To play or not play? That is the question for college football coaches considering spring games in this new era of college athletics.
'Be a banshee': How the Lakers cultivated a winning spirit
Jordan Goodwin had done everything right by losing more than 20 pounds, dropping more than 10 percent of body fat, sleeping better, eating right and putting basketball ahead of all the trappings the NBA can offer.
He’d joined the Lakers in training camp on a non-guaranteed deal, a hamstring injury costing him a chance earn a spot on the roster. He’d bounced from Washington to Phoenix to Memphis in the early stages of his NBA career, but was now without consistent work. The Lakers had hopes for him — that he could be the kind of player critical to the culture JJ Redick and his coaching staff wanted to emulate by doing all the little things, by putting the team first and by making life hell for the other team whenever he took the court with his relentless effort.
Goodwin recovered from a hamstring injury while with the Lakers’ G League team and waited for his chance to get back into the NBA. On Feb. 7, he signed a two-way contract, making him eligible for the main roster. And then he got the formal assignment.
“Be a banshee,” Redick said.
A banshee?
Goodwin wasn’t sure if he should be offended or feel complimented.
“I had to look it up after he told me,” Goodwin said.
After one game, Redick was convinced that he’d found one, gushing as he described a possession Goodwin won for the Lakers by giving multiple efforts on the offensive glass.
“That's just, that play embodies who he is,” Redick said. “And then he's ripping his mask off and throwing it on the sideline twice. I mean, he's a banshee.
“He's a banshee, that's why we like him."
Months later as Redick walked toward his car parked near the loading dock at Crypto.com Arena, he thought about the things it would take for his team to advance out of the first-round of the playoffs. The Lakers had just beaten Minnesota 94-85 in Game 2 by winning loose balls, taking charges, fighting through screens and literally, in the case of Rui Hachimura, leaving blood on the court and in the hallways outside the team locker room.
It was the fewest points the Lakers had scored in a playoff win since 1991 — a real celebration of the banshee stuff the coaches had been preaching for months.
“It's the only way we're going to win,” he told The Times.
“Banshee” had become shorthand around the Lakers in Redick’s first season for the kind of attitude he wanted his team to have. It’s the name of the group chat Redick has with assistants Greg St. Jean, Beau Levesque, Ty Abbott and video coordinator Michael Wexler.
It was something St. Jean and Wexler used with their Phoenix co-workers as a catch-all scouting term for the type of player all coaches love, the kind who don’t care about anything other than winning and understanding the ugly stuff you have to do on the court to get that done.
The Lakers began the season by successfully getting Max Christie to fully buy in to the role. When Christie struggled early in the season, he was the first player to publicly get the “be a banshee” instructions. Redick has used the term to describe the Lakers’ video coordinators, to rave about Portland’s Toumani Camara’s defense and the impact of Jarred Vanderbilt’s return from injury.
And in speaking to his team, he brought visual aides.
In Gaelic lore, a “banshee” is a female spirit whose scream warns of impending death. In the Halo video games, it’s a combat aircraft. In the “Avatar” universe, it’s a type of mountain dragon. In "Star Wars," it’s kind of a flying scorpion.
After using the term in news conferences, meetings and conversations around the Lakers’ facility all season, Redick and the coaches finally decided to define to the team in a meeting.
“We had slides!” Redick said, almost bragging.
Luka Doncic, who was in that meeting, remembered thinking that he’d never before heard the word outside of the very TV-MA Cinemax show “Banshee. (“Good show,” Doncic said.) LeBron James had never heard a coach describe players that way and didn’t think much of it.
Yet for the Lakers’ role players, that ethos give a uniform vision for the style and effort in which they should play. The Lakers wanted this to be a defining characteristic all season. Swapping D’Angelo Russell’s on-ball skills for Dorian Finney-Smith’s intangibles and off-ball play started the transformation. Getting Vanderbilt healthy bolstered it. Adding Goodwin and two-way center Trey Jemison III cemented it.
“I heard it in film one day, knew what it was from like folklore, but when he said it, the timing, it made sense,” Jemison said. “Being aggressive. Being a loud talker. I loved it. It makes me feel like I'm bringing value. Encouraging. Yelling. I'm always going to yell.”
And now that the Lakers are in a full-on fight with Minnesota in the playoffs, James, Doncic and Austin Reaves have played with that level of force, particularly in Game 2 when the Lakers’ defense and toughness defined the series-tying win.
