA), looking to match his career-best 6-0 start with Kansas City in 2009, has gone 18 straight regular-season outings of at least five innings while allowing two runs or fewer -- baseball's longest run since 1914. It's not clear who will be in right field behind him after Puig slammed into the wall chasing what turned out to be a game-winning RBI double in the ninth inning of Sunday's 5-4 loss at Miami. Puig was slow to walk off the field but passed a concussion test. "He hit the wall good," manager Don Mattingly said. "He seemed to be OK when he was walking in, but I'm sure they are going to keep looking at him. He almost made an unbelievable play." Puig's potential absence would take even more luster away from a series already missing Nationals slugger Bryce Harper, although Greinke remains enough of a draw considering how well he's been pitching.

 

The right-hander gave up an unearned run over six innings to earn Wednesday's 6-4 victory at Minnesota. He said he's become a much smarter pitcher than he was five years ago during his other strong season start. "My stuff was a lot better then," Greinke said. "I'm locating better, being smarter. I've gotten a lot of help here, nice defensive plays." Greinke is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in three starts against the Nationals (17-14). He also got his first career win against the Washington franchise on June 8, 2004, when it was still the Montreal Expos. The Washington hitter he has faced the most is Denard Span, who is 9 for 31 against him.

Match Details
Dodgers-Nationals
Date: May 5, 2014
Time:  7:05 PM ET
Coverage:  MASN
Location: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.

The Dodgers have limited the Nationals to six runs and a .219 average during a five-game win streak in the series. Washington is searching for offense after it was shut out for the second time in Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Philadelphia, going 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. "We've had some really key hits over the course of the season," manager Matt Williams said. "It just wasn't our day."

 

Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann (2-1, 3.27) won an NL-best 12 games at home last year, but he's 0-1 with a 4.58 ERA in four starts in Washington this year compared to 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in two on the road. Zimmermann struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings Wednesday to cruise to a 7-0 victory over Houston. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 6.65 ERA in four career starts against Los Angeles (18-14). Hanley Ramirez is 9 for 20 against him and Matt Kemp 5 for 12 with two homers. Outfielder Scott Hairston (strained left oblique) and catcher Wilson Ramos (hand surgery) could both return in this series for Washington.

Los Angeles Clippers vs Oklahoma City Thunder NBA live stream free

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Los Angeles Clippers initially were reeling after the incendiary racial comments by owner Donald Sterling that got him banned from the NBA for life. The team unified and rallied to beat the Golden State Warriors in seven games, setting up a Western Conference semifinal against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder that starts Monday. "For us, it's basketball," Clippers point guard Chris Paul said. "Had we lost this game, it wasn't like they were going to let us go to the next round because of what we've been through. I think it just showed our will, our fight, and more so than getting through all that, it was getting through tonight." The Thunder fought through a different kind of challenge -- a familiar foe with a difficult style. Oklahoma City survived a grind-it-out series against the Memphis Grizzlies and prevailed in seven games. There should be a lot less grinding and a lot more running and gunning in this matchup. Los Angeles led the NBA in scoring during the regular season with 107.9 points per game. All-Star forward Blake Griffin has improved his all-around game, and Paul is perhaps the league's best point guard. "This team runs at a high level, they pass the ball up the floor at a high level," Durant said. "They advance the ball, they have athletic guys and shooters all around. Our defense is going to be tested." Durant is the league's scoring champion, and point guard Russell Westbrook is one of the NBA's best athletes. The Thunder ranked fifth in scoring this season with 106.2 points per contest. Griffin said playing the Warriors helped them get ready for the Thunder. "Defensively, it prepared us to really be on our rotations and understand that nothing is going to be perfect, but we just have got to work it out," he said. Here are five things to watch for in the series:

 

IS DURANT REALLY BACK? Durant struggled through much of the series against Memphis before returning to form in the final two games. In the first five games, he averaged 28 points and shot 40 percent from the field. In the last two games, he averaged 34.5 points and shot 56 percent. Memphis guard Tony Allen, who had success defending Durant, said the rest of the league could be in trouble. "Should be easy for him, a lot easier for him now that I ain't got to harass him," Allen said.

Match Details
Clippers-Thunder
Date: May 5, 2014
Time:  9:30 PM ET
Coverage: TNT
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

PAUL's HAMSTRING: Paul has been dealing with a sore right hamstring, a bad problem to have against Oklahoma City's speed. Memphis' Mike Conley entered Game 7 with a strained hamstring, and Westbrook finished with a triple-double. Paul had 22 points and 14 assists in 42 minutes against Golden State on Saturday.

