Top Stories

• Pacers destroy Knicks

• Nuggets even series with Wolves 2-2

• Hawks win NBA Draft Lottery

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Games of the day

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

The Pacers' game plan has become clear over their weekend wins to even the second-round series 2-2: Do everything they can to outwork out the hurt and tired Knicks with a giant emphasis on Jalen Brunson. Over the past two games, Brunson is shooting 9-of-27 against Aaron Nesmith. After losing multiple starters to injury, New York is only playing 7-8 guys every night, and the fatigue is catching up to them. Indiana is running them off the floor in transition, and it’s happening all game. Game 5 is Tuesday in New York.

Anthony Edwards scored 44 points in another spectacular performance for Minnesota, shooting 16 for 25 from the floor. But despite a 42-31 rebounding edge, the Wolves were beaten at their own game for the second straight time at home by the defending NBA champions, who were fired up after dropping the first two games of the series on their home court. Nikola Jokic scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, and Aaron Gordon had 27 points on 11-for-12 shooting to propel the Denver Nuggets to a series-tying 115-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The series goes back to Denver for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Around the League

• The Hawks hit the jackpot despite just 3% odds after finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference at 36-46. They lost their final six regular-season games and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the Play-In Tournament. Atlanta can build with the No. 1 pick, though it’s not very clear who will be taken first after Victor Wembanyama was the obvious choice for San Antonio last year. Washington and Detroit had the best chances to land the top pick at 14%. Only four teams have won the lottery with slimmer odds than Atlanta, with the biggest jump being Orlando at 1.52% in 1993. The Magic made a blockbuster draft night trade with Golden State, sending the rights to Chris Webber to the Warriors for the rights to Penny Hardaway along with future first-round picks. San Antonio landed a generational player last year in Wembanyama. The franchise that previously took David Robinson and Tim Duncan with the No. 1 overall pick got its next great big man, and all the Frenchman did was turn in one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history.

• 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.

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

NBA Playoff Matchups

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston vs (4) Cleveland: Series is 2-1

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

Prediction: Celtics in 7

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

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.

Prediction: Knicks in 5

Western Conference

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

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.

Prediction : Dallas in 6

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

(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.

Prediction: Wolves in 6

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

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.