“I think it's the importance of having Doe and Goodie and guys that are naturally like that," Redick said Tuesday of Finney-Smith and Goodwin. "And it goes back to a conversation we had as a team around the first Brooklyn game [in mid-January] and I talked about leadership and how everyone can lead in their own way. Banshee culture has to be pervasive for it to work. It can't just be one guy. So you need guys that are going to lead on that and everyone else follows.”
Maybe the Lakers have been able to make this all a part of their identity because it’s always been a part of Redick’s identity.
“That's why everybody hated him when he was at Duke. … For sure you remember how feisty he was,” James said.
Redick might not have been wrestling rebounds away like Goodwin or putting his chest into scorers like Vanderbilt and Finney-Smith, but he was constantly moving, consistently energetic and continually leaning and embracing the little things during the heights of his NBA career. After retiring, he didn’t stop feeding into being a basketball sicko — his words — or a full-on basketball psycho — his and his peers’ words.
Whatever the task in front of him, at the very least, Redick would fight for it.
After the Lakers won one of their ugliest playoff games in years Tuesday, James scoffed a little bit when asked about one of Redick’s on-court outbursts during Game 2. The four-lettered freak-outs, he said, aren’t that surprising from his coach. It’s just a sign of the seriousness and intensity he’s brought to the job.
And that he’s helped give to the team.
“We finally embodied the spirit and the demeanor of our head coach. That's just how he is,” James told The Times. “He's not about the bull---, about the sugar-coating. He understands. We've got to be tough. Like, we might not shoot the ball well every game, we might not do this or do that, whatever the case might be, but we've got to be … tough.”
They have got to be banshees. And the Lakers all know exactly what that means.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Three Takeaways From Blues' 7-2 Win Against Jets In Game 3 Of Western Conference First Round
ST. LOUIS – Judging by the thunderous, boisterous St. Louis Blues crowd in attendance for Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, one could hardly tell the home side was down two games in the series.
The Jets took Games 1 and 2 at home and held serve. The Blues knew they had to do the same.
Boy, did they ever get off to the start they wanted and did so in convincing fashion.
And they were led by their best players.
Pavel Buchnevich scored his first NHL playoff hat trick and had an assist, Cam Fowler set a Blues franchise record for most points by a defenseman with five (one goal, four assists) and Robert Thomas had four assists, who chased likely Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck in a 7-2 romp over the Jets before 18,096 at Enterprise Center to get themselves back in the series, now trailing the best-of-7 series 2-1.
This was a juggernaut performance that the Blues needed and sent a message to the Presidents’ Trophy winners that they won’t go down without a fight and in fact, they have every intention of winning the series despite losing the first two games on the road.
Colton Parayko, Jordan Kyrou and Alexey Toropchenko all scored goals, and Jordan Binnington made 16 saves, including what amounted to be a 10-bell save on Cole Perfetti midway through the second period of a 3-0 game that needed video review.
HOLY $%#& JORDAN BINNINGTON pic.twitter.com/oJgRaGEiLB
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 25, 2025
The Blues, who will host Game 4 on Sunday at noon (FDSNMW, MAX, truTV, SN, TVAS, CBC, ESPN 101.1-FM) looking to even the series, scored three more power-play goals to give them six in the series, but they scored four times at even-strength, which netted them just one goal by Oskar Sundqvist in the first two games.
And on top of it, the Blues have now won 13 straight games on home ice dating back to the regular season. They’ve made this a place that visiting teams don’t want to play in.
Without wasting any more time, let’s get into Thursday’s Three Takeaways:
* A thunderous start – The Blues came into the game wanting and needing to implement a few adjustments to the game.
They wanted to get to the net more with purpose and make life difficult in front of Connor Hellebuyck (check); they wanted to play north hockey (check); they wanted to get sustained zone time (check); and they wanted to incorporate their defensemen into the offensive zone (check).
And in the first 10 minutes of that hockey game, the Blues fed off the emotion of the crowd and for the third straight game, they came out with with fire and played really well in the first period.
But this was different. This was put a hammerlock down on a game and not make it a chess match over the final 40 minutes, like it was at Canada Life Centre.
“I think it was just trying to get away from 1-and-done hockey,” Fowler said. “Hellebuyck was seeing a lot of shots there in Winnipeg, he can control the rebound and the way that they play, they have five guys in front of the net, they’re able to clear the rebounds and come out the other end there. We just wanted to make life a little bit harder with traffic and more pucks directed at the net and our guys did a great job of establishing the forecheck and letting us play a little more time in the offensive zone that helped us out quite a bit.”
