Category: Basketball

2024-25 NBA award finalists revealed: MVP, Coach of the Year, more originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It’s now reasonable to think that Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third in this season’s balloting for the NBA MVP award.

The NBA released the three finalists for its major trophies on Sunday night, with Antetokounmpo on the MVP list alongside Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the runaway frontrunners for the award.

Jokic was last season’s MVP and is bidding for his fourth MVP award in the last five years. Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s scoring champion this season and the leader of a Thunder team that won 68 games while setting a league record for scoring margin, is seeking his first MVP trophy.

They were considered such big favorites that BetMGM Sportsbook didn’t even offer realistic odds toward the end of the regular season on anyone else winning. Gilgeous-Alexander was the favorite, Jokic was the second choice and nobody else had odds shorter than 500-1.

Given that All-NBA voting now essentially mirrors MVP voting, being an MVP finalist basically guarantees an All-NBA first-team nod. It’ll be the ninth appearance on that team for Antetokounmpo, the seventh for Jokic and the third for Gilgeous-Alexander.

Last year’s MVP finalists were Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Doncic — then of Dallas, now of the Los Angeles Lakers.

A panel of writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA voted on the awards last week. The NBA will announce the winners of the various awards, along with the All-NBA and All-rookie teams, over the coming weeks.

Coach of the year

Finalists: Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland; J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit; Ime Udoka, Houston.

This is how good a race this was: Mark Daigneault, who won last year, led Oklahoma City to a 68-win season and didn’t get into the top three.

Atkinson led the Cavaliers to a 64-win season, the best in the Eastern Conference. He was announced Saturday as the winner of the National Basketball Coaches Association’s coach of the year award, a separate trophy from the NBA honors.

Bickerstaff, in his first year with the Pistons, and Udoka took their teams to the playoffs, and the Rockets got the No. 2 seed in the West.

Last year: Daigneault won, with Minnesota’s Chris Finch and Orlando’s Jamahl Mosley the other finalists.

Rookie of the year

Finalists: Stephon Castle, San Antonio; Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta; Jaylen Wells, Memphis.

Castle — the No. 4 pick in last year’s draft — could be the second consecutive NBA Rookie of the Year from San Antonio, after Victor Wembanyama was the unanimous winner last season.

Risacher and Wells were the No. 3 and No. 4 rookie scorers this season behind Castle. A notable omission: Washington’s Alex Sarr, who averaged 13 points this season.

Last year: Wembanyama won, with Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and Charlotte’s Brandon Miller the other finalists.

Sixth man of the year

Finalists: Malik Beasley, Detroit; Ty Jerome, Cleveland; Payton Pritchard, Boston.

Pritchard is the overwhelming favorite, though voters clearly took note of what Beasley did off the Pistons’ bench — making more than 300 3-pointers — and Jerome was particularly steady for the Cavs all season.

Last year: Minnesota’s Naz Reid won, with Sacramento’s Malik Monk and Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis the other finalists.

Most Improved Player

Finalists: Cade Cunningham, Detroit; Dyson Daniels, Atlanta; Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Clippers.

Cunningham led Detroit’s wild turnaround year — a 28-game losing streak last season, the No. 6 seed this season — and should be an All-NBA selection as well. Daniels and Zubac both had exceptionally good seasons, particularly on the defensive end.

Last year: Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey won, with Houston’s Alperen Sengun and Chicago’s Coby White the other finalists.

Defensive player of the year

Finalists: Dyson Daniels, Atlanta; Draymond Green, Golden State; Evan Mobley, Cleveland.

Daniels was a steals machine, Mobley has the gift of being able to defend the rim with physicality but not foul, and Green is seeking his second award after winning it in 2016-17.

Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert remains on four DPOY awards, tied with Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as winners of the most. Wembanyama — who won the blocked-shots title this season — probably would have won this award in a runaway had he not been sidelined since the All-Star break with deep vein thrombosis in one of his shoulders.

Last year: Gobert won, with Miami’s Bam Adebayo and Wembanyama the other finalists.

Clutch player of the year

Finalists: Jalen Brunson, New York; Anthony Edwards, Minnesota; Nikola Jokic, Denver.

Can’t go wrong here. Edwards had 157 points in clutch time this season, Brunson had 150 and Jokic had 140.

Last year: Golden State’s Stephen Curry won, with DeMar DeRozan — then of Chicago, now of Sacramento — and Gilgeous-Alexander the other finalists.

Warriors' Draymond Green named 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year finalist originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors forward Draymond Green is one of three finalists for the 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Green is vying for his second career DPOY honor.

Atlanta Hawks wing Dyson Daniels and Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley join Green as DPOY finalists.

