But on Monday night, Butler declared that his joy is back.
After helping the Warriors win a thrilling Game 4 over the Houston Rockets, Butler spoke to TNT’s Allie LaForce about his monster performance.
“It means the world,” Butler said after Golden State’s 109-106 win. “I’ll die for these guys. For real. It’s so fun. I got my joy back, as some would say. But more than anything, it’s always good to win.”
Butler missed most of Game 2 and all of Game 3 due to a left pelvic contusion, but he returned with a vengeance Monday night, scoring 27 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 12 of 12 from the free throw line in 40 minutes.
“Somebody said something to me,” Butler told LaForce. “That’s all it takes, somebody to say something to me gets me going every single time.”
The Warriors needed Butler’s gutsy effort in Game 4, and they’ll need more of the same when they try to close out the Rockets on Wednesday night in Houston.
The Mets (20-9) poured it on against the Washington Nationals in a 19-5 rout on Monday to secure a split of the four-game series.
Here are the takeaways...
-What started out as a bit of a snoozer offensively turned into a total laugher as New York put up 19 runs on 21 hits, scoring 17 runs in the last five innings and putting a hurt on Washington's bullpen that entered the game dead last in most pitching categories.
-Brandon Nimmo had the best day at the plate of his career to break out of a month-long slump with two home runs, a double and nine RBI, finishing 4-for-6.
His first home run came in the sixth inning after reliever Colin Poche entered the game for Trevor Williams, the former Met who pitched well against his old team. With two on and one out, Nimmo sent a 2-0 four-seamer by the lefty 410 feet to center field for a three-run homer to put New York up 6-0.
The second of Nimmo's two blasts came just an inning later. Now facing Cole Henry with the bases loaded and one out, Nimmo wasted no time and pounced on the first pitch, which he gave a ride to right center field for a grand slam. The outfielder had a chance for a second grand slam in the eighth inning but settled for a two-run double to tie the franchise record with nine RBI in one game.
Nimmo's historic day raised his batting average to .218 and his OPS to .679. He's now tied with Pete Alonso for most home runs on the team with six and catapulted to second on the team in RBI with 21.
-New York's offense didn't stop there, though, as Jeff McNeil also had a big day at the plate. He finished 2-for-5 with a home run, a triple and three RBI. The home run, McNeil's first of the season, came in the fifth inning and gave the Mets a 3-0 lead.
-Taking advantage of the Nationals sending out position player Amed Rosario to pitch the ninth inning, Mark Vientos hit his third home run of the season, a three-run shot, and went 2-for-4 with two walks, three RBI and four runs scored. The third baseman had a great series in our nation's capital, going 7-for-16 over the four games to raise his average to .219.
-Other notable offensive performances on the day were Alonso (2-for-5, a walk, three runs scored, RBI), Jesse Winker (2-for-4, four runs scored, two walks, RBI), Luisangel Acuña (3-for-6, RBI), Francisco Alvarez (2-for-5, walk, RBI) and Juan Soto (2-for-4) before getting subbed off in the seventh inning and New York up big.
In fact, every player who got in the game had at least one hit except leadoff man Francisco Lindor who finished 0-for-3 but was hit twice.
-The Mets went 10-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
-Griffin Canning, an afterthought after the offensive onslaught that ensued after he left, pitched five scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.61.
-Jose Ureña made his Mets and season debut to get the final nine outs, but it was a struggle for the right-hander who allowed five runs (all in the eighth) on seven hits, including two home runs, and a walk. He struck out three and earned a save in name only.
-New York became the first team in MLB to reach 20 wins on the season.
Game MVP: Brandon Nimmo
Nimmo matched his jersey number with nine RBI on the day, tying Carlos Delgado for the most RBI in a single game in Mets history.
The Mets return to Citi Field to begin a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks starting on Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. on SNY.
Two southpaws face off as David Peterson (1-1, 3.29 ERA) goes up against Eduardo Rodriguez (1-2, 4.40 ERA).
With a series lead on the line, Warriors second-year guard Brandin Podziemski leaned into the challenge, igniting Golden State’s thrilling 109-106 Game 4 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night at Chase Center.
The 22-year-old registered a crucial 26 points that came on 9-of-18 shooting from the field, including 6 of 11 from beyond the arc, delivering one of his best performances to give the Warriors a 3-1 series lead over a feisty Rockets team.
