Is Game 3 vs. Celtics a must-win for Knicks? Shaq, Barkley make the argument originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New York Knicks shocked the basketball world by winning the first two games of their Eastern Conference semifinals series versus the Boston Celtics on the road.

Despite trailing by 20-plus points in both games, the Knicks made stellar second-half runs and outplayed the Celtics late.

And if NBA history is any indication, the Knicks are in a very good spot as the action shifts to Madison Square Garden in New York for the next two games.

But the job isn’t finished for the Knicks. They can’t give the Celtics an opening. That’s the message two Hall of Famers — Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley — conveyed on TNT’s postgame show after Celtics-Knicks Game 2 on Wednesday night.

“They’re up 2-0. Now, for the Knicks, don’t get comfortable. It’s a must-win for Boston, but it’s also a must-win for the Knicks,” O’Neal said. “If you want to put serious pressure on the champs, Game 3 is a must for the Knicks.”

Barkley agreed with O’Neal, and he used his own experiences as a player for the Phoenix Suns to explain why.

“He is 100 percent correct,” Barkley said. “I’m one of the few people in the world who have been in this situation twice. We played the Lakers (in 1993) when we were the No. 1 seed in the West and we lost the first two games at home in a best-of-5 series. I remember telling the guys, ‘All we have to do is get the first one, because then the pressure switches back to them.’ You gotta win the third one, because then the pressure switches.

“When we won the first two games in Houston (in the 1995 conference semifinals), I remember telling the guys, ‘We cannot go back to Houston tied 2-2. We’ve got to win Game 3.’

“This is gonna sound stupid — Game 3 is a must-win for the Knicks. Boston has a better team, they’ve been up 20 (in each game). But I’m telling you, I’ve been in that situation twice, you gotta win that third game. I still thought we were gonna win the series when we lost Game 3 (to Houston), but it actually flips the mental picture.”

The first series Barkley referenced was the Phoenix Suns losing the first two games at home in the first round to the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns won the next three games to take the series, and they ultimately lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1993 NBA Finals.

Barkley was on the other side of the equation in 1995 when his Suns beat the Rockets in Houston twice to begin the conference semis. The Rockets rebounded with a Game 3 win in Phoenix and later prevailed in Game 7.

Playing at home should be an advantage for the Knicks, but the Celtics have proven they can win important games on the road. And their 33-8 road record this season was the second-best in league history.

The Celtics won both games at MSG during the regular season and haven’t lost in that building since the 2022-23 campaign.

Even though Game 3 is not actually a must-win for the Knicks, they would be best served having a do-or-die mentality Saturday afternoon. They cannot afford to let their foot off the gas. That would be a dangerous game to play against a team as talented and as experienced as the Celtics.

The Knicks have some recent experience blowing a 2-0 series lead, as well. They won the first two games of their second-round series versus the Indiana Pacers last season and lost in Game 7 at home.

Cora weighs in on C's struggles, difficulty of repeating as champions originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Before the Celtics, the Red Sox were the last Boston team to embark on a quest to repeat as champions. After a historic 2018 World Series run, they came crashing back to earth in 2019 and failed to reach the postseason.

The 2019 Red Sox won only 84 games — 24 fewer than the previous season — despite running it back with largely the same roster. Although the 2024-25 Celtics earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference after another stellar regular season, they’re learning just how difficult it is to win back-to-back titles.

On Wednesday, the Celtics blew a 20-point lead at home for the second straight game in their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the New York Knicks. They’re suddenly in a 2-0 hole a the series shifts to Madison Square Garden for Game 3.

With the devastating Game 2 loss fresh on everyone’s mind Thursday morning, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked about the challenge of repeating as champs.

“I thought about it yesterday when I was going home. It’s very difficult,” Cora said. “I still remember in the cage — I go back to the story, and guys talking about their at-bats. ‘I need my at-bats to get what I wanted.’ Right around there, I think Ozzie Albies signed a contract in ’19. And they were talking about, ‘Oh, this and that — I need to do this to make this.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, shoot, it’s a different mindset.’