The announcement was made on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” pregame show on Sunday, ahead of the Cavaliers’ first-round playoff game against the Miami Heat.

Green averaged 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks while finishing with a 108.8 defensive rating in 68 games this season.

But Daniels averaged an NBA-leading 3.0 steals in 76 games, establishing himself as a defensive game-changer.

Mobley had his breakout season as the Cavs secured the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed. The fourth-year big man averaged 1.6 blocks and 0.9 steals in 71 games.

Green is aching for a second DPOY Award, and he recently spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole and Kerith Burke about what winning it again would mean to him.

“It would mean the world to me; you know I pride myself on the defensive end,” Green told Poole and Burke on “Dubs Talk” in late March. “I think to be acknowledged as the best defender in this league is no small feat. It’s something that, I never pride myself on winning awards, but they never hurt the ego and they don’t hurt the pockets. But most importantly, even more so than that, I think all the hard work you put in to try and stay at an elite level, and to be recognized as the Defensive Player of the Year at 35, eight years after first doing it, it takes a lot of work and a lot of effort to have that type of longevity.”

At 35, Green knows he faces an uphill battle against the NBA’s younger talent, like Daniels and Mobley.

“To even be mentioned in that conversation, to me, is special,” Green told Poole and Burke. “Obviously, I want to win it, but it’s not something that’s totally in my control … When I started to see my name pop up in the conversation, I was like, ‘Wow, I really have a chance to do this.’

“And I came into this season, for the last couple years I’ve been kind of priding myself on that. Like, ‘I want to win another one. I want to win another one.’ But obviously you have to have success as a team and just to find that success, put myself in the conversation. At worst, I want to make [All-Defensive First Team] and if I can put myself in the conversation to be DPOY, I think that would be crazier than winning the first one.”

In addition to his one DPOY win, Green has seven top-10 finishes, and he’s hoping that number doesn’t climb to eight.

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2025 NBA playoff simulation: Will C's repeat as NBA champs? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics will look to begin another dominant postseason run when they welcome the Orlando Magic to TD Garden for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Easter Sunday.

Boston, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, aims to become the franchise’s first team to repeat as NBA champions since the 1968 and 1969 squads led by Bill Russell. It would be the first NBA team to repeat since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

Perhaps the No. 7 seed Magic won’t pose the Celtics’ biggest threat in their title quest, but it won’t be an easy road the rest of the way. The East is filled with teams that could give the C’s some trouble, including the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and the top-seed Cleveland Cavaliers. Potential NBA Finals showdowns with the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, or Denver Nuggets also won’t be cakewalks.

So, just how far will the Celtics go on their quest for Banner 19? Our partners at Strat-O-Matic ran a simulation to find out, and they ended up with some interesting results.

Let’s jump in. . .

First Round: No. 2 Celtics defeat No. 7 Orlando Magic, 4-0

Unsurprisingly, the reigning champions steamroll the underdog Magic with a first-round sweep. Boston sets the tone for another long postseason run with two blowout victories at TD Garden before finishing the series in Orlando with two closer wins.

East Semifinals: No. 2 Celtics defeat No. 6 Detroit Pistons, 4-3

The Celtics face a far tougher test in Round 2 against the scrappy Pistons, who are coming off an impressive bounce-back campaign. Detroit dispatched the New York Knicks in five games and brought Boston to Game 7, but couldn’t finish the job at TD Garden. The C’s survived with a 13-point victory to advance to their fourth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals.

East Finals: No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers defeat No. 2 Celtics, 4-3

The Cavs cruised to the East Finals with sweeps of the Miami Heat in the first round and the Indiana Pacers in the second round, setting up a fascinating postseason rematch with the C’s.

Boston squeaked out a tough Game 1 win on the road, but Cleveland responded with three consecutive wins to put the Celtics on the brink of elimination.

Trailing the series 3-1, the C’s lived to see another day with a nail-biter five-point win in Cleveland. Boston forced Game 7 with a blowout victory at TD Garden.

During Game 7 in Cleveland, the Celtics led by a point at halftime before a 12-2 Cavs run put Cleveland up by 10 entering the fourth quarter. The C’s would get back within four with two minutes left, but a turnover and a basket on the other end by the Cavs’ Evan Mobley put the game out of reach in an eventual 108-98 Cavs victory.

According to Strat-O-Matic, Cleveland gets its revenge.

Celtics’ top playoff performers

Co-stars Jayson Tatum (28.1 ppg) and Jaylen Brown (22.8 ppg) led the way for the Celtics in their postseason run.

