Top Stories

• Pacers win OT thriller vs Bucks

• Mavericks dismantle Clippers

• Wolves go up 3-0 on Suns

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Games of the day

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

Tyrese Haliburton completed a three-point play with 1.6 seconds left, recording his first playoff triple-double in his first home playoff game to give the Pacers a 121-118 victory over the Bucks. Indiana leads the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 on Sunday in Indianapolis. Myles Turner had 29 points and nine rebounds, both playoff career highs, to help give Indiana its first back-to-back playoff wins since the 2014 Eastern Conference semifinals. Khris Middleton finished with a playoff-career high 42 points and had 10 rebounds and five assists after missing practice Thursday because of a sprained right ankle. He forced overtime by making a 3-pointer with 1 second to go in regulation, banked in a 3 to tie the score with 6.7 seconds left in overtime and then missed a 3 at the buzzer that could have forced a second overtime. Damian Lillard added 28 points and eight assists, most coming after he hurt his left knee in the first quarter and then aggravating an Achilles injury late in the fourth quarter.

Luka Doncic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the defensive-minded Mavericks had a 101-90 victory over the Clippers to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series. Harden scored 21 points for the Clippers, but just seven after halftime, while fellow stars George and Kawhi Leonard had little impact. Norman Powell also had 21, and Ivica Zubac had 19 points and eight rebounds. But the Clippers had 19 turnovers and the Mavericks had seven blocks — three of them from Gafford and two from Lively. An already aggressive game reached a boiling point about halfway through the fourth quarter when Russell Westbrook slung Doncic around after fouling him. Westbrook was called for a technical for that contact and for shoving P.J. Washington after Washington confronted him. Washington also was called for a tech during the sequence, and already had one from an earlier shoving match with Terrance Mann. Westbrook, who in the first half got a flagrant 1 foul for excessive contact when fouling Josh Green on a breakaway, and Washington were ejected.

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Around the League

• Phoenix is now in the same boat as the Lakers. Down 0-3, struggling to contain their opponent as well as score. Phoenix cannot guard Anthony Edwards, as he had 36 last night, and they can’t rebound. Last night’s game had the Wolves win the glass 50 to 28. For the entire series the difference in rebounds per game is 47 to 32. The Wolves defend and crash the glass, and with Edwards getting whatever shot he wants, it opens things up for his teammates. Life has been miserable for Durant, Booker, and Beal, cause the Wolves defenders pick them up full court and they get absolutely no room to breathe. In Game 2 the Wolves had almost 30 points off of turnovers, and that’s a trend that’s likely to continue. This series is over for all intents and purposes, and while Phoenix could take a game, no team has ever come back from being down 0-3.

• 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 1 week. Julius Randle (shoulder) is out for the season. Christian Wood (knee) plans to return Game 4 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 possibly be back for Game 4 vs Denver. 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 1-1

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.

Miami set a franchise record for 3’s made to beat Boston (in the Garden no less). This was an unexpected win for the Heat and loss for the Celtics, and the homecourt advantage that Boston would’ve had all the way through the NBA Finals is gone. If Miami takes at least one game in FL, this series could end bad for the Celtics.

Prediction: Boston in 5

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

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.

Embiid dropped 50 to keep this series competitive, but even with that boost Philly only won by 9. Every game is going to be a gritty down to the wire contest unless one team just gets hot. Philly will need Maxey and Embiid to step up again to tie this series.

Prediction: Knicks in 6

(3) Milwaukee vs (6) Indiana: Series is 1-2

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.

Pacers steal one on the road, making games 3 and 4 the most important games of the series. Giannis needs to return soon to turn the tide in Milwaukee’s favor.

Khris Middleton pulled off 2 miracle shots and it still wasn’t enough to beat Indiana. And with Dame having a hurt knee AND achilles, the Bucks need some serious help. Tyrese Haliburton, although not shooting well, had 16 assists, carving up the Milwaukee defense.

Prediction: Bucks in 7

(4) Cleveland vs (5) Orlando: Series is 2-1

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.

Paolo finally broke through the playoff wall, dropping 31 and 14, setting new playoff career highs for both. Jalen Suggs had 24 points on 9-11 shooting, and the Cavs had a stinker of a game. Garland and Mitchell combined for 18 points on 8-26 shooting.

Prediction: Cavs in 6

Western Conference

(1) OKC vs (8) New Orleans: Series is 2-0

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.

OKC made adjustments to their offense, and ran the Pelicans off the floor in Game 2. They also were more aggressive on defense, shutting down a dangerous New Orleans team and beating them by nearly 30.

Prediction : New Orleans in 6

(2) Denver vs (7) Lakers: Series is 3-0

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.

Not much to say here, Joker is unguardable and the Lakers are bad. Lakers might not even take a game for the 2nd year in a row. But at least Dinwiddie and Vincent finally scored in this series, right?

Prediction: Nuggets in 5

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

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.

The Wolves defense clamp Phoenix again, and instead of one player beating the Suns, it was a complete team effort led by Jaden McDaniels 25 points. The Suns need to figure out a way to get open shots against the #1 ranked defense in the league, and they also need to crash the glass more.

Minnesota locked up and outshot Phoenix once again, going up 3-0 on the Suns, who were favored to win this series going into it. No Sun had more than 7 rebounds, while Gobert and KAT had 14 and 13 respectively. The Wolves will now look forward to Denver in the next round.

Prediction: Wolves in 4

(4) Clippers vs (5) Mavericks: Series is 1-2

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.

Dallas overcame Kawhi’s return to even out the series. Luka bounced back, as expected, despite the looks LA threw at him. Game 3 in Dallas will be pivotal to gain control in this series.

PG and Kawhi combined for 16 total points, their lowest ever in a playoff game together. That was mostly thanks to Derrick Jones Jr and PJ Washington. Luka shot 7-25 but it didn’t even matter as Dallas cruised to an easy victory. Russ also shot 0-7 from the field, which is unnacceptable. PG and Kawhi will have to be aggressive and efficient in game 4 to avoid a 3-1 deficit.

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.