Event of the Day: Philadelphia 76ers versus Miami Heat
Our event of the day comes from the NBA playoffs as the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat face-off in Game Five of their Eastern Conference Round One series. The Sixers will now welcome the Heat to the Wells Fargo Center knowing a victory will seal their progression to the next round. They are coming off the back of two victories in a row on the road and confidence will be high heading into this home fixture. At one stage, towards the end of the third quarter in Game Four, the 76ers were trailing by 12 points, but still managed to recover thanks to a superb last quarter, led by 21 year-old Ben Simmons. Simmons scored 17 points, made 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the game to become the first rookie since Magic Johnson in 1980 to record an NBA playoff triple-double.
Miami however, can take some confidence from their performances in the previous games. They had considerable leads in both of the matches at the American Airlines Arena, only for the Sixers to come back and win. The Southeast Division winners will know that if they can fall on the right side of some of the clutch moments, which they haven’t so far in the series, they can take this into a sixth game back in Miami. It will certainly be a tough ask for Miami, who will now have to win three in a row against a team that went on a 16 game winning streak to close out the regular season.
Honourable mentions around the globe go the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg between Liverpool and Roma at Anfield. Both teams achieved quarterfinal upsets, with Liverpool beating Manchester City and Roma knocking out Barcelona to create an unlikely semi-final matchup. This is an intriguing matchup with a place in the final on the line over two legs. In the EFL Championship, Derby County play Cardiff City in a key promotion game. Elsewhere in the NBA playoffs, the Golden State Warriors play the San Antonio Spurs at the Oracle Arena whilst the Boston Celtics host the Milwaukee Bucks at the TD Garden. In MLB, the Cincinnati Reds play the Atlanta Braves at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Tennis’ Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell from the ATP Tour has its second day, as does the WTA’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The AFL sees Richmond and Melbourne meet at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In cricket’s IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad travel to Mumbai to face the Mumbai Indians. Finally, the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield continues and Cycling’s Tour de Romandie begins.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Fixture
Photos by NBA