“I didn’t want to believe it, you know? I was very outspoken, like, ‘We’re gonna do that again the same way, and it’s gonna happen.’ Although, we switched the lineup. We put (Andrew Benintendi) to lead off and Mookie (Betts) hit second, and tried to make some changes. It didn’t work. But it’s hard, man. It’s hard.

“In that sport, too, just facing the same guys over and over and over again. And you faced it last year. It’s a longer year for some of those guys, too. The Olympics and Team USA. It’s not easy, it’s not easy.”

Fifteen teams in MLB history have come back from 2-0 in a best-of-seven playoff series. It has happened in the NBA 34 times, including 12 series in the last nine postseasons. The 2017 Celtics accomplished the feat in the first round against the Chicago Bulls.

“In the NBA, it can happen,” Cora added. “I don’t want to be an analyst, but I sound like one. They’ve been up 20 twice. So, have they played well? Yeah. They haven’t finished games. So it’s a league of adjustments, and I expect them to do that.”

The Knicks have led for only 12 minutes total in the first two games of the series. The difference is that they have thrived in crunch time while the Celtics have crumbled.

As Celtics star Jaylen Brown emphasized after the Game 2 loss, Boston will need to channel resiliency and toughness to join the exclusive group of teams to dig out of a 2-0 hole. No NBA team has ever come back from being down 3-0.

The Celtics’ must-win Game 3 is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday in New York. Coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Boston with Celtics Pregame Live.

Without Steph, the time is now for Warriors' youngsters to step up originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With Stephen Curry sidelined, all eyes turn toward Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green, the remaining two-thirds of the Warriors’ leadership triumvirate. They’ll need to be producers, directors and stars.

Curry’s absence also brightens the spotlight above Buddy Hield, whose once-supplemental scoring becomes vital. He has been a savior the past two games, and cooling off now would cripple the offense.

But whatever the three veterans provide will not be enough for the Warriors to remain competitive in the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Any team trying to win a playoff series, much less make an extended postseason run without its best player, needs production from its support group.

“We have Jimmy and Draymond quarterbacking both sides of the ball,” Curry told reporters at the team’s pregame shootaround Thursday. “Buddy’s playing at a high level. And then the committee of guys who are going to fill in the rotation.”

If ever there was a time for Golden State’s “committee of guys” – with emphasis on the recent first-round draft picks – to make their presence felt, it is now, beginning Thursday night in Game 2 against the Timberwolves.

Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga are as germane to the fortunes of the Warriors as the three veterans in the starting lineup. None has reached his 23rd birthday, but this is an opportunity for them to, um, grow up. To give their team more offense than they have generated through the first eight games of the playoffs.

Podziemski, who has started seven of the eight games, is shooting 36.3 percent from the field, including 32.7 percent from beyond the arc. Moody has played in all eight games, with two starts and is shooting 36.4 percent, 34.3 percent from distance. Kuminga, mostly out of the rotation, has appeared in four games with one start, and is shooting 32.1 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from deep.

The young men in whom the Warriors most invested to shape their future are shooting a cumulative 35.6 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc. And many of the misses are with clean looks. If this inefficiency continues, the offense will die in these.

And that death would be so exasperating, it’s bound to affect Golden State’s most indispensable and reliable element.

“We’re going to rely on our defense,” Curry said. “We know that. Even if I’m out there, that’s our calling card. There’s a lot of confidence that the guys can maintain and sustain that level. We know Minnesota is going to come back motivated to get a win on their home floor.

“But over the course of the series, we feel like we’re in good shape.”

The inconvenient truth is that poor offense in basketball often begets preoccupied, or indifferent, defense, especially with young players. Repeatedly missing shots leads to all manner of unwanted regressions, everything from becoming tentative on one end to losing focus on the other.

Conversely, young players making shots at a satisfying rate tend to muster more energy to defend.

“This stuff generally comes down to the energy, the spirit. How hard you play and then stepping up and making some shots,” coach Steve Kerr said.

Facts, across the board.

Curry’s absence raises the “making some shots” component to a more urgent level. His 25 or more points will be missed, and losing his gravity will result in fewer clean looks. 