Blues coach Jim Montgomery noticed this, Thursday, wasn’t just setting the tone for 20 minutes, but the way they did things, carried forward through the rest of the game, despite the Jets elevating their game in the second period and needing an incredible Binnington save on Cole Perfetti at the 10:05 mark of the period that preserved a 3-0 lead.
“I just thought that the attitude we had … we started the other two games really well, and what I liked was the fierce, competitive nature in our attitude for 60 minutes,” Montgomery said. “The start was incredible. We were aggressive, we did the things we wanted to do to make sure that we were going to get more scoring chances, and we did get more scoring chances.”
There was no East-West hockey, not against this team. This was a North mindset with a purpose.
“They've been playing well at 5-on-5 defense and not giving us much,” Thomas said of the Jets. “And we changed a couple things, and were able to find success early, and we just got to look to keep on going with that, as well as keep looking for adjustments to try and keep on finding success.”
* Blues best players rose to the occasion – In Games 1 and 2, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, Winnipeg’s best players, were the best players when it mattered most in helping their team win the first two games.
The Blues needed their top-end guys to be not only their best players, but the best players in the game itself.
They didn’t waste time when Buchnevich, who came into the game with one playoff goal in 22 career games, went to the net 48 seconds into the game and made it 1-0. He tried making a play with a puck through the slot area that Fowler corralled and in turn, he makes a quick play off the wall to the net where Jimmy Snuggerud is. He got a piece of it but Buchnevich collects the loose puck, kicks the puck to his stick before poking it past Hellebuyck in a sign of things to come.
St. Louis goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 25, 2025
Scored by Pavel Buchnevich with 19:12 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Jimmy Snuggerud and Cam Fowler.
St. Louis: 1
Winnipeg: 0#WPGvsSTL#stlblues#GoJetsGopic.twitter.com/A4aDyrSlct
“I know Faksy, Walks and Torpo [Radek Faksa, Nathan Walker and Alexey Toropchenko] had a great (first) shift, physical, the crowd got going, really loud and we just followed them,” Buchnevich said. “On second shift we got (a) turnover, I shot, missed the net and you know, ‘CF’ hit the net and I got the rebound and the crowd got nuts and the emotions get even more and we keep going.”
They did keep going, and Buchnevich got going again, making it 2-0 at 3:11 when he scored the first of three power-play goals on the night, redirecting a high-slot pass by Thomas past Hellebuyck.
It’s another example of being at or near the net, something that was visibly absent in the first two games.
If you're trying to talk to us, we assure you we can't hear you. #stlbluespic.twitter.com/Rs6SnTlXCd
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 25, 2025
“I don’t really know how to describe it,” Buchnevich said. ‘Just a crazy, emotional start. We throw the puck at the net, we got the rebound and when you score the first goal the game opens up and we got the second one right away. It’s a little bit easier to play with the lead, so we’ve got to score first and it’ll be easier to play.”
Fowler made it 3-0 at 15:51 on a play that was a perfect example of what the defensemen were looking to do: filter into the offensive zone and be a force there.
Fowler was able to do that with the puck behind his whole net, starting the play moving it to the left to Colton Parayko, who found Buchnevich in the neutral zone. He in turn found Thomas, all the while Fowler was skating with a purpose in the middle of the ice down the slot before Thomas found him, and he quickly snapped a shot high glove (sound familiar?) on Hellebuyck.
St. Louis goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 25, 2025
Scored by Cam Fowler with 04:09 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.
St. Louis: 3
Winnipeg: 0#WPGvsSTL#stlblues#GoJetsGopic.twitter.com/Dqy5b3AhlM
“We had talked a little bit about our ‘D’ trying to use our skating ability to our advantage,” Fowler said. “The play kind of developed there and I kind of saw that we had full control on the wall and I just felt like I could jump in and try and contribute to the rush a little bit and ‘Tommer’ made a great play and I just tried to get it off as quick as I could and happy to see it go in. It was more about just the mindset of our ‘D’ trying to use our legs and skate. I saw the opportunity and just tried to jump in, but like I said, ‘Tommer’ made that whole thing possible. It was a heck of a play by him.