But it wasn’t a coincidence; he knew he was ready for the big stage all along.
“I think it’s the work, and I know I’m built for this,” Podziemski told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike on “Warriors Postgame Live.”
“Good players in this league, they want the moment, and they don’t back away from it.”
In addition to his offensive finesse, Podziemski added five rebounds, five assists and two steals, while delivering crucial buckets in contentious moments.
Although not perfect, Podziemski lived up to the moment.
“The two threes I missed at the end, I’m going to take those every time,” Podziemski added. “I’m built for this moment.
“I know what I put into this when nobody is watching. That’s how you build confidence. You got a lot of reps to prove it. And so, just by that, why doubt yourself?”
On Monday night, Podziemski made it evident that as long as he doesn’t doubt his abilities, the Warriors’ postseason will continue marching forward.
As of 3:30 pm PT, the Vancouver Canucks have yet to extend Head Coach Rick Tocchet, nor has Tocchet’s camp provided any information on him signing with another team. While the two sides are still locked in a stalemate, this morning, reports have broken on why the Canucks and Tocchet have yet to work things out.
“I think we’re gonna know soon,” Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman said on Donnie & Dhali of whether Tocchet will stay with the Canucks or not. Previously, Friedman reported that a conclusion would be imminent following the end of the regular season. “I don’t know if it’s going to be today, but I had some people say to me this morning, ‘who knows?’”
Friedman also clarified that many hope the decision is made sometime this week. From what Vancouver has said in the past regarding Tocchet’s potential return, it seems as though they are still working hard at keeping him. Friedman noted that, “As of Friday, nobody had been given permission to talk to Tocchet.” Adding on that, today, TSN’s Farhan Lalji reported that other NHL teams have not reached out to Tocchet yet.
“I think in Vancouver, part of it is contract, a practice facility, Quinn Hughes’ future, and team direction,” Friedman specified.
If Tocchet were to depart from the Canucks, this would make them the fifth NHL team to have a vacancy at the position of Head Coach since the start of this off-season. Other teams that have recently parted ways with Coaches are the Anaheim Ducks (Greg Cronin), New York Rangers (Peter Laviolette), and Seattle Kraken (Dan Bylsma). Most notably, the Pittsburgh Penguins noted that they are parting ways with longtime Head Coach Mike Sullivan earlier today. Sullivan spent nearly a decade with the Penguins, coaching the team to two back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.
It’s no secret that Canucks management is fond of bringing familiar players and staff back into their fold. Jim Rutherford, spent around seven years as the Penguins’ General Manager and has brought those he knows to Vancouver throughout his past three and a half years as President of Hockey Operations. Because of this, speculation has risen that Sullivan could end up with the Canucks. However, rumours have also circulated that Sullivan will stay on the east coast and find a new home with the Rangers or Boston Bruins instead. Previously, Tocchet had also been rumoured to be in the running for a job with New York. This has since cooled, as Friedman believes Tocchet’s two options boil down to Vancouver or the Philadelphia Flyers.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.
SAN FRANCISCO – The bad blood between the Warriors and Houston Rockets boiled over into dangerous territory Monday night at Chase Center in Game 4 of their first-round NBA playoff series.
With so much on the line, the Warriors were the last man standing on the battlefield, beating the Rockets 109-106 to take a commanding three-games-to-one series lead.
All eyes were on Jimmy Butler in his return from missing Game 3, and most of Game 2, because of a left pelvic contusion. Butler limped to the free-throw line with 58 seconds left and the score tied 104-104 after being fouled on a 3-point attempt. The longtime playoff star made all three free throws. His two free throws in the final four seconds were the final points of the night, putting an exclamation point on his heroic effort of 27 points and six rebounds in 40 minutes.
Butler was a perfect 12 of 12 on free throws, finding the extra gear Golden State needed in the second half.
Steve Kerr also changed his starting lineup, bringing Buddy Hield in and keeping Moses Moody on the bench. The decision went about as perfectly as Kerr could have hoped for. Hield brought defensive intensity early, and later hit some big shots, scoring 15 points as a game-high plus-17 in 30 minutes.
The starting five played 14 and a half minutes together and outscored the Rockets 41-20 together.
