Bruins

The Dallas Mavericks are poised to add another chapter to the Los Angeles Clippers' playoff misery.
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pa-state-wire-philadelphia-76ers-washington-wizards-nba-sports-703e395837b181e3ca2ff6daa737a5e2">With everyone in the NBA</a> focused on fan misconduct, the Clippers find themselves in a familiar position after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-dallas-mavericks-health-coronavirus-pandemic-nba-699937e10673b330f10829d20a53bf92">losing the first two games</a> at Staples Center.
Now, as the best-of-seven series shifts to the Lone Star State, the Mavericks can deliver a potentially decisive blow in Game 3 on Friday night.
No team has overcome a 3-0 deficit in the NBA playoffs. The Clippers are hardly a candidate to break that trend, facing a first-round elimination for the fourth time in six years.
"We&rsquo;re nowhere yet," Dallas' Kristaps Porzingis said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a good step for where we want to go. But there&rsquo;s still more to do. We have to keep our heads in the right place and on to the next one.&rdquo;
Also Friday, the Atlanta Hawks get their first home playoff game since 2017 when they take on the Knicks after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/atlanta-hawks-new-york-knicks-nba-sports-406e5cb2482b1c0f08665ff4e0169abf">splitting the first two contests</a> in New York, while the Brooklyn Nets look to go up 3-0 on the Celtics when the Eastern Conference series shifts to Boston.
The Hawks-Knicks series was marred by an ugly incident in Game 2 when <a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1397766076839206914">a fan spit on Atlanta star Trae Young</a> while he was preparing to inbound the basketball in the fourth quarter of New York&rsquo;s 101-92 win.
&ldquo;&ldquo;It's unacceptable. I don't even understand it,&rdquo; Atlanta's John Collins said. &ldquo;You come to arena to watch a basketball game, where does it come into your mind to spit at someone? It's so disrespectful.&rdquo;
That wasn't the only misbehavior in the stands on Wednesday.
<a href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1397721494466215937">A fan dumped popcorn</a> on Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook as he was leaving a game at Philadelphia with an ankle injury. In Utah, three fans were tossed from a game against Memphis.
The Jazz did not reveal specifics of the incident, but Grizzlies guard Ja Morant &mdash; who had family at the game &mdash; said the three people &ldquo;just went too far.&rdquo;
The Knicks, 76ers and Jazz issued apologies and banned those involved, while players across the league again raised concerns about their safety in a sport where fans sit right next to the court.
The issue is heightened even more as the coronavirus pandemic eases across the United States, prompting teams to open their arenas to the largest crowds of the season.
The NBA said that rules surrounding fan behavior will be &ldquo;vigorously enforced&rdquo; through the rest of the playoffs.
&ldquo;The return of more NBA fans to our arenas has brought great excitement and energy to the start of the playoffs, but it is critical that we all show respect for players, officials and our fellow fans,&rdquo; the league said.
The Clippers will be dealing with a large, boisterous crowd in Dallas, where more than 15,000 fans are expected for Game 3.
That doesn't bode well for Los Angeles, which parted with coach Doc Rivers after an upset loss to Denver in the second round of last years playoffs. With Tyronn Lue now on the sidelines, nothing much has changed for the Clippers.
The franchise, which started as the Boston Braves in 1970 and also had a stint in San Diego, has never advanced past the second round of the playoffs.
Friday&rsquo;s games:
KNICKS AT HAWKS
Series tied 1-1. Game 3, 7 p.m. EDT, ESPN.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Knicks rallied from a double-digit deficit in Game 2 thanks to a dominating performance on the boards. They outrebounded the Hawks 54-41, leading to a big edge in second-change points.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Knicks G Derrick Rose. The former MVP is averaging 21.5 points a game off the New York bench.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Both teams are healthy beyond long-term injuries.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Collins. The Hawks forward was held scoreless in Game 2, playing less than 15 minutes because of nagging foul trouble. He must do a better job coping with New York's physical play and gripes about the officiating.
NETS AT CELTICS
Brooklyn leads 2-0. Game 3, 8:30 p.m. EDT, ABC.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: Nets G Kyrie Irving will be playing in front of fans in Boston for the first time since leaving as a free agent in 2019 following two seasons. Alluding to the troubles in New York and Philadelphia, Irving said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just looking forward to competing with my teammates and hopefully we can just keep it strictly basketball, there&rsquo;s no belligerence or any racism going on, subtle racism and people yelling (stuff) from the crowd."
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Nets F Joe Harris. While Brooklyn's Big Three of Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden gets most of the attention, Harris is the league's most accurate 3-point shooter. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nyc-state-wire-new-york-knicks-brooklyn-nets-boston-celtics-nba-d705e0d92d419307494180470346ff4d">He tied a franchise record</a> with seven 3s in Game 2.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Nets F Jeff Green will have to sit out at least 10 days with a bruised left foot.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Celtics F Jayson Tatum has missed 15 of his last 18 shots from the field and managed only nine points in Game 2 before a poke to the eye forced him to the sideline. His eye is doing much better &mdash; and Boston needs him to play much better to have any chance.
CLIPPERS AT MAVERCIKS
Dallas leads 2-0. Game 3, 9:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN.
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Clippers' franchise has never won a playoff series after losing the first two games.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Mavericks G Luka Doncic, as always. The All-Star averaged 35 points over the first two games.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Mavericks F Maxi Kleber has been bothered for weeks by sore right Achilles tendon. He managed to go 34 minutes in Game 2, finishing with 13 points and four rebounds.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: The Clippers to come out with a much greater sense of urgency. Dallas got off to a strong start in each of the first two games, putting Los Angeles on its heels.
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The Clippers will be dealing with a large, boisterous crowd in Dallas, where more than 15,000 fans are expected for Game 3.