That’s where Butler comes in. He has a gift for maximizing the talent around him, particularly on offense, by simplifying things for his teammates. His work in Miami, leading rotations heavy with undrafted players – Caleb Martin, Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, etc. – certified him as one of the NBA’s best leaders.

Butler, Kerr and Green have three first-round picks to work with. Every game without Curry will offer assessments of the youngsters, identifying what they can offer now and perhaps beyond.

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Tatum takes responsibility for struggles vs. Knicks: ‘I need to be better' originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics need a much better performance from Jayson Tatum in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series versus the New York Knicks to avoid an 0-3 deficit.

The Celtics lost both of the first two games at home, including a 91-90 defeat Wednesday night in Game 2 at TD Garden.

Tatum scored just 13 points on 5-for-29 shooting in Game 2. He was unable to get a shot off in the final seconds with Boston trailing by one point.

Through two games, Tatum has scored 36 points on 12-for-42 shooting (5-for-20 on 3-pointers) with eight turnovers. He also has struggled when the Celtics have needed him most. Tatum is shooting 1-for-12 (0-for-7 from 3-point range) in the fourth quarter this series. Boston has been outscored by 12 points during Tatum’s fourth-quarter minutes.

Tatum’s struggles are pretty surprising, especially after he dominated the Orlando Magic (who had the No. 2 ranked defense this season) for 31 points per game in the first round.

Tatum took responsibility for his struggles at a press conference Thursday.

“I take full ownership for the way that I’ve played in this series,” Tatum told reporters. “Can’t sugarcoat anything. I need to be better. And I expect to be a lot better.”

The good news for Tatum and the Celtics is that he has played very well at Madison Square Garden in his career, especially this season.

Tatum averaged 36 points on 50 percent shooting (44 percent on 3-pointers) in two games at MSG during the regular season. He dropped 40 points on the Knicks in a 27-point win on Feb. 8. He also hit some clutch shots in the overtime win on April 8.

The Celtics have won four straight games and five of their last six at MSG, with their last loss in New York coming in the 2022-23 season.

Game 3 is pretty much a must-win matchup for the Celtics. No team in NBA playoff history has ever won a series after trailing 0-3. For the Celtics to avoid that dire situation, they need a huge bounce-back performance from Tatum on Saturday afternoon.

“We have a way that we play,” Tatum said. “We have an identity, and it can’t waver just because we missing shots. We can’t change who we are. And I always say, you got to be the same person when things are going well and when things aren’t going well.

“It’s not about our season being two games from over. Like, that hasn’t crossed any of our minds.”

Spencer recalls favorite Steph moment as Warriors teammates originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Pat Spencer can’t help but be amazed by Steph Curry’s astounding shooting and workout routines.

As one of the newest members of the Warriors squad, Spencer was asked what has impressed him the most about being teammates with Curry this season.

“I think you just become a little bit numb to the shooting,” Spencer said on “The Young Man and the Three” podcast. “I think you just expect the ball to go in, that’s the craziest part for me. Just watching him work out is the most eye-opening.

“Steph works out the way he plays. He’s the kind of guy who, how he’s shooting in games is how he’s shooting at practice. He’ll start on one side of the court, sprint to the other side and get one shot. I don’t know too many NBA guys who are doing full-court shooting drills on a daily basis.”

No shooter in NBA history has come close to Curry’s incredible shooting performances, and the rest of the league has tried to adjust. Now, teams play aggressive defense on the 37-year-old from the moment he gets the ball, trying to slow him down and prevent him from making long-range shots. Even when playing off the ball, Curry faces an onslaught of defenders trying all they can to stop him.

Spencer then was asked for his thoughts on Curry’s unreal physical conditioning, allowing him to sprint down the court and easily make wild shots.

“Just the ability to run nonstop and still be as precise as he is as a shooter,” Spencer said. “His endurance is off the hook. To be able to deal with all of that [aggressive defense] and still be a 44-percent shooter or whatever his numbers are is just absurd.”

Spencer and the rest of Golden State will need to figure out how to replace Curry’s production, as the latter is out with a hamstring strain for at least a week.