On a night where Steph Curry was held to 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 2 of 8 on threes, Brandin Podziemski had a game to remember as his backcourt mate. Podziemski scored 26 points and made six threes. He also had five rebounds, five assists and two steals, but his ability to be a big-time scorer shone brightest in the most important game of his young career.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ Game 4 win.
Robin’s Return
The pain Butler played through is sure to be downplayed by the man himself. He isn’t one to make excuses or show a sign of weakness. He also clearly wasn’t at full strength like the player who put up 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals over 42 minutes in the Warriors’ Game 1 win.
Butler scored four points on two shot attempts in the first quarter, and then was held scoreless as a minus-11 in the second, bringing him to just four points, two rebounds and two assists on three shot attempts in the first half. In the third quarter, though, the beast inside Butler was awakened.
His short halftime rest had Butler looking more active in the third quarter, and it showed in his stats. Butler in the third quarter drew three fouls and scored nine points, going 5 of 5 at the free-throw line. That’s the Butler the Warriors badly needed.
Butler bodied the Rockets down the stretch and turned a paltry first-half stat line into pure production, scoring 23 of his 27 points in the second half. Take a bow, Playoff Jimmy.
All The Antics
Basketball was replaced by a dumbed-down backyard brawl in the second quarter, bringing the pace of the game to a snail’s crawl. There were numerous scuffles and multiple reviews by the referees that mostly made the home crowd furious. It was ugly in so many ways.
Between two different incidents, Draymond Green was called for a technical foul and a Flagrant 1. Curry was called for a technical for taunting Dillon Brooks, who also was given a tech in the same sequence. Tari Eason also was assessed a technical foul during a skirmish on the floor with Green. This kind of game was incredibly predictable given how the series has played out so far.
The antics also played in the Rockets’ favor, at least for the second quarter.
They were able to completely muck the game up and get the Warriors out of their rhythm. After only one turnover in the first quarter, the Warriors didn’t take care of the ball in the second quarter and paid for it. They tallied eight turnovers for the period, which led to 16 Rockets points – more than half of their 31 second-quarter points.
Warriors’ Loud Response
They could have played into the Rockets’ game to begin the second half, but instead, the Warriors came out of halftime laser-focused as a completely different team. The Warriors, through the first three and a half minutes, went on a 13-0 run, finally driving into the lane and breaking down the Rockets’ defense. Their run was pushed to 18-1, making it seem like the Warriors could bury the Rockets for good.
Not so fast. The Rockets then had their own response shortly after, going on a 7-0 run to cut the Warriors’ lead to three points halfway through the third quarter. The final six minutes of the third quarter were a back-and-forth battle with the Warriors holding an 82-80 lead going into the fourth quarter after outscoring the Rockets 32-23.
The Warriors also had to fend off the Rockets for the final eight minutes of the third quarter without Green after being whistled for his fifth foul. He didn’t return until there were just under eight minutes remaining in the game and the Warriors trailed 92-90. Sengun in that span scored 16 points.
Green kept himself in the game and contested Sengun’s game-winning attempt over him with six seconds left. A handful of Warriors played like champions down the stretch, including the one who nearly played himself out of the game.
The Pittsburgh Penguins parted ways with longtime coach Mike Sullivan Monday morning in a move many observers have predicted was coming for quite some time. With the Penguins missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the past three seasons, the writing was on the wall for Sullivan, who now is on the free agent market.
However, Sullivan won't be out of work for very long. As a two-time Cup-winning coach, Sullivan has the pedigree every team is looking for. And wouldn't it be great for Buffalo Sabres fans if the Sabres blew their competition out of the water by hiring Sullivan as a replacement for current coach Linday Ruff?
It might take a serious overpayment for Sullivan to join the Sabres, but there's no salary cap on NHL coaches, and if Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams gave Sullivan some input on roster moves, that might be enough to make the Sabres the preferred destination for Sullivan.
At one point, Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula looked fondly on former Penguins management members, hiring former Pens GM Craig Patrick as a special advisor and Jason Botterill as GM. So making a splash by hiring Sullivan shouldn't be completely out of the realm of possibilty for the Pegulas now.
There will be many competitors aiming to sign Sullivan as quickly as possible. The Boston Bruins, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers all need a new bench boss, and that makes it all the more intriguing for the Sabres to outbid them for Sullivan's services. The Bruins, Flyers and Rangers are teams Buffalo will be battling for a playoff berth next season, and spending extra money to acquire Sullivan would be a huge coup for the Sabres.