Western Conference Playoffs

First Round

• No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder defeat No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies, 4-2
• No. 4 Denver Nuggets defeat No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers, 4-1
• No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers defeat No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves, 4-3
• No. 2 Houston Rockets defeat No. 7 Golden State Warriors, 4-3

West Semifinals

• No. 2 Thunder defeat No. 4 Denver Nuggets, 4-2
• No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers defeat No. 2 Houston Rockets, 4-2

West Finals

• No. 1 Thunder defeat No. 3 Lakers, 4-1

2025 NBA Finals: Thunder defeat Cavaliers, 4-3

The Thunder take down the Cavs in a thrilling seven-game series. OKC superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 35.0 points and 6.0 assists per game and is a no-brainer for Finals MVP.

What are the largest NBA playoff wins? Where Thunder's 51-point margin ranks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Oklahoma City Thunder brought the boom.

Boasting a league-best 68-14 regular-season record, top-seeded Oklahoma opened its NBA playoff run with a whopping 131-80 Game 1 win over the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies.

Six Thunder players eclipsed double-digit points, with Aaron Wiggins recording 21 off the bench for welcome output. MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was only the team’s fourth-leading scorer on the day with 15 points.

It marked the largest Game 1 margin in NBA history, but how did it fare compared to playoff history? Let’s take a look:

What is the largest NBA playoff win?

Two games hold a tie for the largest NBA playoff win. Most recently in the 2009 playoffs, the Denver Nuggets crushed the New Orleans Hornets 121-63 for a 58-point win, as did the Minneapolis Lakers in their 1956 133-75 result over the St. Louis Hawks.

Denver’s win came in the first round, while Minneapolis’ was in the semifinals, though the formats differed.

What are the largest NBA playoff wins in NBA history?

Oklahoma City’s 51-point margin over Memphis is top-five worthy. Here’s a list of the 50-plus-point margins in NBA playoff history:

• 58 points: Minneapolis Lakers 133, St. Louis Hawks 75 (1956 Western Division semifinals)
• 58 points: Denver Nuggets 121, New Orleans Hornets 63 (2009 Western Conference first round)
• 56 points: Los Angeles Lakers 126, Golden State Warriors 70 (1973 Western Conference Finals)
• 54 points: Chicago Bulls 120, Milwaukee Bucks 66 (2015 Eastern Conference first round)
• 51 points: Oklahoma City Thunder 131, Memphis Grizzlies 80 (2025 Western Conference first round)
• 50 points: Milwaukee Bucks 136, San Francisco Warriors 86 (1971 Western Conference semifinals)

Lights, camera … freeze?

What was that?

Seriously, what was that?

After a blockbuster trade that changed the trajectory of the entire league, after a 50-win regular season that restored the faith of their despondent fan base, the Lakers were outmuscled, outshot and pretty much out-everythinged in a 117-95 defeat to the underdog Timberwolves on Saturday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Goodbye, momentum.

Goodbye, home-court advantage.

The Lakers trailed by as many as 27 points, their performance at Crypto.com Arena so shameful that even one of the worst coaches in franchise history felt emboldened enough to criticize their current sideline leader.

“Coach JJ Redick did a great job all season but he didn’t do a good job for Game 1,” Magic Johnson posted on X. “The Lakers stood around on offense, played too much one-on-one basketball, and he didn’t make any necessary adjustments.”

Johnson knows something about the inability to make necessary adjustments, as he was just 5-11 when he received his shot on the bench.

Redick looked as if he might stiffen under the postseason spotlight, the rookie coach uncharacteristically a man of few words and no smiles in his pregame news conference. And in the critical moments of the game, there was nothing Redick could do to counter the Timberwolves. The visitors opened the second quarter with a 26-6 run to take control of the game and scored the first 11 points of the second half to move the game out of the Lakers’ reach.

Read more:'We'll get better.' Lakers vow to improve after blowout Game 1 loss to Timberwolves

“We were mentally ready,” Redick said. “I thought our spirit was right. I thought even when they made runs, our huddle was great. The communication was great. I’m not sure physically we were ready, if that makes sense. And, really, when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn’t respond to meet that.”

In other words, his team wasn’t ready.

The Lakers weren’t ready even though they knew about the Timberwolves’ size and the matchup problems it could produce. They scored fewer than 100 points in only eight games in the regular season, and two of those games were against the Timberwolves, against whom they were 2-2 before Saturday.

“You know this Minnesota team, they’re gonna be physical,” forward LeBron James said. “That’s what they bring to the table.”

The Timberwolves finished with a 25-6 edge in fast-break points and a 44-32 edge in points in the paint, with forward Jaden McDaniels scoring a team-high 25 points and center Naz Reid adding 23.