In what could be a tough matchup in the Western Conference semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors will need Spencer and company to channel their inner Curry to win three more games and advance to the next round.

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The Knicks erased a 20-point deficit for the second game in a row, triumphing over the Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Boston.

Here's how the New York City back pages reacted...

The back page: DEJA TWO!

Bridges steal seals another miracle comeback from down 20 as Knicks stun Celts again

Read more: https://t.co/V9PtVhwTOepic.twitter.com/sNobcVv2Eq

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 8, 2025

I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers: back page edition. pic.twitter.com/b8PFwcw2Gv

— Robert Shields (@rshields37) May 8, 2025

BOSTON - It was only fitting that it ended this way, with Mikal Bridges and OG Anunobysuffocating Jayson Tatum on the baseline Wednesday night.

"Great feeling," Bridges said late Wednesday.

He and Anunoby were the face of the Knicks’ struggles against the Celtics in the regular season. But in the final seconds of Game 2, Anunoby and Bridges forced Tatum into a turnover to seal another improbable win. 

You’d think that that kind of moment would lead to wild celebrations in the Knicks locker room. They had come back from 20-point deficits in back-to-back road playoff games against the defending champs.

But there was no party in the visitor’s locker room at TD Garden on Wednesday.

Instead, the Knicks sounded like a team that knew it needed to play better to finish off the defending champs.

"We’ve got to watch the film, see where we can get better," Anunoby said. "…. I don’t think we’ve played as well as we can."

Josh Hart echoed those thoughts.

"We have to continue to build. We have to continue to put together a full game. I think that’s something that we haven’t done during the course of these playoffs," he said after scoring a game-high 23 points. "We get leads. We surrender leads. We come back from big leads. We’ve got to figure out (how to put together) a complete game."

The Knicks will have the chance to do that on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

"I’m scared to see when we put it together on defense and let that push the offense and get dangerous," PJ Tucker said.

Even though they’re the lower seed, the odds are heavily in New York’s favor at this point. Ninety-three percent of the 463 teams who had 2-0 series leads in the NBA playoffs went on to win that series.

They don’t get to this position without another remarkable performance from Bridges.

For the second straight game, he shook off poor shooting to play a significant role in the Knicks’ comeback.

Bridges missed his first eight shots in Game 2 but then hit six of 10 in the fourth quarter. His 14 points in the final frame helped spark New York’s comeback.

What kept Bridges locked in during the first three quarters?

"Just everything with my teammates, man… It’s really, truly been them just holding me together and keeping me mentally right and just telling me to keep going," said Bridges, who hit a huge three-pointer late in Game 1 after missing 10 of his first 12 shots."And I think coach also is just trusting me — coming out in the fourth, running a play for me, putting that confidence in me. But man, it’s really my teammates and my coaches, man. They really held me up."

Bridges and Anunoby forced Tatum into the game-sealing turnover on Wednesday. But the play doesn’t materialize without fantastic defense from Mitchell Robinson.

Robinson stayed in front of Tatum while guarding him one-on-one off of a switch. He forced Tatum to his right and Anunoby and Bridges took over.

Just like the Knicks wings, this was a fitting ending to a great night for Robinson. The team’s longest tenured player finished with eight rebounds and three steals in Game 2, wrecking the game again and again for the Celtics. Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla was intentionally fouling Robinson again to try to get him off the floor.

"That makes me feel like a threat," Robinson said afterward.

The Knicks could have traded for a veteran center at the 2024 deadline. Robinson was still rehabbing from offseason foot surgery at the time. But they chose to stick with Robinson, betting that the homegrown center could make it all the way back from his injury.

It was a risky bet, but it’s certainly paid off.

"Mitch was all over the floor," Tom Thibodeau said after the win. "Guarding, switching – just a great impact."

Path to a comeback: Four ways the Celtics can beat Knicks on the road originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics came into their Eastern Conference semifinals series versus the New York Knicks as heavy favorites. And it made sense — Boston is the defending champ and dominated the regular season series versus New York with a 4-0 record.

The Knicks struggled beating good teams all season and were just an OK road team.

