Category: Basketball

The Knicks had other issues in their Game 2 loss to the Detroit Pistons, but they were outshot 34-19 on free throws. Tom Thibodeau made a point of the "huge discrepancy" between Jalen Brunson and Cade Cunningham after Monday's 100-94 defeat.

"He battled like crazy," Thibodeau said of Brunson, who scored a game-high 37 points on 12-of-27 shooting and a 9-for-11 clip at the charity stripe. "There was some physicality. I want to take a look. Obviously, huge discrepancy in free throws -- huge, huge. I've got to take a look at that, right? So I don't understand how, on one side, you talk about the direct line drives -- the guy's getting fouled and it's not being called, right?

"And look, I really don't give a crap how they call the game as long as it's consistent on both sides. So if Cunningham's driving and there's marginal contact and he's getting to the line, then Jalen deserves to be getting to the line. It's really that simple."

Cunningham led the Pistons with 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting and a 10-for-12 mark at the line.

"He was elite," said Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff. "You know what I mean? He is a superstar, and he played the game tonight as a superstar. He did what he needed to do to help his team win. He understood how aggressive he needed to be on the offensive end of the floor, so he was going to go out and be aggressive. He also understood how important finishing possessions was, and he had 11 defensive rebounds.

"That's knowing and understanding how to manipulate the game but how to make winning plays, whatever your team needs in the moment."

The Knicks turn the page to Game 3 in Detroit with a 1-1 series entering Thursday's 7 p.m. start.

"It's the playoffs," said Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting and did not attempt a free throw. "Can't be worried about free-throw disparity and all that stuff. We've got to go out there and play physical and not worry about that. If we let that creep into our minds, it becomes contagious."

The Knicks dropped Game 2 to the Detroit Pistons as Cade Cunningham took over in Monday's 100-94 final at MSG.

Takeaways

-Cunningham was arguably the best player on the floor. After OG Anunobydominated Cunningham in Game 1, Cunningham came out firing and willed the Pistons to a 1-1 series. He scored 20 of his team-high 33 points in the first half, aggressively getting high-percentage shots, as Detroit built a 55-49 advantage into the third quarter and ultimately did not relinquish the lead over the final 24 minutes. To have a chance at upsetting the Knicks in the first round's 6-3 matchup, the Pistons need Cunningham -- who added 12 rebounds across 41 minutes -- to rise up, and he did just that with his Game 2 breakout.

-Conversely, Anunoby is not going to win every battle as the war against Cunningham continues. As such, the Knicks need their stars to collectively answer Cunningham's surges. Among them, Karl-Anthony Towns must show more. The big man and co-star to captain Jalen Brunson -- who paced New York with a heroic game-high 37 points in 44 minutes -- totaled 10 points and sixrebounds across 33 minutes. Towns was a shell of himself when the Knicks had a chance to put the Pistons down.

-Tobias Harris, who was among Detroit's efforts in limiting Towns, is proving to be a legitimate threat to the Knicks. After a team-high 25 points in Game 1, he complemented Cunningham among the Pistons' leading Game 2 scorers with 15. Cunningham makes Detroit go, but Harris has given New York a real fit in the first two games.

-Elsewhere, off the bench, Dennis Schroder was the Pistons' riser to know, with 20 points in 29 minutes. After Cam Paynecatalyzed the Knicks in Game 1, fueling a fourth-quarter surge, he came back down to earth with his scoreless four minutes. In fact, New York's bench was scoreless outside of Miles McBride's eight points in 13 minutes. While Mikal Bridges mostly stepped his game up, scoring 19 points in 38 minutes, the reality is that the Knicks had nowhere near the amount of support to match the Pistons.

Who's the MVP?

Cunningham. Brunson was sensational, but the Pistons do not beat the Knicks in Game 2 without the 23-year-old phenom.

Highlights

KAT fakes out the defense for the bucket 🔥

(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/YiDhG6hneS

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 21, 2025

Josh Hart finds OG Anunoby under the basket 👓

(via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/NLME2mL8ks

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 21, 2025

MIKAL 😤😤

(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/vEauFcNxNq

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 21, 2025

Mikal with the slam! 💪

(via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/WkTIwdDQKG

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 22, 2025

Back-to-back triples from Brunson 🔥

(via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/bum2crIBMT

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 22, 2025

Defense to offense! 👏

(via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/xTJR8x5u9v

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) April 22, 2025

What's next

Game 3 of the first-round series takes place in Detroit on Thursday, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. The Pistons will also host Game 4 on Sunday (1 p.m.) before the series returns to New York for a to-be-determined start time next Tuesday.