“It wasn’t a set play or anything, no. I wanted to try and be more of a factor with my legs and push them back a little bit. I just saw that we had full control and it was nothing more than just seeing a lane to the net and trying to jump through it as fast as I could.”
Leading 4-1, Jordan Kyrou, who scored in Game 1, got into the scoring again with his second power-play goal of the series, again using Brayden Schenn as a screen and beating Hellebuyck high glove at 7:56 of the third period and put the game out of reach – if it wasn’t already – at 5-1.
Power play goal for St. Louis!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 25, 2025
Scored by Jordan Kyrou with 12:04 remaining in the 3rd period.
Assisted by Cam Fowler.
St. Louis: 5
Winnipeg: 1#WPGvsSTL#stlblues#GoJetsGopic.twitter.com/EXLoulJcjp
And then Toropchenko, following the blueprint of what the Blues wanted to go driving the net, did just that and redirecting a Jake Neighbours pass from the slot at 10:32 of the third to make it 6-1 that chased Hellebuyck from the game in favor of Eric Comrie.
the beautiful game pic.twitter.com/W46v6VxBHL
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 25, 2025
And Parayko, getting some power-play time, bombed away a power-play goal at 16:17 for the 7-2 final.
So as far as best players being best players, the Blues received 15 points (six goals, nine assists) from Fowler, Thomas, Buchnevich, Kyrou and Parayko.
Fowler's five points set the franchise record for points by a defenseman, besting Brian Benning, who had four points (all assists) against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 11, 1987.
And Buchnevich's hat trick is the first in the playoffs since Vladimir Tarasenko in 2022 against the Minnesota Wild and first at home since Jaden Schwartz had one in 2019 in the clinching Game 6 of the first round against the Jets.
* Blues checked with purpose – The first 10 minutes was also a perfect example of not only playing North hockey but having a checking aspect.
The Blues had 63 hits in the game, a franchise record in a playoff game, and some might look at that and say they were chasing hits.
That’s farthest from the truth.
Jake Neighbours became the second Blue (Brayden Schenn in Game 1) with nine hits in a game, and Nathan Walker had seven.
There are those that say when you’re hitting, it means you don’t have the puck. The Blues were hitting and winning the puck, so they were timing their hits that helped them get the puck.
Take Buchnevich’s hat trick goal for example. When the puck is played behind the net, Thomas recognizes that there’s a goalie there that doesn’t handle the puck like theirs and there’s a chance to disrupt zone exits with a forecheck. Thomas was able to take advantage of a nonchalant Hellebuyck, stripping it from the goalie, and Buchnevich was the F2 in and took advantage of the pressure and curled to backhand the puck in the net at 5:24 of the third period that made it 4-1. It came 52 seconds after Winnipeg got some life on a David Gustafsson goal at 4:32 to make it 3-1.
First career postseason hat tricks are #EasyToCelebrate@budlight | #stlbluespic.twitter.com/pdI8akFNQX
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 25, 2025
“I thought ‘Buchy’ has been good in the first two games, especially defensively,” Montgomery said. “But offensively, I thought there was more in his game, and I thought he brought that tonight. Not only him, but that line and our power play.”
“It’s amazing,” Fowler said. “’Buchy’ is a heart-and-soul guy. He’s a huge part of our team, a huge part of our locker room, a huge part of why we were able to get a win tonight. A special night for him. It’s not something that comes around very often to get the chance to score three goals in a playoff game. I know he’ll tell you the team getting the win means more to him as well and that’s the mindset that we have to have, but it was a special night for him and he should enjoy it.”
Now the Blues have to carry this momentum into Sunday’s game. The Jets will make their adjustments, the Blues will have to counter. But if they can keep this blueprint moving forward, there will be more success throughout the series.
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Continue reading...Clippers make first playoff game in Intuit Dome memorable, rout Nuggets by 34 to take 2-1 series lead
Apr 24, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) moves the ball up court against the Denver Nuggets during the second half of game three in the first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Denver Nuggets didn't play good defense this season. They were a middle-of-the-pack team for much of the year (16th in the league before the All-Star break) that got worse in the final months of the season and was bottom 10 in the league after the break.
It's impossible to play defense like that all season and then flip the switch in the playoffs.
Especially going against a Clippers offense that was the best in the league in the final 20 games of the season, when the Clippers went 17-3.
That's the story of Game 3 on Thursday night. It was the kind of night where everything worked for the Clippers, even when it shouldn't have.
