NBA tipoff: Round 2 continues Wednesday with 76ers-Knicks, Timberwolves-Spurs
The good news for the Los Angeles Lakers: They held MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 18 points.
The good news for the Oklahoma City Thunder: They won Game 1 against the Lakers by 18 points.
For the first time this season, Gilgeous-Alexander was held under 20 points. And it didn’t matter, with the Thunder easing past the Lakers 108-90 to open their Western Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s NBA-record streak of 140 consecutive 20-point games won’t be affected; that only takes regular-season games into account. He was held under 20 points three times in last season’s playoffs as well.
Also Tuesday, Detroit took a 1-0 Eastern Conference semifinal series lead over Cleveland with a 111-101 win behind 23 points from Cade Cunningham.
A pair of Game 2s are on tap Wednesday: New York, at home, will aim for a 2-0 lead on Philadelphia in the East and Minnesota, on the road, will aim for a 2-0 lead on San Antonio in the West.
Wednesday’s schedule
— Game 2, Philadelphia at New York, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Odds: New York by 6.5.
Jalen Brunson scored 35 points in the opener as the Knicks rolled in Game 1. The 76ers — who are used to bouncebacks, after overcoming a 3-1 series hole against Boston in Round 1 — expect to have coach Nick Nurse back with the team on Wednesday. Nurse stepped away from the team after Game 1 to attend his brother’s funeral.
— Game 2, Minnesota at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN)
Odds: San Antonio by 9.5.
Anthony Edwards made a somewhat earlier-than-expected return from a knee injury for the Timberwolves and helped the team to a Game 1 win. The Spurs wasted a 12-block effort from Victor Wembanyama in Game 1.
Thursday’s schedule
— Game 2, Cleveland at Detroit, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime)
Series: Detroit leads 1-0.
Odds: Detroit by 3.5.
The Pistons shot 35 free throws in Game 1, the Cavaliers shot only 16. Expect Cleveland to try and touch the paint more in Game 2.
— Game 2, LA Lakers at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime)
Series: Oklahoma City leads 1-0.
Odds: Oklahoma City by 15.5.
LeBron James was great in Game 1, but the Thunder forced the Lakers’ starting backcourt of Marcus Smart and Austin Reaves into a 7-for-31 shooting effort. OKC also had a 34-15 edge in bench scoring.
Tuesday recap
— Pistons 111, Cavaliers 101 for 1-0 series lead. Jalen Duren had a strong Game 1.
— Thunder 108, Lakers 90 for 1-0 series lead.
Awards watch
A breakdown of this season’s NBA awards:
— Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans.
— Hustle Award: Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte.
— Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.
— Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City.
— Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.
— Sportsmanship Award: Derrick White, Boston.
— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta.
— Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Dallas.
— Executive of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston.
Among the announcements still to come:
— Most Valuable Player: Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
— Coach of the Year: Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson or Boston’s Joe Mazzulla.
Betting odds
Defending champion Oklahoma City (-175) is favored to win the NBA title, according to oddsmakers.
The Thunder were followed by San Antonio (+450), New York (+850), Detroit (+1500), Minnesota (+2200), Cleveland (+4000), the Los Angeles Lakers (+4000) and Philadelphia (+6600).
Minnesota’s odds were +10000 before Game 1 of the series against the Spurs.
Another LeBron milestone awaits
Game 2 of Lakers-Thunder will be LeBron James’ 300th postseason game. That’s more than 17 of the league’s current 30 franchises have ever played.
Since James entered the league:
— No team has played 300 playoff games; Boston has the most with 269.
— No other player even has 200 appearances in that span; Al Horford has played in 197 playoff games. Udonis Haslem — now an analyst for Prime Video and a member of the Heat front office — was on Miami’s roster for 231 playoff games since James entered the league, but played in 149 of them.
Key dates
— Sunday: NBA draft lottery.
— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft
— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft
Quote of the day
“I’m pretty comfortable playing that role. I’ve played it much of my life — definitely, all of my NBA career. It’s just part of what comes with the territory. But this is what you live for, this time of year. This is what all the work’s for. This is what we’re building towards all year.” — Detroit’s Duncan Robinson, on the pressure of being a 3-point shooter.
Stats of the day
— The Knicks have won their last three games by a combined 119 points, the most in any three-game span in NBA playoff history. And the 135-point combined margin in their last four games is another playoff record.
— The Thunder have won six consecutive playoff games, tying their longest playoff winning streak in the Oklahoma City era. Seattle won eight in a row in 1996.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba