Congratulations to the TORONTO RAPTORS, 1st time NBA CHAMPIONS!
No Game 7 on Sunday! Klay Thompson ran up and jumped to the hoop full speed on a play defended by Danny Green, landed badly and instantly grabbed his left knee. Curry received and threw down the ball and sat on the court, knowing that with just about 2 minutes left in the 3rd Quarter, in a game the Raptors were trying to close out and win, that was it for the Warriors. In addition to that, a clutch 3 from Raptors’ VanVleet and Curry missing the 3-pt game winner with a good look when the Warriors had possession, down by 1 with 18s left in the game sealed the win for The North. It was asnif.it was God’s plan.
Kudos to the Warriors for indeed playing like Warriors and fighting like the Champions they are without KD and despite other injuries. But, it was inevitable. A consistent Kawhi Leonard, a thirsty Kyle Lowry who came out blazing in the 1st Quarter, Gasol who was not effective in scoring but obtained crucial offensive rebounds, the great defending by Danny Green, Siakam and Ibaka who scored when it counted in the 3rd and 4th and VanVleet who was on fire and scored the huge clutch 3 in the 4th along with the rest of a hard-working Raptors team, all deserved their 1st title win. That includes Jeremy Lin!
FINALS MVP went to KAWHI LEONARD! No surprise there! ðŸ‘ðŸ‘ðŸ‘
Photo: ESPN
Raptors Road to their 1st NBA Title
Nobody thought at the beginning of the NBA Finals that the Raptors would take it, but as they upset the Celtics, took care of the 76ers and demolished the favourites in the East, the Bucks, their chances and desire to win became more and more evident. Their loyal fans knew it too. Well done and Congrats to THE NORTH! It’s an all weekend party in Jurassic Park and well, Canada! Oh Canada.
Photo: ESPN
See you next year! I love this game.
By: Gabrielle Burgess
If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.
Whether KD returns tonight or not, I think the Raptors have the Warriors’ ticket. They have found a way for their supporting cast to rise up and break them down. Let’s get real, IF KD is cleared to play tonight, how well can KD integrate himself after starting practice just yesterday?!
The Raptors want it more and have advantage of Home court and momentum. Don’t get it twisted, you can never totally write off Champions, but have you dissected the defense of the Raptors?
Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol have either been on the NBA All-Defensive Team, won NBA Defesive Player of the Year and/or been an NBA Block leader at some point in their career.
I don’t think the Raptors are going to let Game 5 slip away from them like Game 2. So Suga thinks it’s a ‘Rap’!
If the Raptors don’t take care of business tonight, they better prepare for a Game 7.
Enjoy! I love this Game!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.
Mohamed Salah scored a penalty for Liverpool in the 2nd minute of the Champions League Final last Saturday. The penalty was a result of a handball off Tottenham Hotspur’s Moussa Sissoko. After a quick goal, quite a boring game followed, where Tottenham had over 60% possession for the majority of the game, but failed to score. After a few close attempts from Tottenham towards the end of the game, Liverpool’s Divock Origi sealed the title win at 87 minutes with a goal in the corner of the net.
Liverpool won 2-0. This was a great win for Liverpool after losing the English Premier League by 1 point to Manchester City. Congrats to Liverpool!
French Open, Roland Garros
Ladies
Venus Williams was sent home in the 1st round again.
Naomi Isaka (Photo: BBC Sport)
World #1 Naomi Osaka and GOAT Serena Williams were knocked out in the 3rd round of the French Open on Saturday.
Past French Open Champ, Garbiñe Muguruza was knocked out yesterday by Sloane Stephens in straight sets.
Defending Champ, Simona Halep is still in it to win it!
Simona Halep (Photo: BBC Sport)
Men
Favourites, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are all still in it to win it!
Stan Wawrinka won an epic 5-setter versus young Stefanos Tsitsipas who beat Federer in the Australian Open this year. Wawrinka faces Federer next!
