For Tuesday’s particular slate, last weekend’s Game 1 action was both clarifying and confusing. We knew the Indiana Pacers were one of the league’s top teams down the stretch, and we knew that “Playoff Andrew Nembhard” was a proper-noun thing. But going forward, is Saturday’s rout of the Milwaukee Bucks replicable if Damian Lillard is back on the floor? Will Game 1 reveal itself as a premonition or a moot point?
Later that night, on the other side of the country, Anthony Edwards’ Minnesota Timberwolves put together a 22-point road stunner at the expense of the Los Angeles Lakers. What do we make of that one? Is the new-look Lake Show in trouble (along with its many, many bettors)? Can LA really win the series if Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid look so comfortable? Are Luka Dončić’s unique Wolves-bothering skills non-transferable outside the Dallas-Fort Worth metro? One of most hyped first-round draws could get out of hand swiftly … or it could return to Minnesota all knotted up.
Such is the sliding door nature of Game 2s. A 1-1 split gives us that “it’s going seven” spirit. A 2-0 advantage brings talk of a sweep.
One sure truth surrounding Tuesday’s schedule? The Oklahoma City Thunder are a wagon — a historically-huge, tricked-out custom wagon, like something from the “Pimp My Ride” days. OKC humiliated the Memphis Grizzlies by 51. Maybe the only question here is “can the Thunder win a playoff game by 60?,” followed by something like “is that legally allowed to happen?”
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Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers
Pacers lead series 1-0
Series odds: Pacers -275, Bucks +220
Milwaukee did a few things right in its series opener over the weekend. It won the margins at the foul line and on the offensive glass, and Giannis Antetokounmpo muscled his way to 36 points. That’s the end of our list. With Lillard (blood clots) held out from Saturday and Kyle Kuzma reduced to a cardio routine (zeros across his box score, save for two fouls), Antetokounmpo looked in over his head.
Lillard is questionable for Game 2, and the Bucks will need as much jumpshooting as possible to hang with surging, frenetic Indy. The offense got good looks all afternoon in Game 1, finishing with collective 52/38 shooting splits and just eight turnovers. Six Pacers scored in double figures, and Tyrese Haliburton had 12 dimes to one giveaway.
“Nembhard was Indiana’s best guy in the 2024 playoffs, averaging 14.9 points, 5.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 17 games, and it looks like he is picking up where he left off …
‘Drew was aggressive from the jump,’ Siakam said. ‘When he’s aggressive and getting downhill, I always tell him he’s one of the best at doing that, and we know what he can do on defense. He’s a special player and we need that from him.’”
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Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder
Thunder lead series 1-0
Series odds: Thunder -10000, Grizzlies +2500
Content warning: Memphis’ team stats from Sunday are hard on the eyes. Look away if you’re partial to these Grizz.
Alright now. The Thunder held the Grizzlies to 6-for-34 shooting behind the arc (17.6 percent, not good). They forced 22 turnovers to 18 assisted field goals (also not good). Memphis’ best starter was Ja Morant at a plus-minus of minus-25. It was one of the biggest blowouts in postseason history.
Maybe this talented but overexerted Grizzlies group can steal a game in hostile territory. Even if they can’t make it happen, we deserve to celebrate the Thunder as a futuristic and hard-willed basketball machine. Oklahoma City had the best point differential of any regular-season NBA team ever, and all of its major core pieces were age 26 or younger. If it’s feeling like an inevitability, let’s embrace what’s in front of us.
“The way the Thunder cruised to victory in Game 1 was perhaps more significant than anything. They showed up and never let up. In the first 2:18 of the third quarter, the Thunder unleashed a 12-0 run, showing complete focus and commitment to finishing the job properly. As a reward, no Thunder starter needed to play in the fourth quarter…
‘We played to our identity,’ Gilgeous-Alexander said. ‘Nothing more, nothing less than that. We were who we were all year in those minutes, and that’s going to be the key to our success, just staying true to who we are.’”
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Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers
Timberwolves lead series 1-0
Series odds: Timberwolves -140, Lakers +115
JJ Redick spent much of Saturday’s postgame presser lamenting the Game 1 grind. “It’s not to say our guys weren’t ready to withstand a playoff-level basketball game. We were mentally ready. I thought our spirit was right. I thought even when they made runs, our huddles were great. The communication was great. I’m not sure physically we were ready, if that makes sense,” he said. “And really, when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn’t respond to meet that.”
Minnesota controlled the tempo and dominated the glass Saturday, blowing its host out behind transition 3-point shooting and second-chance looks. The stars were actually held in check — Anthony Edwards shot 8-for-22 and Julius Randle had 16 points to seven turnovers. It was the role players that put things away (on the road no less, bucking the oft-cited playoff truism). McDaniels shot 11-for-13 with the starters, and Reid made six 3s off the bench.
Outside of Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, no Laker had more than nine points. That must change for the favorites to send things back up north all evened up.
“It had to have been cathartic for the Wolves to beat Dončić as soundly as they did, to send the Laker fans to the exits with more than four minutes to play. But this is a team that plays its worst basketball when the wind is at its back. There was no celebrating after this game, no trash talk or chest puffing. They were, as a group, following McDaniels’ lead.
‘We all live for these moments, but we’re a team that understands that it’s just one game, and we’ve got to try to get another one before we go home,’ Conley said. ‘We’re completely locked in right now, so I’m just proud that we’re able to stay solid.’”
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(Photo of Lu Dort: William Purnell / Getty Images)