Harden loses it mid-air and somehow gets it back in stride ♂️
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2025
DEN-LAC Game 3 on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/jAL0VY3hZZ
After two tight games to open this series, the Clippers' offense caught fire when it got home to the Intuit Dome — a 132.9 offensive rating behind 21 points and 11 rebounds from Kawhi Leonard — and the Nuggets had no answers.
The result was a 117-83 blowout Clippers win, taking a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 is Saturday afternoon.
"The first two games were very competitive. This game was not," interim Nuggets coach David Adelman said. "But you can come back Saturday and you can right a lot of wrongs."
There are a lot of wrongs for Denver to right.
The Clippers rained 3-pointers, hitting 18 on the night and shooting 46.2% from beyond the arc. It was the Clippers' bench that did much of the damage, led by Derrick Jones Jr. and Nicolas Batum, each hitting four 3-pointers.
DJJ hits a triple to cap a 23-2 Clippers run ‼️
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2025
DEN-LAC | Game 3 on NBA TV | Series tied 1-1 pic.twitter.com/wNu4ErY3AK
In addition to the defense, the Nuggets' offense struggled, scoring less than a point per possession for the game. Nikola Jokic had an efficient triple-double of 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists, but take him out of the equation and the rest of the Nuggets shot 34.9% on the night. Denver had just six points from their bench.
Usually, when the other Nuggets have struggled this season, Jokic has just done more and done it better. However, that will be difficult against a strong Clippers defense, led by Ivica Zubac, who has played well against Jokic.
It's a lot of questions for the Nuggets to answer. Maybe too many, this was the kind of blowout playoff win that makes it feel like the Clippers solved the puzzle.
We'll see on Saturday if that's the case, or if the former champions have a little more fight left in them.
Thunder rally from 29 points down after Morant leaves with injury, top Grizzlies for 3-0 series lead
Apr 24, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and forward Chet Holmgren (7) look on during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies during game three for the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Chet Holmgren scored all but one of his 24 points in the second half as the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a 29-point deficit after Ja Morant left the game with a hip injury and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-108 on Thursday night for a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
Morant was hurt with just over three minutes left in the first half and Memphis leading 67-40. The Grizzlies led by 26 points at halftime.
The 29-point comeback was the second-largest in an NBA postseason game since play-by-play data began being recorded in the 1996-97 season.
The only one bigger: A comeback from 31 points down by the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State on April 15, 2019.
The top-seeded Thunder, who won Game 1 131-80 in the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history, didn’t even have a lead in this one until the fourth quarter. Now, they can close out the series Saturday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points for Oklahoma City and Jalen Williams added 26, including splitting a pair of free throws with 1:20 left to give the Thunder their first lead of the game.
Scotty Pippen scored 28 points, two short of his career high, to lead Memphis. Jaren Jackson Jr. added 22 points as Memphis saw its substantial lead evaporate in the second half.
Morant went down hard under the basket with just over three minutes remaining in the first half and was ruled out for the remainder of the game early in the second half with a left hip contusion.
Memphis was on a fast break after a Thunder turnover. Pippen was driving to the basket when he dropped the ball off to Morant at the rim. Luguentz Dort, who was stumbling at the time, fell into Morant while he was in the air, sending the Morant crashing to the floor. The play was reviewed for a flagrant foul, but was ruled a common foul.
Morant was being helped to the locker room but returned - noticeably limping - to shoot the free throws. He missed both, but the ball went out of bounds, allowing Morant to leave the game. He took his jersey off as he was helped off the floor.
Morant had 15 points and five assists when he left the game.
The Grizzlies had outscored Oklahoma City in only one period of the first two games of the series.
Things started out differently Thursday with the Grizzlies at home. Memphis jumped to an early lead behind its 3-point shooting. The Grizzlies kept the pressure by continuing to shoot better than 55% and benefitting from Oklahoma City turnovers, crafting a 25-5 run in the second quarter.
Memphis carried a 77-51 lead into the break. But the Thunder used a 36-18 scoring edge in the third quarter to claw back into contention.
Clippers thrash Nuggets, win first playoff game in Intuit Dome history
He insisted that his group could play better and had to play better even though the Clippers snatched home-court advantage away from the Nuggets by winning Game 2 in Denver.
That didn’t matter to Clippers coach Tyronn Lue.
What mattered to Lue was his team pushing itself to a higher level against the Nuggets.