WARRIORS level the series with the RAPTORS to 1-1 in the NBA FINALS
The wounded Warriors persevered to win 109-104 versus the Raptors last night.
They lost Kevon Looney in the 2nd quarter to a collarbone injury.
Steph Curry wasn’t feeling 100% and briefly went to the locker room and returned with more energy.
Klay Thompson left early in the fourth with a hamstring injury.
Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points, but his supporting cast of Siakam and Gasol were shut down defensively by the Warriors. Lowry was fouled out late in the 4th.
The Splash Brothers scored the most points, Klay with 25 and Curry with 23, but their supporting cast stepped up big time to help them get the road win.
Draymond scored 17 points.
DeMarcus Cousins a.k.a Boogie who just returned in Game 1 after being out for a while with a quad injury, gave them 11 points and a lot of minutes with great passes. Cook hit some clutch 3-pointers, Bogut stepped in well for Looney and Iguodala sealed the win with a 3-pointer after a great assist from Livingston that was almost intercepted by Kawhi.
Stay tuned for more updates on the NBA FINALS
By: Gabrielle Burgess
If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.
With no LeBron James, D-Wade, Tim Duncan nor Kevin Durant and a new team in the NBA Finals, NBA fans await the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors with much anticipation.
Injuries plague the Warriors. For now, there is no KD. DeMarcus Cousins a.k.a Boogie who just returned to training, is questionable to return for game 1. If he returns, he may break up the current chemistry of the team though. Then there is past Finals MVP, Andre Iguodala, who has an injured calf. He is still scheduled to play.
Despite the injuries, the Warriors have risen to the occasion to compete in the Finals with the return of the Splash Brothers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and a focused Draymond Green. Kevon Looney has also stepped up majorly as a big in the paint. We know their bench is deep too. Can they do the 3-peat?!
Kawhi Leonard leads the Raptors, whose supporting cast have woken up with hunger in their eyes. There have been talks that Kawhi Leonard has the potential to be compared to Michael Jordan already. I agree, he has been starting to look like the GOAT, but how strong is his support team? Lowry aint no Pippen. He hustles though. Danny Green has been a no show, Gasol is an inconsistent weak link and Ibaka’s age is beginning to show. But VanVleet and Lopez are monsters for them. Siakam and Powell are good shooters too. Toronto also has home-court advantage and …well Drake 🤣
Who will win the NBA Finals?
Steve Kerr and Pop out for dinner before the Finals!
With all fun and jokes aside, Suga gives the experienced Coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors team the slight edge over the Raptors for the win and the 3-peat.
Kawhi Leonard has already won Finals MVP. It’s time for Steph Curry to continue to step up and show up. I believe it would seal his legacy.
Game 1 starts at 8pmET!
Stay tuned to Suga Lifestyle for your NBA Finals updates! I love this game!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.
If you haven’t already heard or don’t follow Suga Lifestyle’s Facebook page, it was all about KD last Wednesday night for Game 3! Iggy came back and Curry’s only 3-pointer was a game changer in the 4th, but KD was a baaaad man. Check it out! Same spot, different year! Nasty.
Watch “Kevin Durant’s ‘deja vu’ dagger from Game 3 of the 2018 Finals: All the angles, all the reactions | ESPN” on YouTube here:
Cavs took a tough game 3 loss. Warriors won 110-102 and took a 3-0 series lead! I had given the Cavs one game, maybe two, but after a dramatic Game 1 loss and the loss at home on Wednesday, the sweep is looking possible. Also, according to Bleacher Report, KD says they are going for the sweep. After the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the 2016 Finals to the Cavs, they don’t want to risk playing with the gods like that again.
What does LeBron have to say? According to ESPN, he says it will take Basketball IQ to beat the Warriors. Let’s hope he gives Coach Tyronn Lue a crash course.
