Celtics lose to Knicks again - is their title slipping away?
Nobody, certainly not the sportsbooks, thought Boston would slip to 0 & 2 against New York. The Knicks were available with a +10.5 line and game odds of 4.912, and beat the Celtics in game two by a single point.
With Boston losing both of the two opening home games, they now face a two game road trip in the Big Apple, knowing two losses would see NYK make the Conference finals to face the Pacers or less likely given they are 0 & 2 also, the Cavs.
At time of publishing the futures odds for winning the 2024/25 NBA Championships looks like this:
OKC: best odds 2.35 (in from 2.70 yesterday)
Boston: best odds 4.75 (out from 3.0)
Cleveland: 11 (in from 13)
Knicks: 13 (slashed from 26)
Minnesota: 13 (in from 16)
Indiana: 17 (in from 19)
Denver: 18 (out from 14)
Golden State: 26 (out from 21)
KNICKS 91, CELTICS 90
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Knicks, odds 4.912
Line: Knicks (+10.5), odds 1.896
Total Points: Under (211) odds 1.909
Pre-game Prediction
Knicks, 25.6%
Celtics, 74.4%
Knicks lead the Eastern Conference Semifinal series 2-0
BOSTON (AP) — Mikal Bridges scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter before making his second straight game-clinching steal, and the New York Knicks overcame a 20-point deficit again to beat the Boston Celtics 91-90 on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Jalen Brunson scored 17 points for New York and made two free throws with 12.7 seconds left for a 91-90 lead. Jayson Tatum then couldn’t get to the rim and Bridges moved in to bat the ball away and recover it.
Josh Hart had 23 points and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Knicks, who will host Game 3 on Saturday.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White scored 20 points apiece for the Celtics, who were 10 for 40 from 3-point range after going 15 for 60 in Game 1.
NBA's Top 5 Plays of the Night - May 7 - NBA Playoffs
THUNDER 149, NUGGETS 106
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Thunder, odds 1.205
Line: Thunder (-10.5), odds 1.945
Total Points: Over (230) odds 1.909
Pre-game Prediction
Nuggets, 19.5%
Thunder, 80.5%
Western Conference Semifinal series is tied 1-1
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City set an NBA playoff record for first-half points with 87 against Denver in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Wednesday.
Oklahoma City surpassed the previous record of 86 set by the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 9, 2017. Chet Holmgren, who missed two critical free throws late in Game 1, made a pair with a second remaining to set the record.
The Thunder tied the record for points in any half of a playoff game. Milwaukee had 87 in the second half against Denver on April 23, 1978.
The Thunder shot 58.8% from the field and made 17 of 18 free throws to take an 87-56 lead at the break. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 18 points. All five Thunder starters scored in double figures in the first half.
Denver won Game 1 121-119 on Monday night.