That said, Buffalo will have to move fast to land Sullivan. In our estimation, Sullivan will be off the market in a matter of weeks, if not days. And if that means the Sabres have to bid farewell to Ruff, so be it. The St. Louis Blues wasted no time in firing coach Drew Bannister in November when Jim Montgomery came available, and that's the type of aggressive move a team needs to make when a quality coach hits the open market.
Nobody will expect the Sabres to win the battle for Sullivan, and that's exactly why Buffalo ownership needs to do it. If it's true that fortune favors the bold, the Sabres need to heed that truth and bring in a proven champion to effect a major culture change on and off the ice. That's exactly what Sullivan has the skills to do.
Sullivan is a winner, and no team needs more winners than the Sabres right now. A motivated owner would and should spare nothing to add a difference-maker behind the bench, and Sabres fans would be rightfully-delighted if Buffalo did outbid the rest of the field and came away with Sullivan on board.
If the Sabres want to be considered as a destination for players, they need to show it's a destination for management members, and that process can start by hiring Sullivan. It won't be easy, but moves of consequence rarely are. And that's why Buffalo should shock the league and make Sullivan a key component for many years to come.
So, when will the Cavs and Thunder continue their chases for the Larry O’Brien Trophy? And who could their next playoff opponents be? Here’s what we know about the conference semifinals:
When does Round 2 of the NBA playoffs start?
The second round is scheduled to get underway from Monday, May 5, to Tuesday, May 6, according to the NBA. But those start dates could be moved up to Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4, depending on when first-round series conclude.
Do the NBA playoffs reseed teams?
The NBA playoffs follow a bracket format and do not reseed teams after the first round. That means the Cavs and Thunder will meet the winner of the 4-5 matchup in their respective conferences, regardless of other first-round results.
What are the Round 2 matchups in the NBA playoffs?
Here’s a look at the conference semifinal matchup possibilities:
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Cavaliers vs. winner of No. 4 Indiana Pacers-No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks
Winner of No. 3 New York Knicks-No.6 Detroit Pistons vs. winner of No. 2 Boston Celtics-No. 7 Orlando Magic
Western Conference
No. 1 Thunder vs. winner of No. 4 Denver Nuggets-No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers
Winner of No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers-No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. winner of No. 2 Houston Rockets-No. 7 Golden State Warriors
What’s NBA playoff schedule for Round 2?
The NBA hasn’t released any series schedule details for Round 2. This section will be updated as more information is announced.
The Boston Celtics came crashing back down to earth not long after their 2008 NBA championship.
Although they returned to the NBA Finals in 2010, then-president of basketball operations pivoted to a new era following his team’s series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Before the 2013-14 season, he traded aging franchise cornerstones Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for a package including three first-round draft picks. Two of those picks turned into Jaylen Brown (2016) and Jayson Tatum (2017).
Brad Stevens was the Celtics’ head coach at the time, but after continuously failing to get Boston past the Eastern Conference Finals, he replaced Ainge as president of basketball operations in 2021. Stevens has shined in the role, making several shrewd moves as de facto general manager including a brilliant trade with the San Antonio Spurs for Derrick White at the 2022 deadline and deals for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday ahead of the 2023-24 season. He also made the decision to have Joe Mazzulla replace Ime Udoka as head coach.
The rest is history. White, Porzingis, and Holiday instantly jelled with Tatum and Brown to form a juggernaut in the East. Mazzulla proved to be the perfect leader for the group, and it culminated in the Celtics raising Banner 18 into the TD Garden rafters.
The road to Banner 18 is the subject of the “Celtics City” series finale, titled We’re the Celtics. Max’s nine-episode docuseries starts with the dynastic 1950s and 60s C’s and ends with the potential for a new dynasty in Boston.
Longtime NBA reporter Jackie MacMullan and NBC Sports Boston’s Michael Holley offered their thoughts on the series finale during “Keys to the City,” as seen in the video player above.
“I think Jaylen Brown was so articulate about not only the Celtics as a whole and the franchise as a whole and what it means, and the weight of carrying that expectation, which is a great thing and an onerous thing,” MacMullan said. “But just to list to his personal and professional growth, I thought he came to symbolize why the team did so well last year, the idea of everybody giving up for one another.”
While much of the episode focuses on the Jays, MacMullan identified Stevens as the mastermind behind the 2024 NBA champs.