FRENCH OPEN – WOMEN’S FINAL
SIMONA HALEP vs. SLOANE STEPHENS
Simona Halep is focused to win her 1st Grand Slam! Photo: The New York Times
World no. 1, Simona Halep rolled over a tough opponent, World no. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza 6-1, 6-4 to book her spot in the French Open Final for a 3rd time. Will it be a charm?
Sloane Stephens in action at Roland Garros 2018. Photo: telegraph.co.uk
Sloane Stephens (10) defeated her fellow American, Madison Keys (13) in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. She is looking stong as ever.
Will Simona Halep finally win her 1st Grand Slam or will Sloane Stephens win her 2nd after winning the US Open last year?
We will see tomorrow morning at 8am ET.
Stay tuned!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Warriors went into Game 2 being up 1-0 in the series after a dramatic Game 1 victory last Thursday night. They won in OT after the game was tied during regulation. If you haven’t already heard, at 107-107 with 4.7s left, George Hill missed his second free throw. JR Smith then got the offensive rebound and ran away with the ball to waste time because he seemed to have had a brain lapse and thought they were up.
The internet went into mayhem with memes last Friday especially after seeing a visually upset LeBron, who scored 51 points for nothing.
GAME 2
Cavs must have entered Game 2 last night feeling disheartened.
The benches were emptied in the final 3 minutes of the Cavs – Warriors game last night, because it was a wrap for Game 2. Warriors got the blowout win, 122-103.
A tired LeBron, poor Cavs defense and spectacular offense by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant gave Warriors the Game 2 win. It’s Dubs, 2-0 for the series before they head to Cleveland for Game 3 this Wednesday.
Curry scored 33 points and passed Ray Allen’s NBA record for most 3-pointers in an NBA Finals game with 9!
Stephen Curry has won MVP twice, but never won the Finals MVP. He surely seems like he is on his way to winning it this year though!
Here is you schedule after they head back to Cleveland.
***Suga thinks it is likely that the Cavs will win 1 at home and the Warriors will win in 5 at their house***
FRENCH OPEN – Tennis
Men
Rafael Nadal has been making it look on his way to possibly winning his 11th French Open title.
Former World no. 1, Novak Djokovic looks like he has the winning spirit again though and has been playing well.
Marin Cilic, Juan del Potro, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev are also still in it to win it.
Women
World no. 2, Caroline Wozniacki was upset by no. 14, Daria Kasatkina this morning, losing in 2 straight sets 6-7, 3-6 in the 4th round.
Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Sloane Stephens and Garbiñe Muguruza are still in it to win it. Not to mention come back mom, Serena Williams who will face Maria Sharapova today at about 8:30am E.T.
Photo: cbssports.com
Stay tuned!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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CONGRATULATIONS to the GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS for winning the 2017 NBA Finals. They beat the Cavaliers 129-120 to seal the NBA Finals series 4-1, which was Suga’s original prediction before a sweep looked possible and the Refs intervened Game 4.
It is the first NBA Finals where 4 players averaged 25+ points, which was achieved by Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James.
LeBron James was sensational, putting up 41 points and JR Smith was spectacular with 25 points including 7-8 from the 3-point line. His only miss from the 3-point line was late in the 4th when the Cavs started to crumble seeing the Championship slip away from them. He regrouped and put in another 3-point sinker that was just too late.
Kyrie Irving played well, scoring 26 points. But he was benched on and off as he suffered aches and pains that naturally come at this time of the post-season. He will have the entire summer to rest now.
Tristan Thompson finally stepped up and scored 15 points. He seemed to have switched places with Kevin Love. Love was scoreless for most of the game because he was benched after the first few minutes of the game when he committed 2 early fouls. He eventually ended up with just 6 points.
The Cavs just weren’t good enough.
Apart from an 18-point lead by the Warriors at one point, the game was quite close for the most part and extremely physical to say the least.
The turning point was Andre Iguodala’s (Iggy’s) dunk to change the momentum of the game and to wake up the Warriors who were playing well but not looking like they wanted to seize Game 5 and the Championship.