The Clippers found another gear, fielding a stingy defense and a balanced scoring attack that helped them build a 31-point lead en route to a convincing 117-83 win over the Nuggets on Thursday night. The rowdy crowd celebrated the first playoff game ever hosted at the Intuit Dome.
Six Clippers scored in double figures and that was a big reason they now have a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference first-round playoff series.
After a slow start to the series, Norman Powell appears to have found his groove, scoring 20 points on seven-for-12 shooting.
Kawhi Leonard had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds in 35 minutes.
James Harden scored all 20 of his points in the first half to go along with nine assists and six rebounds.
Ivica Zubac had 19 points and nine rebounds, Nicholas Batum came off the bench to score 12 points, doing his damage by going four for six from the three-point line, and Derrick Jones Jr. had 10 points.
“We can play better, we got to play better,” Lue said before tipoff. “We have to play better, and that’s our mindset. Like, we got a win there, but I think we still can play better.”
The Clippers played perhaps their best defense of the series, holding the Nuggets to 40.3% shooting and 26.9% from three-point range while keeping their offense out of sorts all game.
And so with four minutes and 34 seconds left and the Nuggets about to go down by 26 points, Nuggets interim coach David Adelman pulled his starters to get them ready for Game 4 at the Intuit Dome on Saturday afternoon.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic had his second straight triple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists, but the Clippers overcame his outstanding play.
Harden set the tone early for the Clippers, his shot-making and passing allowing them to open a seven-point lead to end the first quarter.
Harden scored 11 of the Clippers' final 16 points in the first and assisted on three more when he found Batum for a three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left in the first. Harden had 20 points in the first half on six-for-10 shooting and three for five from three-point range.
It allowed the Clippers to build a 20-point lead in the second quarter, adding to it as the crowd cheered on the dominant performance.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Knicks put their resiliency, toughness on full display in massive Game 3 road win over Pistons
The Knicks have been a resilient group all season.
They’ve bounced back from tough losses time and time again, and have been one of the best road teams in basketball -- both of those were on display during Thursday night’s Game 3 win over the Pistons.
It seemed as if Detroit had captured all of the momentum in the series.
They had just pulled off a massive Game 2 victory at Madison Square Garden and were set to play the next two games in front of a rocking hometown crowd for the first time in six years -- but the Knicks had other plans.
It was a complete team effort from beginning to end, but none was more notable than the bounceback showing from Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with a game-high 31 points after putting up just 10 in Game 2.
Towns used his size and toughness to dominate the undersized Tobias Harris all night.
“He bounced back well,” Tom Thibodeau said. “He was unfazed and he’s been around. He has a lot of confidence in his game, he can score in a lot of different ways. I thought he used his versatility to his strength and moved well without the ball.”
OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges were also tremendous defensively -- limiting Pistons All-Star point guard Cade Cunningham to just 24 points and 11 assists after he took over in a dominant Game 2 showing.
They also made some clutch buckets -- finishing with 22 and 20 points, respectively.
"Cade's a great player, he puts a lot of pressure on you," Thibodeau said. "The thing I like about OG and Mikal is that they stick with it, and you have to -- you have to have a determination."
And as has been the case all season long, it was the captain, Jalen Brunson, who stepped up and put the team square on his back when they needed it the most -- despite being heckled profusely all night long.
Brunson was held in check for the most part over the first three quarters -- but the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year took things over in a close game, dropping 12 of his 30 points to help seal the deal down the stretch.
“It took a lot of focus, mental toughness and just us sticking together,” Brunson said.
"We’ve been that team all year,” Josh Hart added. "Now the tough part is how do you add up the wins. We have to make sure we come in Sunday with the early start ready to play, get off to a good start like we did today and just execute."
James Gladstone: Travis Hunter has the capacity to alter the trajectory of the sport itself
The Jaguars delivered the surprise of the draft early on in the first round when they traded up to No. 2 to select receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter.
General Manager James Gladstone told reporters after the trade and selection that he and Browns G.M. Andrew Berry had been working through the details of the deal for the last two weeks.
“The fact that it came to life as seamlessly as it did once the bell rang is something that was fulfilling,” Gladstone said, via transcript from the team. “Being able to sit here tonight with Travis Hunter as a Jacksonville Jaguar is a vision that Liam [Coen], myself, Tony [Boselli] and the rest of our coaching staff and scouting staff certainly have a collective vision for and are really interested in getting him here, getting him to the city, letting our fanbase begin to feel him and ultimately his teammates begin to get to work with him.”
