Top Stories

• Wolves sweep Phoenix 4-0

• Knicks go up 3-1 on Sixers

• Bucks down 1-3 to Pacers

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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 40 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away late to beat the Phoenix Suns 122-116 on Sunday night and sweep the first-round playoff series. Edwards scored 31 of his points in the second half and finished 13 of 23 from the field, including 7 of 13 from 3-point range. Edwards threw down a one-handed poster slam over Durant to give Minnesota a 115-111 lead with 2 minutes left. Phoenix would never recover. The Wolves finished off the Suns despite Devin Booker’s 49 points on 13 of 21 shooting. He also made 20 of 21 free throws. Kevin Durant added 33, but the rest of the team struggled. The Wolves will now wait a few days to see if they will face the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. Coach Chris Finch collided with Mike Conley after Conley was shoved by Devin Booker. It’s feared that Finch has a torn patellar tendon after that collision.

Brunson scored a career playoff-high 47 points, added 10 assists and the Knicks beat the 76ers 97-92 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series. OG Anunoby added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and guarded Embiid in parts of the fourth quarter as the Knicks moved within 1 win of getting to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight year. Embiid played the entire second half after the 76ers played terribly when he sat in the first. But the All-Star Center, who has been dealing with lingering problems from his surgically repaired left knee that he appeared to reinjure in Game 1, and was recently diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, which is a form of facial paralysis. Embiid finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Tyrese Maxey added 23 points for the 76ers, who will try to force another game at home, which would be Thursday.

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Around the League

• It might be time for Milwaukee to pack it up and look at a title shot next season. With both Dame and Giannis sidelined, they lost Game 4 against Indiana. Bobby Portis got ejected in the first quarter, which was a tough blow to the Bucks. Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 27 points and nine rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists despite playing with a sprained right ankle and four fouls for much of the second half. Without their Top 2, the Bucks don’t really have a chance to beat Indiana. Either they go all in now and bring Giannis back to try and salvage this series while risking injury to him or Dame if they come back early, or they keep them shut down to run it back next year.

• 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) could return Game 5 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 5 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 2-1

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.

Boston got back on track with a 20 point win over Miami. If the Celtics can keep this defensive intensity, they can close the rest of this series pretty easily. Tatum will have to continue to be as aggressive as he has been the last game.

Prediction: Boston in 5

(2) Knicks vs (7) 76ers: Series is 3-1

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.

Jalen Brunson set the Knicks franchise high for points in a playoff game with 47, while Joel Embiid played all 24 mins in the 2nd half and didn’t score in the 4th quarter. If the Sixers don’t figure something out quick, their season ends after the next game.

Prediction: Knicks in 6

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

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.

In a similar situation to Philly with their MVP not being at 100%, Milwaukee is in danger of completely flopping in the 1st round after having championship aspirations when they acquired Damian Lillard.

Prediction: Bucks in 7

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

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.

This series might end up going the full 7, as both teams have won both of their home games. Orlando, while havong offensive struggles, are playing great perimeter defense in bothering Mitchell and Garland. If Orlando can get consistent offense, they might be able to shock Cleveland.

Prediction: Cavs in 6

Western Conference

(1) OKC vs (8) New Orleans: Series is 3-0

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.

OKC dismantled New Orleans again, going up 3-0, which all but guarantees them a series victory. This seems like it’ll be my only incorrect series prediction when it comes to the winner. CJ McCollum keeps stinking it up, shooting 7-22 in Game 3, while Brandon Ingram only shot 14 shots. New Orleans might get swept at this rate

Prediction : New Orleans in 6

(2) Denver vs (7) Lakers: Series is 3-1

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?

LA lives to play another game behind good games from Lebron, AD, and D’Lo. No team has ever come back from beong down 0-3, but LeBron has done the impossible before. (They stand no chance)

Prediction: Nuggets in 5

(3) Timberwolves vs (6) Suns: Wolves win 4-0

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.

Phoenix kept this one close all game, but the Wolves overcame Devin Booker’s 49 points to send the Suns to Cancun early. Anthony Edwards scored 40, and now the Wolves defense will meet Denver’s offense will face off for the right to play in the WCF.

Prediction: Wolves in 4

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

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.

Without Kawhi in Game 4, LA fought like they were cornered. They came out and punched Dallas in the mouth in the 1st quarter, with PG scoring more than the entirety of Dallas’ team. The Clips were up 20+ after 12 minutes, and although the Mavs fought back, LA won a nailbiter.

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.