At that point, Davis West shook things up further after he went for a rebound and Kyrie Irving tried to wrestle the ball away from him. West got fired up and so did Tristan Thompson who also went for the rebound but lost out on it. He came and pushed West and so did JR Smith who ran in on the action from a mile away. West, Tristan Thompson and JR Smith were all given technical fouls.
LeBron James then gave an earful to a laughing Kevin Durant (KD) and Draymond Green and backed up all his talking by sinking a 3. Coach Steve Kerr smartly and immediately called a time out. Then the Warriors prevented an angry comeback from LeBron James.
The Warriors fully amped and on their way to victory after Curry scores a 2-point shot and gets fouled
Stephen Curry was explosive in the first half, but not so much in the second half. His 3-point mojo was missing. He assisted some crucial plays to the basket in the 2nd half though. He scored a total of 34 points.
Klay Thompson scored 11 points. It seems like a small amount, but he contributed throughout the game offensively and defensively and hit those 3s when they were needed or mattered the most.
It was KD and Iggy that really carried the team down the stretch. KD scored 39 points, the most he scored in the Finals, scoring over 30 each game. Iggy came up big from the bench with 20 points, highlighted by dunks and a few 3s.
KD did everything you can think of to secure his 1st NBA Championship ring, from assists to rebounds, dunks, layups, drives through the lane, jumpers and those 3s that broke the Cavs’ heart. K-Dagger.
Last night he was the real MVP.
Wanda, kudos to you too.
Kevin Durant and his mother, Wanda celebrate the Championship win
Congrats to KD for winning Finals MVP.
KD accepts Finals MVP Trophy from Bill Russell
LeBron’s fans will ask, ‘What more could he have done?’ LeBron stated, I left everything on the floor for all 5 games.’ I could almost agree. He played great baskbetball, but not when it counted. Game 4 to save face from a potential sweep and Game 5 at the Warrior’s homecourt is just too late to show up when necessary. Let’s not even talk about the Game 1 and 2 blowouts. But Game 3?! The game back on Cleveland’s homecourt? LeBron just wasn’t clutch. Here is a reminder of how LeBron could have been better and turned this Final around – LeBron missed a driving lay-up in the late 4th and had his 3-point shot attempt blocked by Andre Iguodala with 12s left. He made the offensive rebound then stepped out of bounds resulting in a turnover with 10s left. That’s just an example of a potential 5 points gone out the window. The end result of Game 3 was Warriors 118 – Cavs 113. To be the GOAT, you have to be clutch and that title still belongs to Michael Jordan with 6 rings.
“The premise that the Warriors’ victory was inevitable due to their stacking the deck ignores an indisputable fact: Only one of these teams features four top-five picks in the starting lineup — including a pair of No. 1 overall selections — and it isn’t the Warriors”. – Kevin Arnovitz (ESPN Staff Writer)
At the end of the day, the Warriors were hungrier and played much closer to their full potential compared to the Cavaliers.
Well done and well deserved Championship win for Coaches Steve Kerr, Mike Brown and the Warriors team.
Congrats to the internet too, that keeps winning.
Until next year!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Rafael Nadal defeated Stan Wawrinka yesterday to win the French Open for his record 10th time, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1!
The scoreline was no indication of the quality of the match played. Wawrinka was good but the King of the Clay was spectacular. His coverage of the court was remarkable. Congrats Rafa!
NBA FINALS – GAME 5
The current scoreline of the series after Friday’s game is Warriors – 3, Refs – 1, Cavs – 0.
Lebron James and Kyrie Irving played great basketball on Friday night to end the game with a high scoring NBA Finals record of 137-116, but it was overshadowed by blatant unfair calls from the Refs. The Refs even blundered seriously by ejecting Draymond Green from the game because they had him down for a technical instead of Coach Kerr, who was originally given the technical. So when Draymond actually got his technical later in the game, they attempted to eject him. They had to revisit the call and their records, then realised they made an error.