But the Knicks shocked the basketball world this week by winning both of the first two games in Boston, including a 91-90 victory Wednesday night in Game 2. Now they have a chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead Saturday afternoon when the series shifts to Madison Square Garden.

How can the Celtics get back in the series after two crushing losses in which they blew leads of 20-plus points?

Here are four areas of emphasis:

Don’t worry about Mitchell Robinson

There are times when “Hack-a-Robinson” is a good strategy. Robinson is an atrocious free throw shooter. He’s 4-for-11 in the series and shooting 26.7 percent from the free throw line in the playoffs.

But it doesn’t make any sense to put your team on the verge of being in the penalty just to put him on the line or get him off the floor. That’s what the Celtics did late in the fourth quarter of Game 2. The C’s had two fouls to give with 2:41 left in the game and they committed two take fouls on Robinson. The second one was the Celtics’ fourth team foul, which meant the next foul would put the Knicks at the free throw line.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was going to sub out Robinson after the first take foul, but kept him in to see if the C’s would foul him again, which they did. Then he took out Robinson.

Here is Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla’s explanation for fouling Robinson twice wth under three minutes to play:

When Robinson exited, OG Anunoby came in. Anunoby is an elite defensive player and capable of hitting 3-pointers. The Celtics should want Robinson on the floor over Anunoby at all times.

Robinson is a very good defensive player. He’s a strong rebounder and the best shot blocker on the Knicks. He makes an impact, there’s no doubt about that. But he’s mostly a non-factor offensively, which allows the Celtics to double and put more pressure on other Knicks players on defense.

Robinson also is someone the Celtics can hunt on the perimeter by getting him matched up on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on pick-and-rolls. Tatum and Brown are both quicker than Robinson and can drive to the basket against him.

Hack-a-Robinson works in the right situations. But not late in the game when it puts you close to the penalty. The Celtics need to worry about their own offensive issues and less about whether Robinson is on the floor.

Switch OG Anunoby off of Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum played like a superstar in the first round against the Magic. He scored an average of 31.3 points with 11.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. He’s played nowhere near that level in the second round.

Tatum is averaging 18 points on 12-for-42 shooting (5-for-20 on 3-pointers). In Game 2, Tatum scored just 13 points on 5-for-19 shooting.

After an awful 3-point shooting display in Game 1, Tatum attempted more of his shots from two-point range in Game 2. But even then, he settled for too many contested mid-range field goals (see shot chart below). He didn’t get to the basket enough, evidenced by his two free throw attempts.

One reason for Tatum’s lackluster scoring in this series is OG Anunoby. The Knicks forward held Tatum to 4-for-16 shooting in the regular season, and he’s continued that success in this series. Tatum is shooting 1-for-7 versus Anunoby through two games.

Anunoby spent 8:26 as the primary defender on Tatum in Game 2 and Boston’s superstar attempted only one shot. Anunoby was all over Tatum on the final play of the game, forcing a turnover that sealed the Celtics’ loss.

Mikal Bridges guarded Tatum a bunch during the four regular season matchups and Tatum scored 35 points on 13-for-19 shooting versus the Knicks wing. The Knicks made an adjustment going into Round 2 to make Anunoby the primary defender on Tatum, and it’s working great for them.

The Celtics must do everything they can, whether it’s the pick-and-roll or something else, to get Anunoby away from Tatum as often as possible. They’ve done it a few times in the series, which resulted in Tatum getting Jalen Brunson or Mitchell Robinson in a switch.

That’s the kind of matchup hunting the Celtics must do in Game 3.

Lean on road success

The Celtics were a historically great road team this season, setting a franchise record with 33 victories. In fact, their 33-8 road record was tied for the second-best in league history.

Boston ranked No. 2 in offensive rating, defensive rating and net rating away from home during the regular season.

They also went 2-0 against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden — a 27-point win on Feb. 8 and a two-point win in overtime on April 8. Jayson Tatum averaged 36 points on 50 percent shooting in those two road wins.

Furthermore, the Celtics are 13-6 in New York since 2016, and they’ve won four straght and five of their last six at MSG. Boston’s last loss in New York came in the 2022-23 season.

Meanwhile, the Knicks are 1-2 at home in the playoffs.