“He’s just behind the scenes doing all the little things that made this work,” MacMullan said of Stevens. “The things he did for player empowerment within the organization, state of the art facilities, accomodations for families, all the little things that he thought would turn into big things, and created an environment that would be a winning environment.
“Showing Joe Mazzulla unwavering support when a lot of people were like, ‘This guy’s in over his head. Why did you pick this guy?’ He’s hit all the right notes.”
Check out NBC Sports Boston’s exclusive footage and interviews from the road to Banner 18 below:
A complete look back at the highlights of the Celtics’ 2024 playoff run to win their 18th NBA title.
A look at the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and how they came together to win Banner 18. A video essay by Michael Holley.
After endless trade rumors surrounding the third pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Celtics held the pick and drafted Cal wing Jaylen Brown. Watch NBC Sports Boston’s coverage from that night with Kyle Draper, Brian Scalabrine, A. Sherrod Blakely, Mike Gorman, and Tom Heinsohn as they discuss the pick.
At the event at TD Garden, Wyc Grousbeck announced the pick and many fans famously booed. Brown, of course, has gone on to more than justify the selection for Boston, signing one of the richest contracts in NBA history and winning Conference Finals and NBA Finals MVP in 2024.
The Buffalo Sabres deal at the trade deadline that sent former first-rounder Dylan Cozens to Ottawa for Josh Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker cannot be truly evaluated at this point. Norris played three games for the Sabres before being shut down with an oblique injury, and Bernard-Docker exceeded expectations playing on the right side with Owen Power for his short tenure, while Cozens has struggled in his four playoff games against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 24-year-old had an assist in the Senators' Game 1 loss on Easter Sunday and was victimized by Max Domi on his overtime winner in Game 2, but in two home games at Canadian Tire Centre, he went pointless. The verdict on this deal will be in the coming years, as Ottawa hopes that Cozens regains the scoring touch he possessed in 2023, when he scored a career-high 31 goals, while Buffalo is hoping that Norris can manage to stay healthy and center one of their top two lines.
Over the weekend, former Sabres captain Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights regained home-ice advantage with a 4-3 overtime victory in Minnesota, while Sam Reinhart and the Florida Panthers lost Game 3 to Tampa Bay 5-1 at home, but still hold a 2-1 lead in the series with the Lightning.
Here is how some former Sabres did in the playoffs on Sunday:
William Carrier (CAR) -1, 12:33 TOI, 1 Hit, 1 SOG
Eric Robinson (CAR) 14:00 TOI, 6 Hits, 4 SOG
Taylor Hall (CAR) 13:18 TOI, 2 Hits, 1 SOG
Jeff Skinner (EDM) Did Not Play
Evander Kane (EDM) -2, 23:23 TOI, 4 Hits, 4 SOG
Joel Armia (MTL) 14:57 TOI, 3 Hits, 1 SOG
Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo
Pivotal because the winner in a series that’s tied at 2-2 will be one win away from advancing in the Western Conference playoffs.
Pivotal because the loser will be one loss away from their season being over.
Pivotal because the team that wins Game 5 and subsequently takes a 3-2 lead in the series has gone on to win the series 81.3% of the time, according to the NBA.
So for the Clippers, this fifth game is about tilting the odds back in their favor and the only way to do that is to win Game 5 in Denver on Tuesday night.
“That means it’s an important game,” Clippers center Ivica Zubac said after practice Monday. “Every one of them is important. But in a mini-series, a best-of-three, you for sure want to get the next one. So, you want to get a Game 5 for sure. It’s a very important game. But I’ve been in a series where we were 2-2, we lost Game 5 and we still came back and won in seven. So, just got to win two.”
Zubac was talking about when the Clippers lost the first two games to the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs in 2021, won the next two to tie the series, lost Game 5, but won the next two games to win the series 4-3. That Clippers group just happened to advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history.
As for the current Clippers team, Zubac said: “There’s been a sense of urgency. Nothing changed for us. Best-of-seven. Best-of-five. Best-of-three. Whatever. We got to win four games.”
The Clippers have won in Denver during this series, taking Game 2 and stealing the home-court advantage away from the Nuggets — only to give it back in a dramatic Game 4 loss.
Three of the four games have been decided by three points or less, so one would think the Game 5 will be even more intense than the others.