At that point, Draymond realised it didn’t make sense he even tried to play with how ridiculous the calls were on the court.
Could this be why the Refs allowed the Cavs no chance of getting swept?
Game 5 will be played tonight at 8pm.
Maybe the brooms persons got can be used to sweep confetti. That is if and only if Steph Curry decides to show up because he legit choked on Friday night. Only KD showed up for the Warriors.
Will Curry and Klay relive the 3-1 nightmare of last year or will the road finally end for the Cavs tonight?
Stay tuned.
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Despite LeBron James putting up 39 points and Kyrie Irving, 38, it just was not enough to beat the Warriors team. The Warriors beat them at home 118-113 last night to go up 3-0 in the series.
It was a close game throughout and the 3rd Quarter belonged to Kyrie Irving. But the new addition to the Kardashians, Tristan Thompson contributed zero for the entire game and Kevin Love missed too many shots. J.R. Smith contributed a few crucial 3-point shots but it jus wasn’t enough to surpass the fast-paced Warriors team. The Cavs were worn out after the 3rd Quarter.
The Cavs led by as much as 7 points in the 4th Quarter and as much as 6 points in the late part of the 4th Quarter.
What happened?!
With a combined 77 points between LeBron and Kyrie, neither of them were clutch. Kyrie missed a crucial 3-pointer that was a lazy shot, while he should have passed it to J.R who had a hot hand and made himself free. LeBron missed a driving lay-up in the late 4th and had his 3-point shot attempt blocked by Andre Iguodala with 12s left. He made the offensive rebound then stepped out of bounds resulting in a turnover with 10s left.
So as much as LeBron James fans hate to admit it, he isn’t clutch and remains a ‘Stats King’.
Who was Clutch?!
KD! KD broke the Cavs heart with a 3-point hook, line and sinker over LeBron James who didn’t even contest the shot with 45.3s remaining. KD scored 31 points and Klay Thompson and Steph Curry came up big with a few clutch shots of their own with 30 and 26 points respectively.
The Coaching
Props to Steve Kerr for managing and switching up the line up several times as Draymond Green kept getting into foul trouble.
Will there be a Sweep?
Yes. The Cavs are far too demoralised. They can’t manage the firepower, pace and tenacity of the Warriors this year.
After the Warriors messed up 73 wins last year, they are going for a record 16 straight post-season wins with no mercy and a ringless, past MVP, Kevin Durant is at their helm.
Brooms for SALE.
Stay tuned!
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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There will be a new French Open Winner for the Ladies this year, as Garbiñe Muguruza and Venus Williams were both eliminated yesterday.
Photo: ESPN
Venus was eliminated by Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland for the second year in a row. Venus now looks forward to Wimbledon.
Men’s Singles
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal continue on their collision course to the Semifinals. They both beat their opponents in straight sets to advance to the Quarterfinals.
World No. 1, Andy Murray advanced to the 4th round.
NBA FINALS – Basketball
The Warriors blew out the Cavs in Game 1, 113-91 on Thursday night.
Coach Steve Kerr returned to coach the Warriors in the Finals, starting with Game 2. The game seemed close up to Half Time with the Warriors only up by 3. After that, Kevin Durant (KD) was unstoppable with 33 points and Steph Curry stepped up with 32 points to lead the Warriors to a 132-113 win and a 2-0 lead in the series. Even Klay Thompson got to find his rhythm and contributed 22 points.
Cavs’ LeBron James who scored 29 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, tied Magic Johnson for the most NBA Finals triple doubles. But it wasn’t enough for his team to win, despite 27 points from Kevin Love. Kyrie Irving was only able to score 19 points.
KD’s defense to offense was sensational.
The Cavs are in the same position as last year’s Finals, but versus a team who now has KD. After last night you cannot help but think a sweep is possible, but Suga thinks the Cavs may win Game 3 at home and sees the Warriors winning the Finals 4-1.
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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