KNICKS 118, PISTONS 116
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Knicks, odds 1.792
Line: Knicks (-1.5), odds 1.901
Total Points: Over (216.5), odds 1.909
Pre-game Prediction
Knicks, 48.1%
Pistons, 51.9%
Knicks lead the series 2-1
DETROIT (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns was aggressive early and Jalen Brunson was effective late.
Towns scored 11 of his 31 points in the first quarter and Brunson had 12 of his 30 in the fourth to help the New York Knicks hold on for a 118-116 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.
“I thought the way we started the game was much better,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And, we made timely plays down the stretch.”
Game 4 is on Sunday in Detroit.
The Pistons have lost eight straight home playoff games since 2008, pulling within one of an NBA record set by Philadelphia from 1968 to 1971.
When Detroit won at New York in Game 2, the franchise ended a league-record, 15-playoff game losing streak to take home-court advantage, but the Knicks snatched it back.
Brunson, who won the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award on Wednesday, made consecutive layups late in the game to give the Knicks a seven-point lead.
Brunson made one of two free throws with 3.5 seconds left for a four-point lead after Detroit’s coaches, players and fans were screaming for an over-and-back violation to be called.
“If you catch the ball, have possession and put it down, to me, that’s possession in the front court,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said.
Brunson made another free throw with 0.5 seconds left and after missing the second intentionally, the Pistons were given the ball in front of their bench after the buzzer sounded prematurely.
“It doesn’t seem right to me," Thibodeau said. “It’s unfortunate. That should never happen in a playoff game.”
NBA's Top 10 Plays of the Night - April 24 - NBA Playoffs
THUNDER 114, GRIZZLIES 108
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Thunder, odds 1.221
Line: Grizzlies (+9.5), odds 1.923
Total Points: Under (229.5), odds 1.896
Pre-game Prediction
Thunder, 75.4%
Grizzlies, 24.6%
Thunder lead the series 3-0
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Chet Holmgren scored all but one of his 24 points in the second half as the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a 29-point deficit after Ja Morant left the game with a hip injury and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-108 on Thursday night for a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
Morant was hurt with just over three minutes left in the first half and Memphis leading 67-40. The Grizzlies led by 26 points at halftime.
The 29-point comeback was the second-largest in an NBA postseason game since play-by-play data began being recorded in the 1996-97 season.
The only one bigger: A comeback from 31 points down by the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State on April 15, 2019.
The top-seeded Thunder, who won Game 1 131-80 in the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history, didn’t even have a lead in this one until the fourth quarter. Now, they can close out the series Saturday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points for Oklahoma City and Jalen Williams added 26, including splitting a pair of free throws with 1:20 left to give the Thunder their first lead of the game.
Scotty Pippen scored 28 points, two short of his career high, to lead Memphis. Jaren Jackson Jr. added 22 points as Memphis saw its substantial lead evaporate in the second half.
Morant went down hard under the basket with just over three minutes remaining in the first half and was ruled out for the remainder of the game early in the second half with a left hip contusion.
CLIPPERS 117, NUGGETS 83
Betting Results:
Head to Head: Clippers, odds 1.438
Line: Clippers (-5.5), odds 1.893
Total Points: Under (213.5), odds 1.923
Pre-game Prediction
Nuggets, 36.6%
Clippers, 63.4%
Clippers lead the series 2-1
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers rolled to a 117-83 victory over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Thursday night.
James Harden and Norman Powell added 20 points apiece in the first playoff game at the new Intuit Dome , where Clippers superfans sitting in The Wall section closest to Denver's bench wore horse hats mocking Jokic's love of the animal.
After the teams split the first two games in Denver — a pair of nail-biters decided by a combined five points — this one was a blowout. Both teams cleared their benches in the final 4 1/2 minutes.
Game 4 is Saturday at the flashy and tech-heavy Inglewood arena, the dream creation of Clippers billionaire owner Steve Ballmer. He animatedly clapped his hands and pumped his fist from his seat near his team's bench.
Jokic led the Nuggets with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his second triple-double of the series. Jamal Murray also had 23 points.
Denver led by seven early before the Clippers took a 20-point lead in the second quarter.
They outscored the Nuggets 23-2 over the end of the first quarter and start of the second, with Harden scoring 11 points.
Murray and Jokic combined to score 16 points in the third, when the Nuggets trailed 90-70.
The Clippers hit 18 3-pointers to seven for Denver. They controlled the boards, 48-38, and their bench outscored the Nuggets' reserves, 31-6.
Denver's Russell Westbrook , who missed 4 of 5 from long range, left the game with left foot inflammation in the second half. Michael Porter Jr ., who sprained his left shoulder in Game 2, was limited to seven points and six rebounds.
There were reminders of the Clippers' old Lob City era in their new building. Former Clipper Chris Paul looked on from the seats, while DeAndre Jordan played five minutes for the Nuggets.