GRIFFIN vs. IBAKA: Griffin ranked sixth in the league with 24.1 points per game in the regular season. He is usually the dominant athlete in his matchups, but Ibaka, who led the NBA in total blocks in the regular season and was fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting, might be his match. Thunder coach Scott Brooks said defending Griffin is different than it once was."His mid-range jump shot -- you can't give him that anymore," Brooks said. "He can make that, and he knocks that down, and he shoots it with confidence, and they look for him.

"WILL WESTBROOK PASS? For much of the first five games against Memphis, Westbrook shot 34 percent from the field and averaged 25.4 points on 25.6 shot attempts as his team fell behind 3-2. In the final two games, he shot 51 percent from the field, averaged 26 points on 18.5 shots per game and added 10.5 assists as the Thunder rolled to two blowout wins."He's an attack player," Brooks said. "He wants to get to the lane and finish around the paint. There's always a balance, and I think he's done a good job the last two or three games of finding that."

 Match Details
Clippers-Thunder
Date: May 5, 2014
Time:  9:30 PM ET
Coverage: TNT
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

 

DO THE CLIPPERS HAVE ANYTHING LEFT? The Clippers have acknowledged that the Sterling situation has taken its toll. They played a tough seven-game series against the Warriors and follow it with Game 1 on the road two days later against a team that had the league's second-best home record at 34-7. The Clippers defeated the Thunder in Oklahoma City 125-117 on Feb. 23, though under much different circumstances. "It's tough to win in OKC," Clippers forward Matt Barnes said. "These playoffs aren't going to be easy, but we've won there this season, and we're looking to go up there and get one."on March 12, the Pacers have won 12 straight at Indy including twice this season. The Wizards last win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse came April 18, 2007.

Washington Wizards vs Indiana Pacers NBA live stream free

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana's long first-round test may wind up providing the blueprint to reach the Eastern Conference finals. After spending seven games adapting to Atlanta's array of 3-point shooters, the Pacers think they can use a similar defensive plan against John Wall, Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards when their second-round series starts Monday night.

 "I think (Atlanta) helped us in terms of understanding how to be in gaps, being there for one another, rotating, so we're ready for the next round," Indiana's Paul George said. Because the Hawks had Indiana on the brink of elimination after taking a 3-2 lead last Monday, the Pacers had only one full day to implement their Washington game plan.Wall, Beal and Trevor Ariza pose a similar challenge to Atlanta because of their speed and versatility. "They play somewhat similar to what we do," Beal said, talking about the Hawks. "And the Pacers are just a big, physical team. They can play fast, but they can play slow at the same time, and that's a great defensive team. So we're definitely going to have our hands full." Unlike the Hawks, Washington relies on a more traditional power game with Marcin Gortat and Nene -- something that could play right into the Pacers' hands, especially if David West and Roy Hibbert remain as effective as they were in Saturday's series-clinching win. Either way, the Pacers believe they can make it work.

Match Details
Wizards-Pacers
Date: May 5, 2014
Time:  7:00 PM ET
Coverage: TNT
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

 

"I think Teague helped us prepare for John Wall," coach Frank Vogel said. "I think (Paul) Millsap helped us prepare for Nene. And (Kyle) Korver helped us prepare for Bradley Beal. But they're a different team. I think the heightened alertness, more than anything, will hopefully help us going into this series." Here are five more things to watch for in the Eastern semifinals: REST OR RHYTHM? The Wizards had five days to heal after beating the Bulls in five games. The Pacers, meanwhile, had to play their starters extensively to survive the first round. Washington's challenge was staying sharp without playing. "For me, the more time, the better," veteran forward Al Harrington said. "But for these (younger) guys, I know they're champing at the bit, they're ready to go." The young Pacers probably don't mind the quick turnaround after the regular starters finally won back-to-back games for the first time since mid-March.