“They just played a lot better than us, a lot harder than us, and they did all the things that we wanted to do,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said.

Forward Jarred Vanderbilt called the deflating loss “a wake-up call,” but shouldn’t the Lakers have known what was coming, especially in a competitive Western Conference in which only two victories separated the third seed from the eighth seed?

The 40-year-old James was predictably calm.

“Sometimes it takes a quarter, two quarters, a full game to get used to playoff basketball once again,” said James, who finished with 19 points after being shut out in the first quarter.

Read more:How do the Lakers match up against the Timberwolves entering their playoff series?

Nonetheless, James acknowledged a chance in the dynamics of the best-of-seven series.

“They took home court from us tonight, as far as the series,” he said. “But we have an opportunity to even the series on Tuesday [in Game 2]. We have to play a much better game than we did today. We have to control the controlables, and if we do that, we’re gonna give ourselves a much better chance than we did.”

The Lakers can, and should, still win this series. The Timberwolves won’t make half of their threes in every game, as they did on Saturday. Reid won’t make six of his nine shots from behind the arc in every game, as he did on Saturday.

But the road to the Western Conference finals suddenly doesn’t look as wide open as it once did, and the Lakers’ negligence in Game 1 is threatening to waste one of only a handful of remaining chances to take advantage of having James on the team.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Steph vs. Thompson matchup hints at determining Warriors-Rockets factor originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – The real challenge facing the Warriors and Rockets as they wade into their first-round playoff series with Game 1 on Sunday is less about the intriguing matchup between Stephen Curry and Amen Thompson than the fascinating subplot within it.

Curry is the superstar whose collection of rings, trophies and plaques is worth millions. He’s 37 years young, according to his splendid performance this season.

Thompson is the gifted tyro who two weeks ago held – sometimes physically – Curry to three points on 1-of-10 shooting from the field, including 1-of-8 from Curry’s playground beyond the arc. Thompson is 22 years young, according to the NBA calendar.

They represent two different basketball generations, and history tells us Curry’s generation faces long odds in this Western Conference playoff series, and those odds only get longer if they get deeper into the playoffs.

Basketball is a young man’s game is more than a superficial phrase often uttered by NBA coaches and retirees. The reminders are frequent and typically come in the postseason.

When an NBA player hits his mid-30s, at the latest, the sun starts dropping on his career and his nights get longer. A few, like fitness fanatics LeBron James and Curry, are meticulous in finding ways to slow its descent, but that big, blinding orb stops for no one.

Draymond Green is 35, as is Jimmy Butler III. The average age of the Curry-Green-Butler trio is a few ticks under 36. Those three carry the bulk of the team’s weight. They are not supported by an established younger star, or they would be seeded higher than seventh.

The Warriors are leaning into their postseason experience and superior basketball intellect to overcome Houston’s superior length and athleticism as well as its youthful energy. The hope is that youth and energy beget recklessness and loss of composure.

Golden State also hopes the five days between its play-in tournament win over Memphis on Tuesday and tipoff at Toyota Center is long enough for its veterans to recover and prepare for what’s ahead.

“I think Draymond in particular, will be rested and ready, and he needed that,” coach Steve Kerr said. “The frustration that I saw with him the last few games as we’re fighting like crazy, and he’s playing the five, battling (Clippers center Ivica Zubac), battling (Rockets center Alperen Sengun), battling (Denver’s Nikola Jokić). The emotion and the energy Draymond has to put forth is incredibly draining. And when he’s tired, when he’s fatigued, that’s when he’s most vulnerable, and he knows that. He and I talked about it.

“The rest of the preparation that’s going into this, I think, will help all of us be composed and poised, because that’s what it takes in the playoffs.”

Every edge, no matter how tiny, is being sought because Kerr realizes the goal of the team’s core is to access its reservoir of experience and make it enough to win. It’s not always enough to pull a team through a playoff series against an energetic squad with a physical advantage. 

There are reasons why no 37-year-old has ever been the primary force behind a team prevailing in three rounds of playoff basketball and a victorious NBA Final. The only 35-year-olds to manage the feat were Wilt Chamberlain of the Lakers in 1972, Michael Jordan of the Bulls in 1998 and LeBron with the Lakers in the shortened bubble season in 2020. 

James had prime Anthony Davis, 27 years old and already a seven-time All-Star. In Jordan’s last title, he was accompanied by Scottie Pippen, a 32-year-old seven-time All-Star, and 37-year-old Dennis Rodman.

When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the 1985 Finals MVP at age 38, his impact was greatly inflated by the production of five-time All-Star point guard Magic Johnson (25) and perhaps the game’s best two-way wing James Worthy (24).