The Celtics are a great road team, and that should give them plenty of confidence entering Game 3 despite the rough start to the series.

Knock down 3-point shots

Seems obvious, right? It’s a make or miss league, and unfortunately for the Celtics, they’ve missed a ton of open shots in this series that they normally make.

The Celtics were actually the most prolific 3-point shooting team in league history during the regular season, setting records for most 3-pointers made and attempted.

They made only 10 3-pointers on 40 attempts in Game 2. It was a huge outlier for them, because during the regular season, the C’s made 10 or fewer 3-point shots in just three of their 82 games.

Through two games against the Knicks, the Celtics are shooting 25 percent (25-for-100) from beyond the arc. That’s 11.8 percent worse than their regular season average, which is a huge dropoff. The Celtics are shooting at least 10 percent worse in the playoffs compared to the regular season on pretty much every type of 3-pointer imaginable.

Despite missing a record amount of 3-pointers, the Celtics still only lost Game 1 by three points and Game 2 by one point. If they missed 72 3-pointers instead of 75, they could easily be up 2-0 in the series.

The Celtics are a much better outside shooting team than they’ve shown against the Knicks. It’s hard to imagine these 3-point shooting woes extending much longer. There were only four instances in the regular season in which Boston made 15 or fewer 3-pointers in consecutive games.

The turnaround needs to happen ASAP, though. No team in league history has overcome an 0-3 series deficit.

Steph doesn't have target return date from ‘frustrating' injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

 MINNEAPOLIS – Warriors superstar Steph Curry has a long history of rehab and injury recovery. This season alone, Curry has dealt with issues to his knees, neck, right thumb and pelvic area. His latest injury is the land of the great unknown.

Curry, in the second quarter of the Warriors’ Game 1 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday in the Western Conference semifinals, grabbed at the back of his left leg and was ruled out for the rest of the game with a strained hamstring. An MRI the next day revealed a Grade 1 strain, with the Warriors announcing Curry will be re-evaluated in one week.

"I'll do everything in my power to get back as soon as possible."

Steph is cautious but determined to get back on the court 💪 pic.twitter.com/oD8H4ELnmM

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) May 8, 2025

That coincides with the same day as Game 5 of the second round, ruling Curry out for at least Games 2, 3 and 4. Perhaps even more, too.

Having never dealt with a hamstring injury, not even tightness, the 37-year-old says he doesn’t have a target date at the moment for his return.

“This is new and from all that I’m learning about how quickly you can get back, there has to be a healing process,” Curry said Thursday at Warriors shootaround before Game 2. “It’s just the way the body works. You can’t accelerate more than what it’s telling you.” 

After a week of rest and rehab, Curry and the Warriors’ training staff will re-evaluate his hamstring every day to know when it’s safe to even think about playing, let alone thinking about how hard he can push it, which seemingly should keep him out for Game 5 – and possibly longer. 

Eventual conversations will be had with teammates who have dealt with hamstring injuries in the past, such as Gary Payton II. Not quite yet, though.

“I will, for sure,” Curry said. “I’ve been in my feelings a little bit.” 

Curry scored eight of the Warriors’ 18 points in the first quarter, and then looked to be heating up after making a high-arching step-back three on Jaden McDaniel three minutes into the second quarter. But on the other side, Curry felt something wrong playing defense. He jumped out to help on Mike Conley and almost immediately grabbed at the back of his left leg after planting and pivoting. 

Still, he initially stayed in the game and made a floater on the Warriors’ next offensive possession. Jogging back to defense with a clear limp, Curry motioned towards the Warriors’ bench to get him out of the game. 

There weren’t any warning signs. Curry felt great up until that point, and even said so prior to Game 1 after playing 46 minutes just 48 hours earlier in Game 7 of the Warriors’ first-round win against the Houston Rockets. 

What he first felt didn’t appear to be anything too bad. Curry thought he could go to the locker room, get it released and come back, but with a soft tissue injury like a hamstring, he quickly learned he could have done more damage if he tried to play through it. 