Gladstone noted that there were “a lot of layers” to why the club wanted to trade up to bring Hunter in.
“First and foremost, we mentioned the idea that, a trademark of this leadership group, when there’s an opportunity to be bold, we’re not going to flinch. I think this is a reflection of that,” Gladstone said. “In the same lens, you’ve heard us mention the idea of adding people who are intangibly rich, and Travis, in fact, as a player, is rare. As a person, he's also rare. Beyond that, when we say that the idea of inviting people into our ecosystem who by being nothing more than who they are elevate the space, is the epitome of what Travis is. We're not going to ask him to be any more than him because by doing so, he elevates not only this football team, not only this city, but the sport itself, right?
“Along the way you can count however many drafts you want to, there are players who have the capacity to alter a game. There are players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of a team. There are very few players who have the capacity to alter the trajectory of the sport itself. Travis, while he has a lot to still earn, in our eyes, has the potential to do just that. It's an exciting step for us to take, and obviously a lot of work to be done because while Travis's dream is now reality, he is still dreaming in a different way than most do. He prepares in a different way than most do, but now it's time to bring it to life.”
The Jaguars plan to have Hunter primarily focus on offense while learning the defense throughout the offseason.
While the Jags gave up plenty to get Hunter — including next year’s first-round pick — Gladstone noted that he has plenty of familiarity working without a selection in the top 32 given his experience with the Rams.
“For our fans, I'll tell you, don't be scared,” Gladstone said. “This is something I'm uniquely positioned to navigate. We ended up bringing Travis Hunter to Jacksonville, and with that, he is somebody who is deserving of a first-round draft pick as a wide receiver, and he is worthy of a first-round draft pick as a corner. Certainly, look forward to each of those elements showing themselves over the next few years while he is under his rookie contract, but yeah, we're excited about just getting him in the boat, so to speak.”
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Jimmy Butler reportedly diagnosed with 'deep glute muscle contusion,' in question to play in Game 3
With Jimmy Butler back in the locker room for most of Game 2, the Golden State offense struggled in the face of an athletic and aggressive Houston defense.
The Warriors may need to find a way to win a game without Butler if they are going to win this series.
Butler suffered a "a deep glute muscle contusion and his status for Game 3 against the Houston Rockets is in serious jeopardy," according to a report from Shams Charania of ESPN, largely confirmed by Chris Haynes. The important news is that there is no structural damage. Butler is officially listed as day-to-day, and considering his history and the fact that it's the playoffs, his playing would not be a shock. If he does play, he could be limited.
Jimmy Butler hit the ground hard after being undercut by Amen Thompson pic.twitter.com/Icd2wBF50U
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 24, 2025
Butler was injured in the first quarter of Game 2 when Amen Thompson missed a shot, Jimmy Butler went up for the rebound, Thompson tried to push through to get the offensive rebound, got tangled up with Steven Adams, fell forward and took out Butler's legs (Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game it was not a malicious act, just unlucky).
If Butler is out it hurts the Warriors on both ends of the floor. He was a key part of a Golden State defense that was the best in the league after the All-Star break, and he is also the best secondary shot creator on the team, taking some of the offensive load — and defensive attention — off Curry. With him out, Kerr went deep into his bench in Game 2, trying to find a spark somewhere. None came.
The Warriors can win at home without Butler, but against a young and hungry Rockets team, it would take not only a monster night from Curry, but someone else to step up as well.
Or, maybe Butler plays.
Tom Thibodeau: Clock malfunction at end of Knicks’ Game 3 win over Pistons ‘should never happen in a playoff game’
The Knicks were able to pull out a massive 118-116 win over the Pistons on Thursday night, regaining a 2-1 advantage in their first-round series.
New York made some clutch baskets down the stretch -- but it wasn’t without some high-stress moments.
With the Knicks leading by one and just seconds remaining on the clock, Jalen Brunson was fouled on an inbounds pass -- sending him to the line for a pair of free throws as he looked to put the game on ice.
Brunson knocked down the first shot with ease to make it a two-point ballgame, and then intentionally missed the second since there was not enough time remaining for the Pistons to get up a reasonable shot -- but that’s where things went a little haywire.
