The San Antonio Spurs provided hope to the Minnesota Timberwolves with a lackluster performance in Game 1 of their Western Conference series. The Spurs may have stolen that away with a dominating performance in Game 2 on Wednesday night.
The No. 2-seeded Spurs restored order in the West, handing the Timberwolves their worst postseason loss in franchise history, 133-95, as Victor Wembanyama and company seemed to send a message after a disappointing
home loss in the series opener.
The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama dominated with 19 points and 15 rebounds, Stephon Castle added 21 points and the Spurs shot 50% from the field to even the series, which heads to Minnesota for Game 3 on Friday night.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch reacted by saying, “I just told (our players) we got punked.”
The Spurs’ win marked the franchise’s highest-scoring playoff game since a series-clinching 145-105 win over Denver on May 4, 1983.
Also Wednesday, the New York Knicks took a 2-0 Eastern Conference semifinal series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers with a 108-102 win behind 26 points from Jalen Brunson.
A pair of Game 2s are on tap Thursday: Detroit, at home, will aim for a 2-0 lead on Cleveland in the East and Oklahoma City, also at home, is seeking a 2-0 lead on the Los Angeles Lakers in the West.
— Game 2, Cleveland at Detroit, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Odds: Detroit by 3 1/2.
Cade Cunningham had 23 points, Tobias Harris scored 20 and the top-seeded Pistons ended a NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak to a single opponent with a 111-101 win against the Cavaliers in Game 1. The Pistons had not defeated Cleveland in the NBA playoffs since the 2007 Eastern Conference finals. Cavs reserve guard Sam Merrill (left hamstring) could miss Game 2.
— Game 2, Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Odds: Oklahoma City by 15 1/2.
The Los Angeles Lakers, still without Luka Doncic (hamstring), looked completely outmatched against OKC in Game 1. Chet Holmgren had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the Thunder ran away with a 108-90 victory. Doncic has already been ruled out for Game 2. Jarred Vanderbilt (finger) is doubtful and Luke Kennard (neck) is questionable for the Lakers.
— Game 3, New York at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)
Series: New York leads 2-0.
Odds: 76ers by 1 1/2.
The 76ers will look to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole as the series heads to Philadelphia. The 76ers are hoping to get center Joel Embiid back after he missed Game 2 with a sprained ankle.
— Game 2, San Antonio at Minnesota, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime)
Series: Series tied 1-1.
Odds: Spurs by 3 1/2.
Wembanyama brought a refuse-to-lose attitude to Game 2 and the Spurs won in a blowout. Now the series moves to Minnesota and the Timberwolves hope star Anthony Edwards, who has come off the bench in the first two games, may be able to play more minutes as he works his way back from a hyperextended knee.
— Knicks 108, 76ers 102 for 2-0 series lead. Joel Embiid did not play due to a sprained ankle.
— Spurs 133, Timberwolves 95 to even series at 1-1.
A breakdown of this season's NBA awards:
— Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans.
— Hustle Award: Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte.
— Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.
— Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City.
— Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.
— Sportsmanship Award: Derrick White, Boston.
— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta.
— Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Dallas.
— Executive of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston.
Among the announcements still to come:
— Most Valuable Player: Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver's Nikola Jokic.
— Coach of the Year: Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio's Mitch Johnson or Boston's Joe Mazzulla.
Defending champion Oklahoma City (-165) is favored to win the NBA title, according to oddsmakers.
The Thunder were followed by San Antonio (+400), New York (+800), Detroit (+1700), Cleveland (+3500), Los Angeles Lakers (+4000) and Minnesota (+4000).
Philadelphia has the longest odds at +10000.
The Lakers were determined not to let Gilgeous-Alexander beat them in Game 1, repeatedly double-teaming the Thunder point guard.
The strategy mostly backfired.
While Gilgeous-Alexander turned the ball over seven times and was limited to 18 points — the first time he's been held to fewer than 20 points in 81 games — the rest of the OKC team thrived in a blowout victory.
“Ultimately it’s the easiest form of basketball,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I’d much rather do that than have to go one-on-one all night over somebody. My teammates on the back end playing four-on-three, it’s what you play for.”
Added Thunder coach Mark Daigneault: “When they play like that, it’s one of the advantages that you have. They’re throwing two at Shai really early in possessions and, in order to do that, you get two guys on the ball and then you’ve got three guys off of bodies and rotating and that presents rebounding opportunities.”
— Sunday: NBA draft lottery.
— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft
— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft
“I thought we had maybe four wide-open shots in a row that didn’t go. We just needed to keep the scoreboard moving and we played great offense. We just didn’t shot-make.” 76ers coach Nick Nurse on his team's struggles scoring down the stretch in Game 2 without Embiid.
— The 76ers-Knicks game featured 25 lead changes, the most in a playoff game in 11 years. There were also 14 ties. The largest lead of the game was seven points.
— San Antonio's De'Aaron Fox made both 3-point attempts after missing on four attempts in Game 1.
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