There are already plenty of Las Vegas fans who are eager to welcome the
Raiders to town Todd
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Vegas Raiders apparel just yet.
The league is barring the Raiders from selling Vegas gear until the team
leaves Oakland, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.
That seems like an odd decision: Perhaps the NFL doesn¡¯t want to alienate
Oakland fans, but the reality is Oakland fans already know their team is leaving
town. Letting Vegas fans buy gear with their town¡¯s name on it isn¡¯t going to
pour any more salt into the wounds.
It also means that unscrupulous sellers who make knockoff apparel will have
the Las Vegas Raiders merchandise market to themselves. Some fans are going to
want to start buying Raiders gear now, and those fans will turn to the sellers
who violate the league¡¯s copyright and create their own apparel with the
Raiders¡¯ name and logo.
Perhaps the Raiders are considering a rebranding that they¡¯ll roll out when
the team moves. There¡¯s no way they¡¯ll get rid of their signature Silver and
Black, but a new logo could be coming, and that might be the impetus behind the
decision not to sell any merchandise until they arrive in Las Vegas. Until then,
only Oakland Raiders gear can be sold legally.
Dwyane Wade snuffed out one
76ers¡® rally by popping a 16-foot fadeaway with the shot clock ticking down.
Wade made a halfhearted attempt at reaching his hand out toward a fallen
defender before he scooted on his way.
Wade was up Nate
Hairston Jersey , the Sixers were down and suddenly, a series.
The Heat had to have this one ¨C a brooding Joel Embiid is angling for a
comeback.
Wade turned in a vintage performance, scoring 28 points to end the 76ers¡¯
17-game winning streak and lead the Miami Heat to a 113-103 Game 2 win over
Philadelphia on Monday night and even the first-round playoff series.
¡±It¡¯s just in my DNA,¡± Wade said. ¡±I love the stage.¡±
The 36-year-old flashed the form of a three-time NBA champion with the Heat,
not the journeyman who bounced around the last two seasons with forgettable
stints in Chicago and Cleveland.
Wade made 11 of 17 shots and put on a show in the second quarter and put it
away in the fourth.
¡±I saw moments,¡± Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ¡±That¡¯s what defines Dwyane
Wade.¡±
The 76ers could soon get their defining Process moment from Embiid.
The Sixers sorely needed Embiid, their All-Star center out with a broken
orbital bone Danny
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16-point hole.
The Sixers lost for the first time since March 13 to Indiana. They won 16
straight to end the regular season and the first game of the playoffs and played
their 10th straight game without Embiid.
¡±You need Joel Embiid,¡± Sixers coach Brett Brown said.
Embiid went on Instagram after the game and wrote, ¡±sick and tired of being
babied.¡±
Pack the black mask for Miami.
¡±Joel is a superstar. Of course we¡¯re missing him offensively, defensively,¡±
Sixers forward Dario Saric said. ¡±He¡¯s a guy who wants to play all the time. I
can¡¯t wait for Joel to come back and help us because we¡¯re a better team with
him.¡±
Even without Embiid, the Sixers trimmed the lead to two points late in the
fourth.
Philly fans were going wild and suddenly the home-court edge that had made
the Sixers unbeatable for a month seemed like it would perk the team back up for
one more notch on the winning streak.
Not so fast.
Ersan Ilyasova made a tip shot to close to 98-96 but Wade answered and
stripped Saric and finished on the other end with a basket that steadied the
Heat.
The series shifts to Miami for Game 3 on Thursday.
Wade¡¯s play resembled his glory days at times and he carried the Heat in a
sensational second quarter that was the difference. He pump-faked his way to 15
points in the quarter ¨C impressive enough, even moreso that he outscored the
potent Sixers by two points.
Wade made his first seven shots of the game and passed Larry Bird for 10th on
the NBA¡¯s career postseason scoring list.
¡±I play the game for these moments Joe
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After a Game 1 victory where they couldn¡¯t miss, the Sixers couldn¡¯t make a
big bucket in the first half. The Sixers made a team playoff-record 18 3s in
Game 1 and missed a whopping 16 of 18 3s in the first half.
The Heat slowed the game down ¨C exactly the kind of style where the Sixers
needed Embiid in the middle ¨C and used a collective of defenders on Ben Simmons
that rattled the rookie point guard early.
The passing-and-pushing offense that got the Sixers to the No. 3 seed in the
East failed them for the first time since early March.
But there was life left in the fourth.
Saric was fouled by Wade and sank both from the line to make it 91-82 and he
followed with a 3 the next time down that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Saric
broke up a pass on defense that led to a Simmons dunk and suddenly 18 straight
wins was within reach.
Wade contributed with baskets, assists and free throws over the final 4
minutes to close out the win.
¡±We played Game 1 like a regular-season game and tonight was a playoff game,¡±
Wade said.
Simmons, who had a triple-double in the opener, led the Sixers with 24 points
and Saric had 23.
¡±I hate this feeling but maybe it¡¯s a good reminder for everybody for next
game to lock in,¡± Simmons said.
TIP-INS
Heat: Goran Dragic scored 20 points and James Johnson had 18.
76ers: Philly native and Hollywood star Kevin Hart rang the ceremonial
Liberty Bell and sat courtside a few seats down from Allen Iverson.
Wade said he was motivated by Hart¡¯s trash talk. ¡±To be able to hush a
crowd Pierre
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LINEUP CHANGE
Ilyasova got the start at center for the first time in Embiid¡¯s absence over
Amir Johnson.
REMEMBERING GREER
The 76ers held a moment of silence for Hall of Famer Hal Greer. Greer died
Saturday after a brief illness. He was 81. He¡¯s the 76ers¡¯ career leader in
points, field goals, field goals attempted, games and minutes played.
¡±He was a graceful man. He was class. He was a gentleman,¡± Brown said.
UP NEXT
Game 3 is Thursday and Game 4 is Saturday in Miami.
¡ª
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