Top Stories

• Knicks destroy Pacers

• Nuggets shut down Wolves

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Games of the day

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

Jalen Brunson scored 44 points, reaching 40 for the fifth time in these playoffs, and the Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 121-91 for a 3-2 lead in their playoff series. The Knicks can win the series Friday night at Indiana after the first two-day break between games in the series. Pascal Siakam scored 22 points for the Pacers, who will try to stay unbeaten at home in the postseason to force Game 7. Myles Turner added 16 but Tyrese Haliburton had only 13 after averaging 30 over the last three games. Game 7, if necessary, would be Sunday afternoon.

Nikola Jokic scored 40 points and dished out 13 assists and the Denver Nuggets shut down Anthony Edwards in a 112-97 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves that put the reigning NBA champs one win away from the Western Conference finals. Jokic also had seven rebounds with no turnovers as the home team won for the first time in this semifinal series. Aaron Gordon added 18 points and 10 boards, and Jamal Murray scored 16 for the Nuggets. Edwards was held to 18 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Karl Anthony-Towns led the Wolves with 23 points and Rudy Gobert scored 18. With their first three-game losing streak of the season, the Wolves will have to snap their skid Thursday night at Target Center to force a Game 7 back in Denver. Edwards averaged 33 points in the first four games of the series and the Wolves were looking for somebody else to step up. Although KAT did just that, Edwards missed eight of his first nine shots, had five points at halftime and didn't find his shooting touch until the game was effectively over.

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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: Series is 3-1

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.

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 2-2

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.

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.