Tim Duncan won his last ring with the San Antonio Spurs at age in 2014 at age 38, Manu Ginobili was 36 and Tony Parker was 32. The Finals MVP award went to a 22-year-old named Kawhi Leonard.

The Warriors encountered the experience-gap dynamic in the 2022 NBA Finals against Boston, which had a younger, more athletic roster. The Celtics won two of the first three but struggled as the water got deeper – to a place where the Warriors were comfortable. When Curry silenced TD Garden in Game 4, it was the first of three consecutive double-digit losses for Boston.

The last time the Warriors confronted a younger opponent in the postseason, they lost Games 1 and 2. They found enough energy to come back and win four of the next five to take a first-round victory over Sacramento. Water got too deep for the Kings.

The Warriors, however, were pushed to the brink, outscoring Sacramento by a mere 15 points over seven games. That left Golden State with a hangover that surfaced in the conference semifinals against the Lakers. The Warriors dropped three of the first four games to Los Angeles – and lost all three at Chase Center, by an average of 18 points before losing the series in six.

Golden State’s task now goes far beyond whether Curry, aided by schematic actions, makes the adjustments required to offset Thompson’s spirited defense. Steph’s history is to diagnose and respond. Can he do it yet again?

Do the Warriors have enough to force the Rockets to play halfcourt basketball, drag them to the deep end and dunk them?

This expedition is to climb a mountain yet to be scaled by any group led by such an NBA-old core. No doubt the Warriors know how to beat Houston. They will if they still have the vitality to ensure their knowledge is effectively applied.

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Have Warriors found perfect rest, rhythm balance entering playoffs? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

HOUSTON – Why the Warriors were in such pursuit of the Western Conference’s No. 6 seed and avoiding the NBA play-in tournament was obvious to everybody. 

First of all, the Warriors were 0-3 in play-in games before Tuesday’s win against the Memphis Grizzlies. Throughout a decade-plus of winning four NBA titles, the Warriors have thrived in making necessary adjustments throughout a series. Most of all, though, these guys needed a rest. 

The schedule was grueling down the stretch, and the intensity was as close to the playoffs as possible. Glimpses of fatigue naturally popped up over the last two weeks of the regular season with the Warriors fighting to climb up the standings, only for those around them to keep racking up wins.

Coach Steve Kerr shed a spotlight on the importance of Golden State not needing a second crack at making the playoffs after taking down Memphis, saying his team, led by a 37-year-old Steph Curry and two 35-year-olds in Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, “desperately” needed the four days off prior to their first-round matchup with the Houston Rockets. 

He also revealed how the Warriors might now find themselves in the perfect balance of rest, recovery and rhythm before that Grizzlies game.

“I don’t think you even want a week off in the NBA,” Kerr said. “I think four days off is kind of perfect.” 

That’s where the Warriors find themselves now, which is a much different place than how the Rockets’ regular season wrapped up. 

Houston secured the No. 2 seed on April 8 with three regular-season games remaining. There was no reason to risk injury and exert the energy of their top players, so coach Ime Udoka gave his top players – aside from 15 minutes for Jalen Green – the night off in each of the next two games. It didn’t matter in the standings for the Rockets, but the results were two blowout losses to Los Angeles’ two teams, the Clippers and the Lakers. 

In the final game of the regular season, Udoka used his usual starting five, but gave time to 14 players in a 15-point loss against the Denver Nuggets, ending the regular season with three consecutive defeats by an average of 21 points. 

Of all the days on the NBA calendar, Wednesday might have been Kerr’s favorite. He and his coaching staff get into their basketball lab and get to work. Clip after clip after clip of film is broken down. Numbers are dissected, and matchups are picked apart. 

Players had the day off physically, and then came to Chase Center later in the afternoon for a deep dive of all their installations from film study. Basketball brilliance without a camera is put on display without a camera in sight. 

Thursday was time for them to lace their sneakers back up and get their bodies moving before boarding a flight to Houston. The Warriors then practiced Friday at the University of Houston and feel like the last few days were the perfect balance of getting a breather and locking in. 

“I thought the last two, three weeks was an incredible test and our guys were amazing,” Kerr said Friday after practice. “Obviously did enough to get where we are, and then getting those four days I think allowed us to get our feet on the ground and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.” 

Getting days off is a bonus every team desires. What a player, and a team collectively, does with that time can be the sign of true greatness. It’s where the Warriors’ championship experience kicks into gear, finding wins within the details. 

“Rest is one thing, but not all rest is created equally,” Curry said. “You have to be intentional about how you use the days. That doesn’t mean you don’t do anything. You’re priming yourself in the weight room, mentally, skills-wise getting your work in.” 

Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet, Green and others in the Rockets’ main cast haven’t played meaningful basketball since beating the Warriors two weeks ago. Meanwhile in that span, Curry and Butler kicked into playoff mode early and combined to score 272 points since the Warriors’ loss to the Rockets. 

Youth against experience. Rest against the rhythm. Every battle of contrasting teams will take center stage. 

The once-desired week off wasn’t in the cards for the Warriors. An even better balance might have struck the right chord for another playoff run.

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The Los Angeles Lakers slumped to a 117-95 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening game of their NBA Western Conference first-round play-off.

Jaden McDaniels top scored with 25 points for the sixth-seeded Timberwolves, who were the only away team to win in the opening matches of the best-of-seven post-season series.

Naz Reid scored 23 points off the bench while Anthony Edwards added 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for Minnesota, who led by 27 points at one stage.

Lakers star LeBron James, who is chasing a fifth title in his 22nd NBA season, failed to score in the opening quarter for the third seeds but went on to hit 19 points.

Luka Doncic, in his first post-season game with the Lakers after arriving from the Dallas Mavericks in February's high-profile trade, top-scored on 37.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team was "mentally ready" but failed to match Minnesota's physicality.

"I thought our spirit was right," he said. "I thought even when they made runs our huddles were great, the communication was great.

"But when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn't respond immediately to that."

• How do the NBA play-offs work?

In the other Western Conference first-round game, reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic scored 29 points and added nine rebounds, 12 assists and three steals as the Denver Nuggets edged past the Los Angeles Clippers 112-110 in overtime.

The Nuggets trailed by 15 points early on but Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Russell Westbrook helped them back into contention.

Elsewhere, the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers both went ahead in their Eastern Conference match-ups.

The Knicks scored 21 unanswered points in the final quarter to pull away for a 123-112 win over the Detroit Pistons, who are in the play-offs for the first time since 2019 and have not won a play-off game since 2008.

Jalen Brunson scored 23 of his 34 points in the second half while Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby had 23 points apiece for the Knicks, who rallied after trailing by eight going into the final period.

Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo netted 36 points but it was not enough as his Milwaukee Bucks lost out 117-98 to the Pacers.

The Knicks’ defensive plan against Cade Cunningham was pretty straightforward.

“OG Anunoby,” Josh Hart said. “Just OG Anunoby, man.”

Anunoby was matched up against Cunningham for much of Game 1 -- and the results speak for themselves.

Anunoby was the point of attack for a Knicks defense that held Cunningham to 8-of-21 shooting from the field and forced him into six turnovers.

“Just tried to make it as difficult as possible,” Anunoby said after the game. “Make his catches difficult; pressure him, be aggressive -- just try to force him into tough shots.”

Cunningham finished with 21 points, 12 assists, and six rebounds. He was a driving force behind Detroit’s success over the first three quarters but was also on the floor for most of New York’s 26-3 fourth-quarter run.

With the game still very much up in the air, Cunningham had his shot blocked by Anunoby, turned the ball over on an in-bounds and threw it away out of a pick-and-roll thanks to a bump from Anunoby and fantastic defense from Karl-Anthony Towns.

The two live-ball turnovers led to easy transition layups.

After starting the fourth down seven points, New York now led by seven with under six minutes to play. Technically, the game was still up in the air -- but the defensive sequence against Cunningham seemed to take some life out of the Pistons.

“OG loves those kind of matchups, especially in the playoffs when you can be physical,” Hart said. “He’s a physical guy, able to get through screens and those kind of things. We need his offense obviously, but more important (was) his defense.”

The defense from Anunoby (five steals, two blocks) was part of what the Knicks envisioned when they re-signed him to a $212 million contract this offseason.

New York’s defense has been inconsistent -- at best -- this season.

But the Knicks and Anunoby delivered in key moments on Saturday night, leading to a tone-setting win -- and maybe they established a blue-print on how to deal with Cunningham, who averaged 30 points on 56 percent shooting against New York in the regular season.

“They sent bodies at me... They made sure that every time I came off, they were checking me,” Cunningham said. “They were sending bodies at me all the time trying to get the ball out of my hands. They were on the same accord today (as previous games). I just wasn’t able to pick them apart enough.

"But for 3.5 quarters of the game we were all comfortable -- we were getting shots that we wanted, so we just got to close out the game.”

KAT DELIVERS

Towns and Anunoby lifted the Knicks on both ends of the floor.

Anunoby had 23 points, helping the Knicks keep pace amid Jalen Brunson’s early shooting struggles. Towns had 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting, 11 rebounds, four steals, five assists and 0 turnovers.

