Finally, we have a Round 2 matchup set in these NBA playoffs.
Game 1 of a Western Conference semifinal series between San Antonio and Minnesota — which ousted Denver — will be Monday night in Texas.
It’ll be the third series between the franchises, after the Spurs beat the Timberwolves in both 1999 and 2001. Both of those were first-round, best-of-five matchups where San Antonio prevailed in four games.
New York is through to Round 2 as well, after a 51-point rout in Atlanta eliminated the Hawks.
The Knicks await the Philadelphia-Boston winner; that series is going to Game 7, after the 76ers staved off elimination yet again with a win on Thursday night. The Timberwolves are about to enter a showdown of French centers — Rudy Gobert for Minnesota, Victor Wembanyama for the Spurs.
On Friday, Detroit (trailing 3-2) plays at Orlando, Cleveland (up 3-2) goes to Toronto and the Los Angeles Lakers (up 3-2 after losing closeout chances in Games 4 and 5) head to Houston.
Friday’s schedule
— Game 6, Detroit at Orlando, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime)
Series: Orlando, 3-2.
Odds: Detroit by 3.5.
Eighth-seeded Orlando let a 3-1 lead slip away against top-seeded Detroit in Round 1 in 2003. The Magic get another chance Friday night to ensure that such a fate won’t happen again this time.
— Game 6, Cleveland at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. EDT (Prime)
Series: Cleveland, 3-2.
Odds: Cleveland by 3.5.
The Raptors pushed Cleveland to the limit in Game 5 even with Brandon Ingram (heel) limited to one point in 11 minutes. The Cavaliers went 18 of 36 from 3-point range to win Game 5 at home.
— Game 6, LA Lakers at Houston, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime)
Series: Lakers, 3-2.
Odds: Houston by 3.5.
The Lakers are 0-2 in closeout chances in this series, and a Rockets team that isn’t lacking for swagger suddenly looks to be brimming with confidence. Lakers do not seem to be panicked, yet.
Saturday’s schedule
— Game 7, Philadelphia at Boston, 7:30 p.m. EDT (NBC/Peacock)
Series: Tied, 3-3.
Odds: Boston by 7.5.
The Celtics are 27-10 all-time in Game 7s, the 76ers are 6-12 in such games and are 0-4 in them since 2001. It’ll be the ninth Game 7 between these two franchises, with Boston going 6-2 in the previous ones.
Thursday recaps
— Knicks 140, Hawks 89 to win series 4-2. Inside NY’s numbers, and Atlanta’s collapse.
— 76ers 106, Celtics 93 to even series at 3-3. George goes from ‘rock bottom’ to Game 7.
— Timberwolves 110, Nuggets 98 to win series 4-2. Nikola Jokic wants to stay in Denver.
Awards watch
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.
Betting odds
Defending champion Oklahoma City (-130) is favored to win the NBA title, oddsmakers say.
The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+425), Boston (+600), Cleveland (+1300), New York (+1800), the Los Angeles Lakers (+2500) and Detroit (+3500). Philadelphia (+12500) is next, followed by Minnesota (+20000).
Orlando, even with a 3-2 series lead on Detroit, entered Friday at +25000. The only teams that entered Friday with longer odds than the Magic were Houston (+50000) and Toronto (+100000).
Key dates
— Sunday, Monday and/or Tuesday: Conference semifinals begin.
— May 10: 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
Quote of the day
“If we were in Serbia, we would all get fired.” — Denver’s Nikola Jokic, after the Nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs by short-handed Minnesota.
Stats of the day
— Boston led by five on Thursday, then lost by 13. Denver led by five on Thursday, then lost by 12. Atlanta led by four on Thursday … then lost by 51.
— The Knicks are the first reigning NBA Cup champion to win a playoff series. The Los Angeles Lakers (the 2023 Cup champs) and the Milwaukee Bucks (the 2024 Cup champs) both lost in Round 1 of those season’s playoffs.
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