The natural healing process is all that Curry can rely on right now. He isn’t even entertaining thoughts of rushing back and what that might do to him. Hamstrings are tricky, and Curry could be fooled by the gray area these injuries bring. 

While the injury is new to Curry, this isn’t the first time he has missed games in the playoffs. When he missed six games in 2016, the Warriors went 4-2, and they went 5-1 when he missed six games to injury in 2018. Those teams also were much different in the heyday of the Warriors’ dynasty. 

Curry has all the trust that his teammates can right the ship until he returns. The Warriors went 7-5 in the regular season in games he didn’t play. His experience of dealing with prior injuries in the playoffs, however, doesn’t exactly add a sense of comfort in Year 16. 

“It’s more frustrating,” Curry admits. “When you’re 27, you feel like you’re obviously in your prime. Every opportunity I have now, you don’t want it to be wasted on an injury. I’m thankful it wasn’t worse and I’m very aware of and appreciative that I even have a chance to come back. There’s been injuries around the league that you’ve seen guys don’t have that option. I’m just trying to stay in that midframe and hopefully things work out where I can come back and we have a chance to keep doing something special. 

“Injuries are already hard emotionally, just because you know none of this is guaranteed to be back in this environment and the playoff experience and have an opportunity like that. When you get hurt, you have to be intentional in what you focus on.” 

Despite the injury, Curry was at shootaround dressed like he was ready to drop 30 points on the Timberwolves in Game 2. Instead, he served as a rebounder and fed passes to Buddy Hield over and over and over again. Curry said he’s still “a little ways away” from doing any type of stationary shooting himself. 

He hasn’t given any type of inspirational speech and doesn’t plan to. His guys have his back, and that’s all Curry can ask for. 

“No, they talk to me,” Curry said. “This is a great vibe in our locker room in terms of them trying to hold the fort down. We have a lot of confidence that we can still win the series. Guys will step up, no matter how it looks. It’s obviously a situation where you want to think positively and optimistically that we can win games and buy me some time to get back and hopefully have another series after this and be in a position where I can get back out there safely, where I’m not putting too much risk on the body if it’s not ready.

“They understand the task. We all are in it together.”

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Welcome to Act III of the 2024-25 NBA season. It was a rough start for the league this year. People came out of the woodwork to criticize it, offering wild solutions, and pointing out the low early season TV ratings. But then the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers and things got real interesting in Act II.

Now, though, we’re in the third portion of the season and it couldn’t be more exciting. Indeed, we seem far away from those calls for sweeping change. Let’s look at five players who have wowed us and taken us to the edge of our seats in this third act.

Jalen Brunson

For the entire postseason so far, Brunson and the New York Knicks have been walking a razor’s edge. To the surprise of many, it took New York six games to send Detroit packing and none of those games were easy. But the Knicks keep finding ways to win. Just ask Boston, a team the Knicks were 0-4 against during the regular season. So far, in back-to-back games on the road, New York have come back from 20-point deficits to beat Boston by a total of four points. Now, the series is headed to the Big Apple. For the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year (and former second-round pick), who had 29 points in Game 1 and 17 points with seven assists in Game 2, a shocking sweep of the reigning champions is still on the cards.

Tyrese Haliburton

What you saw Tuesday night when the Indiana Pacers’ star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, got his own rebound off a free-throw miss and, with just a few seconds on the clock, hit a step-back three-pointer to win the game was not a mere basketball play. It was the end of a video game where one character reaches into the chest of another and rips their still-beating heart out. Indeed, the No 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, who had been led by a prolific Donovan Mitchell, lost at the buzzer in a game the entire world (besides Haliburton) thought they would win. Like Boston, Cleveland are now down an unthinkable 0-2 (and both teams are nursing significant injuries). For Haliburton, who was recently voted the most overrated player in the NBA, victory must taste sweet. (Even if his dad isn’t allowed to watch.)