Clippers look to avoid another playoff meltdown vs. Mavericks

HOUSTON (AP) — Rockets guard Sterling Brown is back in Houston recovering from injuries sustained when he was assaulted outside a strip club in Miami early Monday morning. 
“He’s recovering,” coach Stephen Silas said. “He was assaulted and he has bumps and bruises and stuff like that, so stuff like that usually gets a little bit worse ... before it gets better.”
The Rockets were in Miami to play the Heat when the incident occurred. 
Silas said that he spoke to Brown on Tuesday and he reached out to him Wednesday but had not gotten in touch with him. He said Brown is seeing doctors and working with the team’s training staff as he recovers.
“The main thing for me is that he knows that we are 100% behind him and have his back and want him to get healthy soon, get back and get back with his teammates and all of those things,” Silas said.
According to an incident report from the Miami-Dade Police Department, they received an anonymous call about a fight in the parking lot of Booby Trap on the River and when authorities arrived around 7 a.m., they found Brown with multiple lacerations throughout his body. He was with another Black male and the report says that while trying to assist the men and gather information about the incident that both men “became belligerent and refused to cooperate.”
Neither would provide their names but kept insisting that Brown be transported to the hospital. Brown was identified by a fire department captain who took him to Jackson Hospital. The incident report says that there were no witnesses at the scene and the club personnel said they did not see what happened. 
The Rockets released a statement about the incident on Monday that said that Brown was the victim of an assault. 
“He had no prior knowledge of or interaction with the assailants,” the statement continued. “He suffered facial lacerations but will make a full recovery.”
Brown has missed the last five games because of a sore left knee and Houston’s injury report said that he was out with the same injury for Wednesday night’s game against the Jazz. Silas said teammate Kevin Porter Jr. would miss Wednesday’s game and would likely be out until Sunday after being placed on the NBA’s health and safety protocols list. 
The NBA’s health and safety protocols limit where players can go while on the road and the Athletic reported that Porter was with Brown at the club on Monday morning. Silas said he could not comment on why Porter was on the health and safety protocols list. 
But he did say that he talks to his team often about the league’s health and safety protocols and the importance of following them. 
“Today we talked about a bunch of stuff that wasn’t just the Sterling stuff,” he said. “And we definitely talked about that as a group... over the last couple of days... so they absolutely know where I stand when it comes to that sort of thing. And it’s not just a one-time conversation that we have with this group. That’s consistent communication with the group.”
The 26-year-old Brown is in his first season with the Rockets after spending his first three years with the Bucks. He has appeared in 51 games with 14 starts this season and is averaging 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds a game. 
In an incident with Milwaukee police in 2018, Brown was taken to the ground, shocked with a Taser and arrested during an encounter over a parking violation. In 2020 he settled a civil suit for $750,000 and plus an admission that his constitutional rights were violated.
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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Sterling Brown is back in Houston recovering from injuries sustained during an assault outside a strip club in Miami on Monday morning.

EJ