Top Stories

• Sixers lose another close game to Knicks

• Lakers blow 20 point lead against Nuggets

• Magic continue to struggle against Cavs

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Games of the day

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

Donte DiVincenzo made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds left after a wild scramble, and New York beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-101 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series. The Knicks trailed by five points within the final 30 seconds before one of the craziest mini-runs in playoff history, starting when Jalen Brunson finally got a shot to fall during an otherwise horrible shooting night. Brunson's 3-pointer from the corner bounced on the rim and fell in, cutting it to 101-99 with 27 seconds remaining. Josh Hart stole the ball from Tyrese Maxey to get the ball back for the Knicks, but DiVincenzo missed a 3-pointer. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed the rebound and passed it to OG Anunoby, who got it back to DiVincenzo, who hit that one to make it 102-101. It was just the fourth time in the play-by-play era, dating to the 1996-97 season, a team won a playoff game after trailing by at least five points in the last 30 seconds, according to Sportradar. The others included Miami's series-saving rally against San Antonio in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, Golden State's overtime victory over New Orleans in Game 3 in 2015 en route to its first of three titles in four years, and Kobe Bryant's game-winner to beat Phoenix in Game 4 of a first-round series in 2006. Maxey had 35 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in an excellent performance after he was sick earlier in the day and missed their morning shootaround. Embiid had 34 points and 10 rebounds. Game 3 is Thursday in Philadelphia.

Jamal Murray hit a step-back jumper at the buzzer and the Denver Nuggets wiped out a 20-point second-half deficit to stun the Los Angeles Lakers 101-99 and take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference playoff series. The Lakers led 59-44 at halftime and stretched their advantage to 68-48 two minutes into the second half, and it sure looked like L.A. would beat Denver for the first time in 494 days. They still led by 10 entering the fourth quarter. Murray, who started out 3 of 16, went 6-for-8 in the fourth quarter. This was Denver’s 10th straight win over LA. The series shifts to Los Angeles for Game 3 Thursday night.

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Around the League

• Throughout both games of the Cleveland-Orlando matchup, neither team has cracked 100 points. This series is just like the Playoffs of the 90s and 2000s, with grind it out, physical hoops. Orlando has the defense to keep these games close but the offense is lacking. without a true PG they have to run the offense through their young and inexperienced players. Paolo and Franz are turnover prone, and you can tell this is their first taste of playoff ball. In comparison, Cleveland is on the young side, but their core has been to the playoffs multiple years now. The series now heads to Orlando for games 3 and 4. Orlando was a top 5 home team in the league. If the Magic can win these 2 games, this could be a tight series.

• Injury Updates: 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) plans to return Game 3 vs Denver. 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 1-0

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

Boston punched Miami in the mouth in Game 1, winning by 20 points. without Butler, the Heat don’t have the #1 option needed to carry their offense. Tyler Herro is too inconsistent and Bam Adebayo isn’t aggressive enough. This series might end up a sweep.

Prediction: Boston in 5

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

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.

Philly blew a 5 point lead with less than 30 seconds to go and gave that game to New York. Expect all the games to be close, and for the Sixers to take care of business at home.

Prediction: Knicks in 6

(3) Milwaukee vs (6) Indiana: Series is 1-0

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

Milwaukee showed the importance of experience when it comes to the playoffs. For Indiana, Pascal Siakam (the only one with playoff experience) had 36 and 13. Dame scored 35 in the first half and didn’t have to play much in the 2nd half.

Prediction: Bucks in 7

(4) Cleveland vs (5) Orlando: Series is 2-0

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)

Orlando’s inexperience continues to show in this slow paced slugfest. Even with their elite defense, the size of Cleveland inside is overwhelming.

Prediction: Cavs in 6

Western Conference

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

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

Game 1 came down to the final buzzer. The size and versatility of the Pels made things tough for OKC all game. Count on every game this series to be close.

Prediction : New Orleans in 6

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

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.

LA was up 20+ points in the second half, and ended up losing on a Jamal Murray buzzer beater. They can make this a series with a pair of wins at home.

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.

LA came out hot, Russ and Harden having the same amount of points as the entire Maverick squad in the 1st half. Luka and Kyrie struggled, and Dallas was not good on either end of the floor. Don’t count on Luka continuing to struggle though.

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.