After the time clock operator started the clock too early, refs stopped play and after a review, they awarded the ball to the Pistons with just 0.5 seconds remaining in regulation.
While it still would’ve taken a miracle, things could’ve gone a bit south for the Knicks -- but Detroit big man Jalen Duren turned over the inbounds pass and New York regained possession to close out the victory.
No harm, no foul, but Tom Thibodeau did not agree with the call.
“They said that’s what’s in the rules,” the head coach said. “It doesn’t seem right to me, it’s unfortunate -- that should never happen ever in a playoff game. Never happen.”
Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns joked that’s the benefit of homecourt advantage.
“We're in Detroit, what do you expect?” Hart said.
“I ain’t gonna lie, shoutout to the table,” Towns joked. “Giving your team another chance like that is fire -- I gotta give them a lot of respect for that. I ain’t never seen something like that in 10 years of playing in the NBA.”
Karl-Anthony Towns scores 31, Jalen Brunson 30, Knicks hang on to take Game 3 in Detroit
Apr 24, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrates a three point basket in the first half against the Detroit Pistons during game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
This was the Karl-Anthony Towns the Knicks have been waiting for this postseason. The one getting deeper post position to receive the ball and taking advantage of it. When he got the ball further out on the floor, he was in motion downhill to the rim.
"He bounced back," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said, via the Associated Press, referencing KAT's rough Game 2. "He can score a lot of different ways and he used his versatility to his strength."
This was the Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson, scoring 12 of his 30 in the fourth quarter, making sure the Knicks didn't blow their double-digit fourth quarter lead and hang on for the win.
KNICKS STAR DUO TAKE OVER
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2025
KAT: 31 PTS, 8 REB, 2 BLK
Brunson: 30 PTS (12 in 4Q), 7 REB, 9 AST
NYK leads 2-1 | Game 4: Sun. 1pm/et, ABC pic.twitter.com/axoFNK44CG
The result was New York going into Detroit and taking back home-court advantage with a 116-113 win. The Knicks now have a 2-1 series lead.
"I thought the way we started the game was much better," Thibodeau said. "And, we made timely plays down the stretch."
Give the Pistons credit, a young team with limited playoff experience, they are not backing down — the Knicks would make a run, Detroit would answer.
The Pistons' bench was their real key — it outscored the Knicks' bench 40-9. Cade Cunningham and Tim Hardaway Jr. each had 24 points to lead Detroit, but Cunningham added 11 assists. Dennis Schroder had 18 off the bench for the Pistons.
But as they have all season, Thibodeau and the Knicks leaned heavily into their starters, with four of them — Brunson, KAT, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges scoring at least 20.
New York is back in front in this series, but Detroit is not about to roll over. This series could go on for a while.
Wild Rookie Zeev Buium Gets First NHL Point On The Power Play
ST. PAUL - It was just a matter of time before the highly touted defensive Wild prospect got his first NHL point.
The Wild entered Game 3 with only two power play chances in the series. There was a thought that they may take Zeev Buium out of the lineup for Game 3 so they could have a more defensive guy in like Jon Merrill.
But, Wild head coach John Hynes stuck with the same lineup and Buium produced.
On the Wild's first power play chace in the opening period, Buium walked the line before dropping a pass off to Kirill Kaprizov.
Kirill Kaprizov powerplay goal. Zeev Buium first NHL assist #mnwildpic.twitter.com/tfM5stSb6T
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) April 25, 2025
Buium, 19, played 4:55 in the opening period and 1:47 of it was on the power play. His primary assist to Kaprizov was his first NHL point in his third NHL game.
The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live: Reaction To Maple Leafs' Game 3 Win Over Senators
Welcome to The Hockey News Playoff Frenzy Live, streaming nightly during the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.
After the big game of the night, our experts go live to react to the match that was, break down the key moments and storylines, provide updates on the rest of the night's NHL slate and read your opinions.
On tonight's show, Emma Lingan and Michael Traikos react to the Toronto Maple Leafs taking a 3-0 series lead over the Ottawa Senators after another overtime-winner.
Playoff Frenzy - April 24, 2025 | The Hockey NewsWelcome to Playoff Frenzy Live by The Hockey News presented by STIX.com, where we give our live reactions and break down the latest news to all the biggest g...They also touch on the Florida Panthers beating the Tampa Bay Lightning again and the other NHL action on Thursday night.
Check out the show right now and share your opinions in the live chat and in our comment section.