Towns was playing up against the pick and roll often against Detroit -- it will be interesting to see if the Knicks stick with that approach in Game 2.

New York was clearly well-prepared for the Pistons after a week of practices. Credit there goes to Tom Thibodeau, who pressed nearly all the right buttons on Saturday.

“We were really big on details,” Game 1 hero Cam Payne said after the win. “I feel like tonight we came out there and did what we’re supposed to do. There’s always room for improvement but I kind of feel like the guys were very locked in… made sure to lock in on the books they gave us; all the practice and walk-throughs, I feel like were pretty good (for preparation).”

The Knicks' Game 1 win over the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the NBA playoffs didn't come without its warts. And although the game will be remembered by New York's furious fourth-quarter comeback, it's also a reminder that the team still has a ways to go to reach its final destination.

Still, Saturday night's win was important for the Knicks who will be right back at it on Monday night for Game 2.

"It’s important, no matter what game it is," Jalen Brunson said. "When you get a win it does a lot for your confidence, but tomorrow will be a reset then we’ll refocus and then get ready for Game 2."

Before the series began, one of the biggest questions was how would New York be able to contain Cade Cunningham who torched the Knicks in four regular season games this year.

OG Anunoby got the first crack at the 23-year-old and held Cunningham to 21 points on 8-of-21 shooting after the guard averaged 30.8 points against New York this season and 26.1 points overall. Cunningham did well to involve others with 12 assists, but it was far from his best showing on the court.

But even with their superstar held in check slightly, the Pistons entered the fourth quarter with an eight-point lead -- one that evaporated thanks to the Knicks' 21-0 run showcasing the team's grit as well as playoff experience (and Detroit's lack thereof).

"I think we’ve done a great job of fighting through adversity all year," Karl-Anthony Towns said.

As important as a win Saturday was for New York, head coach Tom Thibodeau knows it's now on to the next one. He also knows what the Knicks need to work on to finish the best-of-7 series out on top.

"It’s one win and then we gotta reset and get ready for the next one," he said. "… There’s a lot of things that we can do better."

Towns understands and echoed his coach's sentiment after playing in his first postseason game at Madison Square Garden, finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

"Of course you want to throw the first punch, but it’s only one game," Towns said. "We gotta continue to execute at a high level and we gotta continue to stay connected if we want to beat a great team."

The Pistons will make adjustments of their own and it'll be interesting to see if New York sticks with Anunoby on Cunningham and if Cunningham will be able to respond.

As for role players who stepped up for Detroit that the Knicks should keep an eye on, Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined for 64 points. In fact, the Pistons were one bad quarter away from being up 1-0 in the series.

"Gotta give them a lot of credit, they pushed us," Brunson said. "We just found a way in the fourth quarter to get stops and find a way to win."

For 12 minutes to begin the 2025 playoffs, Luka Doncic rewarded the Lakers fans in the packed arena, showing that all the hopefulness that they entered Crypto.com Arena on Saturday wasn’t just some foolish dream.

It could really happen; he’s that good.

But for as much as a brilliant Doncic start can be the opening paragraphs in the story of a Lakers win, it can also be a bit of a mask. Because while Doncic got whatever he wanted, Austin Reaves struggled against Minnesota’s pressure, missing easy shots at the rim and struggling to get the Lakers into offense. LeBron James, who we last saw on the court grimacing after a hip flexor strain, didn’t have much burst to the basket or much touch on his shot.

And with Doncic on the bench after a 16-point first quarter, that mask came off.

The Lakers couldn’t score. They couldn’t match Minnesota’s energy. They couldn’t out-run ball movement or chase down rebounds. Opposing shooters were open. Driving lanes on the other end were closed.

And they couldn’t stop an avalanche that hit them with the kind of force that knocked all the energy out of the building.

The game, which Minnesota won 117-95, didn’t end during that stretch, at least not in an official sense. But everything that followed as the Timberwolves scored 64 of the game’s next 90 points should be a reminder of just how easily hopefulness can be punctured.

It wasn’t that the Lakers needed less of Doncic, who glibly said “I guess I gotta pass more” when asked about his teammates’ early lack of rhythm. It was that they needed to be better in the areas of the game other than the ones Doncic crafted in the first quarter.

Read more:'Everybody had my back.' Lakers forge tighter bond supporting Luka Doncic in Dallas

Because while he cracked the Timberwolves’ defense open, the Lakers flew around the court. The Lakers contested shots. The Lakers sprinted to secure every available possession.