Stephen Curry

What is it about big sporting events – we love seeing our aging stars have one more run. Like Jimmy Connors reaching the US Open semi-finals at 39 years old, the Golden State Warriors and their two veterans, Steph Curry and Draymond Green, are enjoying one more deep run. Or at least they’re trying to. The Warriors hung on and beat the up and coming Houston Rockets in the opening round. Next, they took the first game from the Minnesota Timberwolves. But it was costly. Curry went out of that game with a pulled hamstring. He’ll be out at least a week. Can new acquisition Jimmy Butler help his team hold on against Minnesota? Will we see Green throwing pocket passes to Curry again this year? Well, that leads us to our next player …

Aaron Gordon

How many incredible buzzer beaters is a team allowed to have in the playoffs? Last year, the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray hit two to beat the Lakers. This year, his teammate Aaron Gordon boasts two of his own. The first came on a tip-in dunk with .01 seconds left against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. The next came in Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a double-digit-point comeback. The No 1 seed Thunder are led by presumptive MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But it’s the Nuggets who have the best player in the world in Nikola Jokić. He proved that against the Thunder on Monday, leading his team expertly, and giving Gordon the opportunity for his second game-winner. OKC came back big in Game 2, though, officially making it a series.

Anthony Edwards

It’s all on a platter for Ant-Man. Already he and his Minnesota team have knocked off the Lakers and their stars, Dončić and LeBron James. That seemed almost impossible at the start of the playoffs – most analysts picked LA. But now Edwards could knock off Steph, Dray and the Dubs. All this after trouncing Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns in last year’s playoffs and winning an Olympic gold medal in the summer. Edwards is charming, talented and accomplished. If he were to lead his team to the Western Conference Finals (again) or beyond, he could become one of the biggest sports stars in America. But he laid an egg in Game 1 against Golden State, even getting called out by his coach. It was a rare dud. If he wants to sniff the rarest of rarefied air, he can’t post another.

Celtics need to channel Jaylen's mindset entering Game 3 in New York originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jaylen Brown often is the critical voice that holds his teammates accountable following difficult losses.

But late Wednesday night, on the heels of a second consecutive crushing defeat, the Boston Celtics star sensed a different message needed to be delivered.

“Not an ideal situation, being down 0-2. But what’s done is done,” Brown said after the Celtics’ Game 2 loss to the New York Knicks, in which they became the first team in NBA history to blow 20-point leads twice in the same postseason.

“You’ve got to make sure we’re ready to come out — make sure my guys are ready to come out for Game 3. I think we’re due for a lot of makes. I think we had a lot of great shots tonight that, once again, didn’t go in.”

This is the same Jaylen Brown who believed the Celtics “forced the issue” at times in Game 1, when they missed an NBA-record 45 3-pointers on 60 attempts. Boston similarly struggled from 3-point land in Game 2 (10 for 40) and now has missed 75 of its 100 deep shots through two games.

But Brown implored his team to stay the course.

“We’ve just got to relax, take a deep breath, come out and play Celtic basketball,” Brown said. “Just like we’re down 0-2, we can tie this thing back up.

“Just be poised, take a deep breath, and just go out there and do what we supposed to do,” he added. “But we’ve got to be better to close games, and we’ve got to learn and respond fast. So, that’s the key.

“Shift your mentality, shift your focus. What’s in the past is over with; let it sting a little bit and then do whatever it takes in Game 3.”

The Celtics were one of the NBA’s best late-game teams during the regular season with a league-best 24-11 record in “clutch” games (score within five points; final five minutes). That makes their collapses to the Knicks in Games 1 and 2 all the more stunning.

So, what makes Brown confident that the last two games were just an aberration and not a potential death knell for a team with championship repeat aspirations?

“Resiliency. Toughness. We’ve got a great group that stays together through it all,” Brown said. “These are the moments when we need to show our resiliency. We need to show our toughness, our mental toughness because we can get back in this thing — no question.

“Obviously, being down 0-2, it sucks, but we’ve got a great group, and if I could select any guys that could get it done, it’s the group we have in the locker room. We’ve just got to come out, be a little more poised, take a deep breath, convert our opportunities.

“We missed layups, easy baskets. In two games, we (were) up twenty points and somehow (didn’t) end up with wins. It’s inexcusable, but we’re going to learn from it. We’re going to respond.”

We’ll find out of the Celtics can channel Brown’s mindset on Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET, with NBC Sports Boston’s coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live.