‘Celtics City' beyond the episode: The rise and fall of the ‘Big Three' originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The 1990s were a nightmare for the Boston Celtics, but a new century brought new hope for the franchise.

Paul Pierce, Boston’s 10th overall draft pick in 1998, survived his stabbing and emerged as the team’s franchise cornerstone. The Kansas product led the C’s back into the playoffs alongside co-star Antoine Walker, but it still wasn’t enough to get over the hump.

After another downturn, Doc Rivers was hired as head coach while former Celtic Danny Ainge took over as general manager and quickly made his presence felt. He traded Walker in a controversial move in 2004, but “Trader Danny’s” most noteworthy deals came three years later.

More Celtics City ‘Beyond the Episode’

• Episode 1: “Founding Fathers”
• Episode 2: “No Final Victories”
• Episode 3: “All Swept Up”
• Episode 4: “Great Hope, Period”
• Episode 5: “F**k the Celtics”
• Episode 6: “Untenable Toll”
• Episode 7: “Not Again”

Before the 2007-08 season, Ainge acquired Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Ray Allen from the Seattle SuperSonics to form a “Big Three” with Pierce. The trio led the Celtics to a league-best 66-16 regular-season record, a 42-win improvement over the previous campaign. Boston eventually defeated its archrival, the Los Angeles Lakers, in the ’08 NBA Finals for its first title since 1986.

That would be the “Big Three’s” only championship. Allen left to join LeBron James and the rival Miami Heat in 2012, much to the chagrin of his ex-teammates, especially Garnett. He helped Miami to a title in 2013.

Allen’s departure and Garnett’s knee injury in 2009 put a damper on what could have been a dynastic run for the C’s. Still, the “Big Three” era will be remembered for making the franchise relevant again and for embracing the “Ubuntu” philosophy. “Ubuntu,” meaning “I am because we are,” became the team motto during the 2007-2008 season under Rivers.

“Doc was the perfect coach for that team, in my opinion,” longtime NBA reporter Jackie MacMullan said on NBC Sports Boston’s “Keys to the City” show recapping Episode 8, as seen in the video player above. “That’s mostly because KG bought in immediately. Doc talks in the documentary about having a meeting, and we’re gonna have to talk about what we have to do to make this work. And KG’s slapping the table, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes!’ You know, he’s being KG, and other two are looking at him like, ‘What a lunatic.’

“But he set the tone, and that tone was set from the moment he arrived in Boston until the day he left. He was the undisputed leader. As great as Paul Pierce was, and he deserved the MVP in the Finals and all of that, but KG was the heartbeat of that team, he was the conscience of that team, and he was the energy coursing through that team’s veins.”

Check out NBC Sports Boston’s exclusive footage and interviews from the “Big Three” Celtics era below:

Highlights from Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals as the Celtics blow out the Lakers at TD Garden to win their 17th NBA title.

In Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals, the Celtics mount a historic comeback, overcoming a 24-point lead in Los Angeles to take a 3-1 series lead. Boston would win their 17th NBA championship in Game 6.

Check out some of the best moments from when Paul Pierce joined Brian Scalabrine to break down the game that secured the Celtics’ championship win over the Lakers. Pierce talks about what it meant for him to finally win a title, how he helped the Celtics add P.J. Brown to the team, and what it was like to play that final game at the Garden.

In 2018, NBC Sports Boston produced “Anything is Possible,” celebrating the memorable 2008 championship run by the Celtics. This documentary builds up to the culmination of the Celtics winning their 17th NBA title, after a prolonged 20+ year drought that had tragedy, heartbreak, and turmoil.

The film looks at the years of planning and transactions by Danny Ainge to center the franchise around the new “Big 3”, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen.

From NBC Sports Boston’s 2018 documentary “Anything is Possible”, the story behind the signature phrase the 2008 Boston Celtics lived by on their way to winning the franchise’s 17th NBA title, “Ubuntu”. Also, the team talks about other motivational tools head coach Doc Rivers used before the season began to bring his team together.

Baron Davis slams Nuggets for stealing Warriors' ‘We Believe' mantra originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors’ famous “We Believe” slogan was stolen by the Denver Nuggets during the 2025 NBA playoffs, and former Golden State star Baron Davisisn’t happy about it.