It took 19 minutes of court time for the Lakers’ moment — the first time they’ve hosted a Game 1 since 2012 — to unravel, for it fall out of reach, for the season to feel in jeopardy for the first time since well before Doncic was a part of it.

“They did all the things that we wanted to do,” Reaves said of Minnesota.

The concerns for the Lakers moving forward can be found all over the final box score, the 19-point edge in fast-break points showing how much faster Minnesota played. The 21 second-chance points the Lakers allowed showed Minnesota’s determination. The 48 combined points for Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid showing how capable Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle’s co-stars are.

The Lakers held Edwards to just 22 points on 22 shots. And lost. The Lakers kept Randle to 16 and Rudy Gobert to just two. And lost. The Lakers got 37 points (but only one assist) from Doncic. And lost.

“They're a great opponent. They're one of the best teams in basketball,” JJ Redick said. “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. And really when they started playing with a lot of thrust and physicality, we just didn't respond to meet that.”

They should’ve known it was coming. No one has guarded the Lakers quite as well as the Timberwolves have this year. Nine times this season, the Lakers have been held to under 100 points — and, now, three of those times have been because of the Minnesota Timberwolves' defense.

Read more:How do the Lakers match up against the Timberwolves entering their playoff series?

“Obviously we gotta do a better job of controlling the controllables,” James said after. “And I don't think we did a good enough job after the first quarter.”

And while the makeup of the Lakers’ roster has changed significantly in their offensive clunkers, the challenges the Timberwolves give — their size, their long arms, their quick feet and their active hands — haven’t really been solved by Redick and the players.

“You know this Minnesota team, they're gonna be physical,” James said. “That's what they bring to the table. Maybe it took us one playoff game to now get a feel for it and know what type of intensity, the type of physicality is gonna be brought to the game. But that's just the way they play. So we should be more than prepared for that on Tuesday night.”

Maybe more force will be the difference; no one on the Lakers thought that it wouldn’t. But maybe, it’s even simpler than that.

“Just be physical. Play like we played in the first quarter,” Doncic said. “I think when we played in the first quarter, we were at our best. Just limit their threes. Limit transition and second-chance points. And play our game.”

Saturday, they squandered an opportunity to sustain things long enough to take one stop closer to their goals. And, even if there are bigger signs for concern, the focus can’t change.

“You’ve gotta get beat four times; you’ve gotta win four times. So, that’s the outlook,” Reaves said. “We know we didn’t play very well. We didn’t play to our standards. And we’ll get better.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Things weren’t looking good for the Knicks in Game 1. 

After a back-and-forth first two quarters, the Pistons came out of the locker room resurged and they began taking things over -- suddenly New York found themselves trailing by eight points heading into the final frame. 

Then, everything changed in a hurry.  

The Pistons opened the fourth taking a five-second violation and the Knicks were able to build off of the energy from the fired up Madison Square Garden crowd, as Karl-Anthony Towns knocked down back-to-back baskets. 

New York ran with the momentum, scoring the next 21 points before Detroit’s Malik Beasley knocked down a three, pushing themselves back in front and re-establishing the double-digit advantage in less then five minutes. 

The Pistons made a push down the stretch, but the Knicks never looked back, holding on for the Game 1 victory. 

“We didn't end the third quarter the way we wanted to," Jalen Brunson said. "But there was never a doubt that we were just going to lay down without a fight -- we just had to figure things out and just keep battling, and it turned rather quickly."

Brunson was in the middle of the surge as always, but easily the biggest boost came from veteran reserve Cam Payne, who stepped up tremendously after a quiet first half showing. 

Payne had just three points over the first three quarters -- but during that stretch in which the Knicks completely turned things around he simply couldn't miss as he knocked down 4-of-5 shots including a pair of threes to give him 11 of his 14 points during the final frame.

He was also a key factor in forcing the momentum changing five-second turnover.

“We all know what Cam is capable of -- that’s what he does,” OG Anunoby said. 

“He’s a catalyst, he gets in there and makes things happen,” head coach Tom Thibodeau added. “The thing about him is he knows exactly who he is. He comes in with great energy every game, and he prepares himself well -- he gave us a huge spark, but that’s who he’s been all season.”

Payne, who averaged 6.9 points during his first year in New York, received a rousing ovation from the MSG faithful as he was subbed out late in the fourth quarter -- it was an ovation and performance he's been waiting for all season.

"It's fun man," he said. "It's a hell of an atmosphere. I was on the opposing side of it last year and it was tough, it was loud as s--t in there. Being on the flip side of it felt good, that ovation felt good. I've been waiting on that all year, how I played today all year, so I'm just grateful.

"I thank God for everything that happened tonight, I'm just grateful to still be playing in this league."