“You would think so, but I haven’t really looked at it and said Game 5 is something different,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after practice Monday. “But all these games are the same. Like, you got to be ready to compete from the start. You got to have an attack mentality on both sides of the basketball and you just got to go from there.”
This game will also call for the Clippers to find a way to slow down Denver’s otherworldly center Nikoka Jokic, who after averaging a triple-double during the regular season (29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists) is averaging 28.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 10.8 assists in this series.
Zubac will be assigned to Jokic, like he has all season and in the playoffs. But the Clippers will send plenty of bodies Jokic’s way.
Zubac said the only way to not get discouraged is to “not get bored with the process.”
“It’s what he does,” Zubac said. “It’s what he’s been doing for years now and he averaged triple-double through the regular season. So, it’s what he does. That’s how they play, and that’s it.
“You shouldn’t be discouraged by looking at the other players’ stats. You should be discouraged if you’re down 20 or something. Like, you shouldn’t be discouraged when he got a triple-double and the score is good for us. So, we’re focused on winning. We’re not looking at the other player’s stats and being discouraged by them. We want to win the game.”
Still, Lue was asked what will the Clippers do differently on defense against Jokic now.
The Clippers had two days off to recover from the sting of losing Game 4.
They got down by 22 points in the fourth quarter, took a one-point lead and then tied the score — only to have Jokic shoot an airball on a step-back three-pointer that Aaron Gordon caught by the rim and dunked as time expired.
“Sometimes basketball can be amazing and it can be cruel as well,” Nicholas Batum said. “We got to move on. It’s 2-2. We’re right where we’re supposed to be, both teams. Now we got to go out there [to Denver]. We done [won] it once, almost did it twice in their place. We have to go there, regroup, move on. It’s a tough one, but we still got a chance to win this series and we hope to take another one and come back here.”
You know how Game 4 ended: a non-call on contact from Josh Hart on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s three-point attempt that referees later admitted they missed.
If you’re a Pistons fan, you’re obviously upset about the non-call on the final possession. But if you look at the entirety of Game 4, the non-call at the end of the game was consistent with the previous 47-plus minutes.
The refs set the tone early by letting a lot of contact go, and they stuck with that approach throughout the game.
In Game 4, Cunningham shot four free throws on 23 field goal attempts. Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns each shot two free throws on a combined 49 attempts.
Total free-throw attempts were roughly even, with New York getting an 18-17 edge.
Maybe you don’t agree with some individual calls. But if you’re looking for consistency, you got it from the Game 4 crew.
If the refs started calling the game tighter in the final minute, they might have whistled Tobias Harris for a foul with about six seconds to play. Harris clearly hit Hart while trying to rebound Cunningham’s miss on his potential go-ahead basket. It’s also worth noting that the refs missed a potential game-changing call in Game 2 when Hart was fouled on a layup late in the fourth quarter. If Hart had made a free throw, it would have given the Knicks a one-point lead with 1:15 to play.
Cunning defense
Cunningham went 10-for-25 in the Knicks' Game 3 win, and he didn’t fare much better in Game 4. He went 11-for-23 and scored 25 points. Cunningham had 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but he also turned it over seven times. He missed five of his seven attempts in the fourth quarter.
After the game, players and Thibodeau lauded Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.
“They’ve been great. They’ve been great all year. Regardless of what people say,” Brunson said. “It’s tough to guard people in this league. This league is clearly offensively driven. It’s tough to stop players one-on-one, but when you have two guys like that who just go out there, just play hard every possession, I like their chances.
"They’ve been doing that since I’ve known them, since I’ve been seeing them play, and I’m just glad they’re on my team.”
Building Bridges
Bridges was 1-for-10 from the field entering the fourth quarter. He’d missed all four of his three-point attempts. But he kept shooting. And Bridges hit two threes to start the fourth quarter, which spearheaded the Knicks.
Cam Payne gets an unofficial assist on the play. He was in Bridges’ ear throughout the game.
“He’s big on voicing, helping me out. Sometimes, him calling me some not good names helps, as well,” Bridges said with a laugh. “It just feeds off that. But it’s everybody, man. Like, Ty, I swear it’s everybody. Even Josh, JB, when we’re on the court, they just tell me to stick with it.
"I know I’m ready. I know I’m ready. It’s not fun missing, and you wait for that next opportunity to shoot again and I appreciate those guys, always.”