“I mean, that’s just so original. So original and unoriginal,” Davis sarcastically said on Monday’s edition of the “Draymond Green Show” podcast. “Man, come on, Denver. Call me, I’ll give you a slogan. This ain’t going to work. Somebody should be fired. 

“This don’t work in Denver, you got to come up with something for Denver. You got to come up with something for Denver.”

The Nuggets rolled out a rally towel donning the motto for Game 1 of their 2025 Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers at their home Ball Arena.

We Believe towels on the seats for Game 1 of Nuggets Clippers pic.twitter.com/TB6JKuNLMh

— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) April 19, 2025

Davis and the 2006-07 “We Believe” Warriors made NBA history when they became the first No. 8 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed (Dallas Mavericks) in a first-round playoff series. And Davis and Green each agreed that just because the iconic Golden State team is decades old, it doesn’t give Denver an excuse to rip off the Warriors.

So, what exactly are the fourth-seeded Nuggets believing in their matchup with the fifth-seeded Clippers? The world may never know. After all, Dub Nation still uses the mantra.

“I say that too about the Warriors,” Davis told Green. “That’s like a Warriors mantra. We still believe. That’s what would replace the ‘We Believe.’”

Green agreed that “somebody should be fired.”

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Austin Reaves was tired Monday, the Lakers having just wrapped up a really hard practice.

In the first minutes of Game 1 Saturday evening, he was tired too.

As Reaves walked off the court for the first time, his chest heaved as he grabbed for air and he slumped to grab his shorts, telltale signs that he’d given a lot of effort in his first shift.

But giving effort and playing hard, at least internally in the Lakers’ dictionary, have two different definitions. And in what became a theme in the Lakers’ series-opening loss to the Timberwolves, the Lakers figured out ways to do the one and not enough of the other.

Read more:Hernández: After a Game 1 meltdown, the Lakers should still win their series but must adapt fast

It’s why it might sound simplistic when JJ Redick said the Lakers' biggest adjustments start with them “playing harder and being organized,” but one without the other won’t lead them to the kinds of results they need Tuesday.

Asked what it looks like when the Lakers are “playing hard,” Reaves said it’s about more than flying around the court with no greater purpose other than to sweat. It’s energy, sure, but it’s focused, intentional and tough.

“Just think it's the how connected we are when everybody's giving it everything they have on every possession. You're more locked into every detail on both ends of the floor. And that's what the playoffs is about, winning on small details. Unfortunately we didn't do it the first game.”

Asked about potential adjustments, Redick said he would share only one.

“Not giving away our adjustments — got to play harder,” Redick said.

The Lakers didn’t spend a lot of time wondering why in Game 1 of a playoff game, at home even, they didn’t play hard enough, but a look at their season shows some of the ways it could’ve been predicted.

When the team was faced with a long break while games were postponed because of the Los Angeles area wildfires, they managed just 102 points in a loss to the Spurs. After the seven-day All-Star break, the Lakers scored 97 points against Charlotte. And after he missed two weeks, LeBron James’ return to the Lakers was spoiled by a complete defensive no-show where the team allowed 146 points.

And an optimist would point out the Lakers won 12 of 14 after the loss to the Spurs and then won eight-straight after losing to the Hornets. And while James’ ramp-up after his injury return included a clunker in Orlando and a buzzer-beater in Chicago, the team quickly found its footing in good wins against Houston and in Memphis and Oklahoma City.

The other part of the equation, organization, means more than the Lakers’ point guard calling plays, Redick said.

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

“No, it’s just all of the normal stuff that we try to do and when we do it, we’re really good,” he said. “Being organized is screening. Being organized is getting to the proper spacing. Being organized is getting the corners filled after makes and misses. That’s being organized.”

In Game 1, the Lakers played a lot more like the team that lost to the Spurs, the Hornets and the Bulls than the one that performed its best in big games. And they looked that way because the Lakers didn’t “play hard” in the right ways. Because when they are, you can tell.

"We're communicating, giving second and third efforts. Teams getting one shot at the rim, you know, not two,” Dorian Finney-Smith said. “I wouldn't say we wasn't playing hard because our first shot defense was good, you know, we just wasn't getting those loose balls. They were first to the ball. And that don't mean it wasn't playing hard. It just means they was just a little bit more into it. And we got to do the same."

Read more:Plaschke: JJ Redick for Dan Hurley was the Lakers' trade of the year

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Mavs GM Nico Harrison says fans' love for Luka Doncic was deeper than he knew, but stands by trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison says he miscalculated the depth of love his club’s fans had for Luka Doncic before the trade that sent the young superstar to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.