DEJA VU: The first time Indiana had the top seed in the East, it was pushed to the brink in the first round by Milwaukee. After surviving that best-of-five series with a 3-2 series win, the Pacers went on to win the Eastern Conference title before losing to the Lakers in their only NBA Finals appearance. D.C. MILESTONES: The Wizards have been ticking them off one-by-one. First playoff appearance since 2008. First series win since 2005. Next stop: Getting past the second round for the first time since the 1970s. They've reached Round 2 only twice since then -- getting swept by the Heat nine years ago and losing 4-1 to the Celtics in 1982 -- and haven't won a second-round game since April 28, 1982, when Frank Johnson and Spencer Haywood scored 26 points apiece in a 103-102 victory against Larry Bird and the Celtics when Washington was still the Bullets. If the Wizards advance, they would be the lowest seed in the conference finals since the Knicks in 1999.

Match Details
Wizards-Pacers
Date: May 5, 2014
Time:  7:00 PM ET
Coverage: TNT
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

 

BIG MO: After a second-half swoon, the Pacers finally have some momentum. The regular starters have won two straight for the first time since mid-March. George has six double-doubles in his first seven games. Lance Stephenson is back to being his fun-loving self. Even Hibbert was productive in Saturday's win. Indiana has teased its fans with other promising wins (see Chicago, Miami and Oklahoma City). What everyone wants to know is which version of the Pacers will show up in the conference semis? HOME COURT EDGE: While Washington won the last meeting between these teams, 91-78 on March 12, the Pacers have won 12 straight at Indy including twice this season. The Wizards last win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse came April 18, 2007.

LA Dodgers at Miami Marlins MLB live streaming free

One of the few scares Jose Fernandez has gotten recently came in a collision with a coach prior to a contest he wasn't even starting. As far as the competition goes, the Miami Marlins' phenom has been fending it off with relative ease.The 21-year-old takes the mound Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers seeking to maintain his perfect home record in the finale of this three-game set.Fernandez (4-1, 1.59 ERA) hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 23 innings, and he struck out 22 while giving up five hits over his last two starts. He beat Atlanta 1-0 on April 22 and 9-0 on Tuesday after going eight innings in each contest.With the second victory over the Braves, Fernandez improved to 12-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 19 starts at Marlins Park, never having allowed more than two earned runs. The right-hander's 12.48 strikeouts per nine innings rank second in the majors, and his opponents' batting average of .174 ranks fourth."Jose did a great job," manager Mike Redmond said. "We needed him to go out there and log some big innings, and that's back-to-back great starts against a great offensive team."Fernandez said he is OK to start this contest after a collision with strength and conditioning coach Ty Hill during pregame warmups before the Marlins (15-15) had their four-game winning streak snapped with a 9-7, 11-inning loss to the Dodgers on Saturday. He complained of minor soreness in his non-throwing shoulder following the incident."It was a little accident with Ty," Fernandez told the team's official website. "I was running my sprints and he came back to get a ball, and kind of got in my way. We bumped into each other. No problem. We're both fine."Fernandez won both of his starts against the Dodgers last season while posting a 3.00 ERA and striking out 15 in 12 innings. He was scheduled to oppose Hyun-jin Ryu in this contest, but Ryu has been placed on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation."That explains the velocity we've been seeing, 87 and 88 (miles per hour)," manager Don Mattingly told the Dodgers' official website.

Match Details
Dodgers-Marlins
Date: May 4, 2014
Time: 1:10 PM ET
Location: Marlins Park, Miami, Florida

Stephen Fife will be called up from Triple-A and is expected to start. The right-hander, who has never faced Miami, went 4-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 10 starts and two relief appearances last season. He had a 7.08 ERA in six games for Albuquerque this year.Fife will look to help Los Angeles (18-13) earn its fifth victory in six games after pinch-hitter Carl Crawford hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the 11th on Saturday. Yasiel Puig hit a three-run shot and Dee Gordon finished 5 for 6 with two RBIs for the Dodgers, who let a five-run lead slip away before surviving.Gordon also stole three bases and leads the majors with 19 while increasing his batting average to .357. He's 8 for 11 in the series."He's hitting .350, he's stealing bags, he's playing good defense," Mattingly said. "You can't really ask a whole lot more."Jeff Baker and Jeff Mathis each hit solo homers for the Marlins, and Marcell Ozuna's three-run shot in the seventh trimmed the Dodgers' lead to one before Jarrod Saltalamacchia drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth that tied it. The Marlins, though, left the bases loaded in the eighth and ninth and had two runners on in the 10th. "We get a hit in any of those situations, and it's over," Redmond said. The Dodgers have won four of the last five meetings in Miami.