Top Stories

• Wolves CRUSH Suns

• Knicks beat Sixers in thriller

• Lakers collapse against Nuggets

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Games of the day

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

Anthony Edwards scored 18 of his 33 points in the third quarter to carry the Minnesota Timberwolves in a tone-setting 120-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns to start the first round of the NBA playoffs. Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 18 points on and Rudy Gobert locked down the paint with 14 points, 16 rebounds and constant shot-changing defense to lead the Wolves to their first Game 1 home win in the playoffs in 20 years. Edwards led a 19-4 run to close the third quarter, stretching his arms toward the home crowd after a couple of his biggest shots down that stretch. He stared and barked at Durant, who could only grin at the 22-year-old's audacity. Kevin Durant scored 31 points on 11-for-17 shooting to lead the Suns, whose lack of depth and size were on full display. Devin Booker had 18 points on 5-for-16 shooting and Bradley Beal added 15 points, but the Suns were outrebounded 52-28 and outscored 52-34 in the paint by the Wolves. Game 2 is in Minneapolis on Tuesday before the best-of-seven series shifts to Phoenix for Game 3.

Deuce McBride, Brunson's backup, led a huge effort by New York's bench players in a 111-104 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. Brunson and Josh Hart each scored 22 points, but Brunson pointed the credit elsewhere when asked in his interview on the court what it took for the Knicks to pull out the victory: Deuce McBride. McBride finished with 21 points and outscored the 76ers by himself with 13 in the second quarter, when Joel Embiid had to leave after appearing to reinjure his surgically repaired left knee on a dunk. Embiid returned and rallied the 76ers into the lead late in the second half, but Hart hit a couple big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks pull it out. New York hosts Game 2 on Monday.

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League News

Around the League

• Nikola Jokic and Jalen Brunson have been named Players of The Week for Week 25.

• LeBron James came out swinging, scoring 19 points in the 1st half. The Lakers were playing with a vengeance due to losing 8 games straight against Denver leading back to last year’s WCF sweep. Anthony Davis had 32 points and 14 rebounds, attacking Jokic as often as he could. Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 12 rebounds, going right everyone the Lakers sent his way. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who scored all 12 of his points after halftime, made a trio of 3-pointers in a 13-0 run the Nuggets used to take control in the third quarter. The Lakers haven't beaten the Nuggets since Dec. 16, 2022. They'll try again Monday night in Game 2 at Ball Arena, where Denver is now 34-8 this season. LeBron lost for just the 18th time in 80 first-round games. He lost a playoff opener for third time in his six seasons with the Lakers, and fourth overall.

• Injury Updates: Kawhi Leonard (knee) is doubtful for Game 1 against Dallas today. Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) could miss 2-4 weeks. Jimmy Butler (knee) will miss multiple weeks. Zion Williamson (hamstring) will be re-evaluated in 2 weeks. Julius Randle (shoulder) is out for the season. Christian Wood (knee) underwent surgery and will be out multiple weeks. Benedict Mathurin (shoulder) underwent surgery and is out for the season. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss at least 1 more week. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

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NBA Playoff Matchups

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston vs (8) Miami: Series is 0-0

Jimmy Butler will likely miss most, if not all of this series.

Prediction: Boston in 5

(2) Knicks vs (7) 76ers: Series is 1-0

Joel Embiid’s knee is a concern, as are the non-Embiid minutes for Philly. If they don’t find a way to at least stay even with New York without Joel on the floor, they won’t last long.

Prediction: Knicks in 6

(3) Milwaukee vs (6) Indiana: Series is 0-0

Giannis will miss at least Game 1, Dame can keep that team afloat in his absence.

Prediction: Bucks in 7

(4) Cleveland vs (5) Orlando: Series is 1-0

Orlando has the defense to keep the Cavs in check, but their lack of playoff experience in Game 1 was obvious. They will need to improve their 3 point shooting while cutting down the turnovers drastically. Cleveland has expectations Orlando doesn’t, so the 2 teams are playing for completely different reasons. (Cavs want Donovan Mitchell to stay)

Prediction: Cavs in 6

Western Conference

(1) OKC vs (8) New Orleans: Series is 0-0

Zion Williamson will miss at least some of this series, which changes things dramatically.

(2) Denver vs (7) Lakers: Series is 1-0

Denver beat LA for the 9th straight game, continuing to be a problem the Lakers can’t solve. No matter who LA throws at Joker he continues to dominate, so LA’s strategy should be to make him a scorer and shut everyone else down. Denver needs to push the pace in transition and keep LA in rotation in the halfcourt.

Prediction: Nuggets in 5

(3) Timberwolves vs (6) Suns: Series is 1-0

Minnesota had the #1 ranked defense all year long for a reason. They shut every Sun but KD down completely, with Beal and Booker COMBINING for 32 points. A shutdown like that is unlikely to happen again to that extent, but with Anthony Edwards elevating like he always does in the Playoffs, and KAT playing as a legit second option, this series could be quick. Phoenix needs to get Booker and Beal going, as well as use Nurkic as a post playmaker. Both teams lost key pieces, as Kyle Anderson and Grayson Allen both sustained injuries that kept them from returning.

Prediction: Wolves in 4

(4) Clippers vs (5) Mavericks: Series is 0-0

No matter what the Clippers have thrown at Luka, he’s always cooked them worse than most teams. This year, LA added Harden and brought Westbrook back, and while they won’t really help guard Doncic, Dallas can’t stop all the weapons LA has now. In the end, it will all come down to Luka and Kyrie vs Kawhi and PG. Whichever duo elevates their team more will win their team the series. With Kawhi likely missing Game 1, Dallas might get a headstart.

Prediction: Clippers in 7

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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.