Despite the persistent catcalls from fans for him to be fired in the 2 1/2 months since the deal, Harrison still believes it was the right move for building a championship contender in Dallas.

“I did know that Luka was important to the fan base,” Harrison said Monday during his season-ending news conference, six days after a session with a smaller group of reporters that the club called to try to move on from the exhaustively discussed Doncic trade. “I didn’t quite know it to what level.”

As he has said before, Harrison expected plenty of blowback from the trade, but thought it would have eased sooner if Davis had been able play with Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington and Dereck Lively II for most of the rest of the season.

Instead, those five haven’t played together yet, and the star combo of Davis and Irving shared less than three quarters together before Davis injured a groin in his Dallas debut. Irving tore the ACL in his left knee while Davis was out.

“We feel that’s a championship-caliber team and we would have been winning at a high level and that would have quieted some of the outrage,” Harrison said as part of the same answer about the fans’ love for Doncic. “And so unfortunately we weren’t able to do that, so it just continued to go on and on.”

The Mavericks almost didn’t have enough players to meet the NBA’s minimum requirement for several games while Davis was sidelined. Once he returned, the Mavs steadied themselves and qualified for the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament at No. 10.

Dallas won at Sacramento for a shot at the eighth seed in the playoffs before losing at Memphis.

Harrison said he believed the Mavs would get a good player in the first round of the draft, where they are currently slated to pick 11th. He also didn’t rule out changes in free agency.

But when asked what Dallas needed to become a contender again, Harrison said, “Really, we just need to get healthy. I think the team we’re bringing back is a championship-caliber. We fully expect to have Kyrie back with us next year when he gets healed from his injury. And we believe we’ll be competing for a championship.”

After Harrison said repeatedly last week that “defense wins championships” while defending the trade, Doncic was asked by ESPN his reaction to the session, saying it was “sad” what Harrison was saying and he wanted to move on.

Harrison, who said last week he still hasn’t spoken to the five-time All-NBA player who led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season, was asked about that exchange and said, “I feel the same way he does. I’ve actually never spoken ill of Luka, and I’m just ready to move on with this team that we have.”

Mavs GM Nico Harrison says fans' love for Luka Doncic was deeper than he knew, but stands by trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison says he miscalculated the depth of love his club’s fans had for Luka Doncic before the trade that sent the young superstar to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.

Despite the persistent catcalls from fans for him to be fired in the 2 1/2 months since the deal, Harrison still believes it was the right move for building a championship contender in Dallas.

“I did know that Luka was important to the fan base,” Harrison said Monday during his season-ending news conference, six days after a session with a smaller group of reporters that the club called to try to move on from the exhaustively discussed Doncic trade. “I didn’t quite know it to what level.”

As he has said before, Harrison expected plenty of blowback from the trade, but thought it would have eased sooner if Davis had been able play with Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington and Dereck Lively II for most of the rest of the season.

Instead, those five haven’t played together yet, and the star combo of Davis and Irving shared less than three quarters together before Davis injured a groin in his Dallas debut. Irving tore the ACL in his left knee while Davis was out.

“We feel that’s a championship-caliber team and we would have been winning at a high level and that would have quieted some of the outrage,” Harrison said as part of the same answer about the fans’ love for Doncic. “And so unfortunately we weren’t able to do that, so it just continued to go on and on.”

The Mavericks almost didn’t have enough players to meet the NBA’s minimum requirement for several games while Davis was sidelined. Once he returned, the Mavs steadied themselves and qualified for the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament at No. 10.

Dallas won at Sacramento for a shot at the eighth seed in the playoffs before losing at Memphis.

Harrison said he believed the Mavs would get a good player in the first round of the draft, where they are currently slated to pick 11th. He also didn’t rule out changes in free agency.

But when asked what Dallas needed to become a contender again, Harrison said, “Really, we just need to get healthy. I think the team we’re bringing back is a championship-caliber. We fully expect to have Kyrie back with us next year when he gets healed from his injury. And we believe we’ll be competing for a championship.”

After Harrison said repeatedly last week that “defense wins championships” while defending the trade, Doncic was asked by ESPN his reaction to the session, saying it was “sad” what Harrison was saying and he wanted to move on.

Harrison, who said last week he still hasn’t spoken to the five-time All-NBA player who led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season, was asked about that exchange and said, “I feel the same way he does. I’ve actually never spoken ill of Luka, and I’m just ready to move on with this team that we have.”