Category: Basketball

Wild Steph Curry 3-pointers in Game 1 show why he's the GOAT, per Draymond Green originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry still is the greatest show the NBA has, and it’s not even close.

The Warriors superstar made numerous wild 3-pointers in the a thrilling 95-85 Game 1 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday at Toyota Center, helping Golden State pull off the upset over the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed.

After the win, Warriors forward Draymond Green spoke to Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike about Curry’s incredible shooting display.

“It’s crazy,” Green told Fitzgerald and Azubuike. “That deep one from the Toyota Center [logo] and the one out of bounds over here, absolutely insane. But that’s why he’s the GOAT.”

Curry got going early in the game by driving to the rim, but as the court opened up for him, he began to bury 3-pointers, starting with two late in the second quarter to extend the Warriors’ lead.

But the real show happened in the second half, when Curry went thermonuclear, hitting one of the more improbable 3-pointers.

Curry’s final 3-pointer of the night came on an inbounds play as the Warriors were trying to hold off a late push by the Rockets.

Curry finished with 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field and 5 of 9 from 3-point range.

Few players in sports can do what Curry does, and no one knows that better than Green, who has been by the two-time NBA MVP’s side for 13 years.

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What we learned as Steph, Warriors grab gritty Game 1 win over Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

HOUSTON – Steph Curry and the Warriors returned to the NBA playoffs and renewed their heated rivalry with the Houston Rockets on Easter Sunday, fending off a back-and-forth battle at Toyota Center for a 95-85 Game 1 win to open their first-round series. 

Curry fought off the Rockets’ physicality for 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting and made five 3-pointers. Jimmy Butler continued to be Batman’s Robin, adding 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, plus seven rebounds and six assists. His emphatic, roaring dunk as he hung on the rim put a loud exclamation on the Warriors’ win

Jimmy SLAMS the door 💥 pic.twitter.com/9uIIKkbxfH

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 21, 2025

The Warriors led by as many as 23 points, but then went ice-cold and didn’t make a shot in the final four minutes of the third quarter. Experience against youth. Size against speed and the greatest shooter ever. As the first installment showed, this will be a taxing showdown each game.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ Game 1 win.

Steph’s Response

Before he even suited up for a playoff game, Warriors rookie center Quinten Post made a guarantee that the Rockets wouldn’t hold Curry to three points again like they did two weeks ago. Curry missed his first three shots – all 3-point attempts – but then sliced through the Rockets’ defense to finish at the rim, connecting on his next three shots to score six points in the first quarter. 

Curry sat for the first six minutes of the second quarter and cooked the Rockets’ defense once he returned. Over the final six minutes going into halftime, Curry scored 10 points and hit two threes. After scoring three points on 1-of-10 shooting two weeks ago, he was up to 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting through the first half. 

Whenever he didn’t have the ball in his hands, Curry was running through a brick wall of Rockets defenders who were holding onto him all around the court. During the Warriors’ second timeout, Curry chatted with two referees but that didn’t stop Houston’s strategy. Nor did it stop Curry from putting on a show. 

The Rockets are all over Steph so far 🤨 pic.twitter.com/Gw1sfDqgQr

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 21, 2025

He shook his defenders on and off the ball, and found ways to make the impossible become possible without any surprise. After missing his first three shots, Curry made 12 of his final 16 the rest of the game.

Secondary Scorers

The Warriors needed 75 combined points from Curry and Butler to beat the Memphis Grizzlies in their NBA play-in tournament game to advance to the playoffs. They’re two of the game’s greatest postseason performers, and the Warriors know they can jump on their backs to get wins. But they’re going to need help. 

In the second quarter, players around the two stars rose to the challenge. Curry and Butler scored 12 of the Warriors’ 18 points in the first quarter. The Warriors then went on an 18-5 run through the first six minutes of the second quarter with Curry on the bench to take a 10-point lead, 36-26, before he checked back into the game. 

Golden State in the second quarter got five points from Gui Santos, three from Brandin Podziemski, two from Draymond Green and two from Buddy Hield to hold a 13-point halftime lead. But as the game went on and the Warriors’ lead dwindled down, the impact of those players shrank. 

However, Moses Moody scored five of his seven points in the fourth quarter and Podziemski was a game-high plus-17 with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Their contributions will be critical each game. 

Possession Battle 

Coach Steve Kerr in his pregame press conference said the outcome of the Warriors’ first-round series depends on the possession battle. The Rockets were going to use their size advantage however they could, and the Warriors knew it. Not only did they use their two-big lineup of Alperen Şengün and Steven Adams, but the 6-foot-10 Jabari Smith Jr. also joined them on the court. 

The difference in height was a hard hill to climb for the Warriors, as it will be the rest of the series. Houston owned the glass over Golden State, outrebounding the Warriors 52-36. That was especially true on offense, where the Rockets grabbed 22 rebounds and the Warriors only came down with six.

Steven Adams’ five offensive rebounds were one shy of the Warriors’ team total. The Rockets took 11 more shots than the Warriors and scored 12 more second-chance points. But Golden State’s defense swiped 14 steals, five more than Houston, and had three fewer turnovers. 

In the end, the Warriors draining six more threes made a major difference. Each possession was found gold, one way or the other.

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Celtics' supporting cast exposes Magic's fatal flaw in Game 1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

BOSTON — The Celtics’ stars weren’t at their best in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic. It didn’t matter.

Boston cruised to a 103-86 victory with a huge boost from its supporting cast. With Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combining for 32 points (14-36 FG), the reigning NBA champions were led by Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Payton Pritchard.

White erupted for a team-high 30 points on 7-of-12 shooting from 3-point range. Holiday was rock-solid on both ends of the court with nine points (3-4 3-PT), five assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Pritchard, an NBA Sixth Man of the Year finalist, tallied a playoff career-high 19 points (4-6 3-PT) off the bench.

The trio combined to shoot 14-for-22 from beyond the arc. The rest of the team was 2-for-15.

The Magic had all the momentum at the half after turning a 12-point deficit into a one-point lead. Their surge was short-lived as the C’s responded with a 15-4 run to start the third quarter.

Holiday’s 3-pointer to put Boston up 10 with 7:30 left in the frame was the turning point. The typically mild-mannered veteran guard’s rare display of emotion fired up his teammates, and the C’s didn’t trail the rest of the way.

“Yeah, I mean, he’s an innate competitor and sometimes he takes a backseat because of the type of guys that we have,” Mazzulla said of Holiday.

“I thought he put the team on his back from that passion and emotion standpoint, and that’s why Jrue Holiday is Jrue Holiday. We’re lucky to have him. We’re gonna need that every single night. But, you know, we do feed off of his physicality and his presence.”

White’s postgame praise of Holiday backed up Mazzulla’s statement.

“It was fun to see,” White said of Holiday’s emotion. “He was just kind of that emotional leader we had there, and it was big-time, especially at that moment. I mean, whether he’s yelling or not yelling, we know what to expect from Jrue. He’s always just that constant for us that’s gonna just kind of do all the little things, make every little play that we need him to do, and like I said, it’s it’s great to have him.”

While Holiday lifted his team emotionally, White carried them offensively. His 30 points marked the third-highest total in his playoff career.

Pritchard raved about “The Stock Exchange” after the win.

“Jrue set the tone to start the second half,” Pritchard told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin. “His ball pressure, hit two 3s, the transition, his energy. He just makes winning plays.

“And then obviously, D-White had a tremendous game today, carried us, got us to a W.”

The C’s backcourt showed why the No. 7 seed Magic, despite having one of the league’s best defenses, entered the series as such heavy underdogs. If Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have an off night, Orlando’s role players aren’t capable of keeping pace with Boston’s balanced offensive attack. Pritchard outscored the Magic bench on his own, 19-17.

Banchero and Wagner combined for 59 of the Magic’s 86 points in their Game 1 defeat. None of their teammates scored more than seven.

The Magic shot a solid 10-of-27 from 3-point range, but that success is unlikely to last. They finished the regular season with the league’s worst 3-point percentage (31.8). It will be near impossible to defeat the C’s in a seven-game series with such a glaring lack of depth and 3-point shooting.

The Celtics will look to take a 2-0 series lead when they host the Orlando Magic for Game 2 on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.

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

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.

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

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.

Latest on Tatum's wrist injury after scary fall in Game 1 vs. Magic originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics’ double-digit win over the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the teams’ first-round NBA playoff series included a hold-your-breath moment for fans at TD Garden.

With the Celtics leading by 16 points early in the fourth quarter, Jayson Tatum drove to the basket and was fouled hard by Orlando’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Tatum landed awkwardly on his right wrist and remained on the floor in obvious discomfort.

Tatum got up under his own power and stayed in the game, and while he missed both free throws after Caldwell-Pope was assessed a technical foul, he hit a 3-pointer about two minutes later in the contest.

Tatum appeared to grab his right wrist on several occasions down the stretch before exiting Boston’s 103-86 win with 17 points on 8 for 22 shooting (1 for 8 from 3-point range) with 14 rebounds, four assists and a steal.

The Celtics star confirmed he received an X-ray on his right wrist after the game but said it came back “clean,” adding, “I’m good.”

“It’s all right. Just fell on it, landed on it,” Tatum said when asked about the injury. “… It was throbbing for a second, (then) kind of went away.”

Head coach Joe Mazzulla also downplayed Tatum’s injury after the game, responding, “He’s good,” when asked about the All-Star’s status. And considering Tatum stayed in the game, it doesn’t appear the ailment is too serious.

Still, Tatum’s injury is absolutely worth monitoring going forward, especially since it’s on his shooting hand and could impact his shot in the postseason. (Tatum has dealt with injuries to his left wrist in the past, electing not to undergo surgery during the 2023 offseason.)

Tatum will have two full days to get treatment on the wrist before Game 2 on Wednesday night at TD Garden. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.

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

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)

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

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)

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)