Top Stories

• Celtics eliminate Cavs

• Mavs go up 3-2 on Thunder

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Games of the day

Last Night’s Top Games! (link to the box scores of the game(s) from yesterday)

Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Boston beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season. Al Horford added 22 points, 15 rebounds, five assists to help the Celtics get their third straight win and wrap up the series in five games. The Celtics will now await the winner of the matchup between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. This will be Jaylen Brown's sixth conference finals appearance and the fifth for Tatum. Evan Mobley scored a playoff career-high 33 points and had seven rebounds. Marcus Morris Sr. had five 3-pointers and finished with 25 points. Donovan Mitchell did everything for the Cavs in his second playoffs for Cleveland. He averaged 29.6 points but didn’t play in either of the final two games.

Luka Doncic scored 31 points in a triple-double, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-92 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series. Derrick Jones Jr. scored a playoff career-high 19 points and P.J. Washington added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Dallas. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points for the Thunder, but no other Oklahoma City player scored more than 13. The Mavericks can advance to the Western Conference finals with a win Saturday at home.

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Around the League

• Injury Updates: Kristaps Porzingis (calf) is likely out for the entire second round. Bojan Bogdanovic (foot and wrist) had surgery and is out for the season. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) has a fracture and will be out 6-8 weeks. Maxi Kleber (shoulder) is out indefinitely. Julius Randle (shoulder) is out for the season. Benedict Mathurin (shoulder) underwent surgery and is out for the season. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

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NBA Playoff Matchups

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston vs (4) Cleveland: Boston wins 4-1

With a healthy Jarrett Allen, Cleveland has the size and defense to contend with Boston. Expect them to actually give Boston a run for their money.

(Game 1) Boston did what was expected of them, holding down homecourt. Both teams were missing their starting centers, but the Cavs got beat so bad it didn’t matter who was missing.

(Game 2) The Celtics did what they tend to do, playing down to their competition and getting embarrassed. Now with an even series, Boston now has to play from behind to regain homecourt advantage.

(Game 3) Jayson Tatum had a game where he left his mark, and thanks to the efforts of him and Jaylen Brown, Boston is up 2-1.

(Game 4) Boston handled business again, and that was expected since Cleveland didn’t have Donovan Mitchell available to play. One more win sends Boston to the ECF, but the Cavs might be able to take another Game.

(Game 5) No Donovan Mitchell means no chance for the Cavs. They hung tough until the 4th, when Boston stepped on their necks.

Prediction: Celtics in 7

(2) Knicks vs (6) Pacers: Series is 3-2

Indiana doesn’t play both sides of the ball like New York does, and Tyrese Haliburton is going to have to actually play defense.

(Game 1) New York continues to execute in the clutch, coming back to beat Indiana in the final minutes of the 4th (albeit with the help of some questionable calls). Tyrese Haliburton had 6 points…

(Game 2) Haliburton bounced back and had a good game, but despite Jalen Brunson missing part of this game with an injury Indiana couldn’t overcome Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein at the end of the game.

(Game 3) Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana to a narrow home win to keep their series hopes alive. Jalen Brunson didn’t play very well, but Donte DiVincenzo had a career high in playoff points (35).

(Game 4) The Knicks are worn out, and the Pacers are literally running them off the floor. Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson can only play through injury so much, and they’re running out of gas.

(Game 5) Jalen Brunson scored 44, while Tyrese Haliburton had 13. The difference between the guards was the difference in the game. Indiana has one last chance to stay in this series and force a Game 7.

Prediction: Knicks in 5

Western Conference

(1) OKC vs (5) Dallas: Series is 2-3

OKC has enough shooting to keep up with the Mavs, but the duo of Luka/Kyrie plus their size will ultimately be the deciding factor.

(Game 1) OKC was able to keep Luka in check, holding him to 19 points. He needs to find a way to deal with Lu Dort if they want a chance to win.

(Game 2) Luka was back to his old self, and with a balanced team effort Dallas stole a game on the road. Now with the blueprint to win, which is ignoring Josh Giddey and Gordon Hayward, Dallas is set up for success.

(Game 3) Luka and Kyrie seem to have solved the OKC defense, and they’re making them pay. PJ Washington had his 2nd straight 25+ point game.

(Game 4) Luka and Kyrie struggled badly, but despite that Dallas led for the whole game up until about 6 minutes left. If they can’t get their All-Star backcourt going, they stand no chance of winning this series.

(Game 5) Luka had a 31 point triple-double, looking the healthiest he has all season. He took over to bring Dallas to the brink of a WCF berth, all the have to do is take care of business at home next game.

Prediction : Dallas in 6

(2) Nuggets vs (3) Timberwolves: Series 3-2

(Game 1) Minnesota came out guns blazing, with Ant Man dropping 43 points. If Joker can’t find a way to be effective and efficient against the bigs of Minnesota, Denver could be in serious trouble.

(Game 2) Even without the likely DPOY Rudy Gobert missing the game due to the birth of his first child, Minnesota won by 26, holding Denver to 80 points (their lowest of the entire season). The Nuggets are in unfamiliar territory, being down 0-2 in a series for the first time in years.

(Game 3) Jokic and Murray came alive to keep Denver’s hope alive. They shot the Wolves out of the gym to keep themselves out of the 3-0 hole.

(Game 4) Denver seems to have figured the Wolves defense out. Nothing can stop Joker regardless, but Murray waking up has been the difference these last 2 games. The tide of this series has completely shifted now.

(Game 5) Ant Edwards had his worst game of the series, going 5-15, while Joker went off for 40. The Wolves have to protect home court and hope that Mike Conley plays next game for them to extend this series.

Prediction: Wolves in 6

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Overtime Thoughts

Hoopgrids

Hoopgrids is a daily basketball trivia game. You cross match each category to find a player that fits both. The rarer the player, the lower the score. The goal is to get the lowest rarity score possible.