The NBA playoffs division semifinals were exciting, with the Knicks vs. Pacers and Nuggets vs. Timberwolves both tied 2-2 in the series, and the battle of Tianwang Mountain attracted much attention; The Mavericks vs Thunder and Celtics vs Cavaliers both played 2-1 in the series, and G4 will directly affect the trend of the entire series! After a short break, the league scheduled two sets of matchups today, and the specific results are as follows: the Celtics beat the Cavaliers 109-102, and the Thunder beat the Mavericks 100-96. As a result, there are some new changes in the league's playoff landscape, let's take a look.
The Green Army won the match point, and the knights were more than lucky
The Green Army led the Cavaliers 2-1 and continued to pick opponents on the road. Before the big game, there was bad news for the Cavaliers, and the star of the house, Mitchell, was unable to play due to a calf injury. The Cavaliers took advantage of the home court to play a perfect 8-2 start, but the Green Army was crushed, and a wave of 12-0 offensive directly overtook the score and expanded the difference to double digits in one go. At the end of the second quarter, Strus had a hot three-point shot, and the Cavaliers went on a 13-3 run to close the difference, and the Green Army only led by five points at halftime. Yibian fought again, the Cavaliers strengthened the impact on the inside line, and once overtook the score, while the Green Army stabilized the situation with a wave of three-point rain and opened the gap again. In the final quarter, Garland and Wade stopped the bleeding for the Cavaliers, and Shuangtanhua stepped forward to take over the game, and the Cavaliers were gone. In the end, the Green Army defeated the Cavaliers 109-102.
The Green Army refused to reverse by 15 points and won match point! In this game, the two tans came together to shoot 60 points + 19 rebounds + 6 assists. Tatum scored 16 points in the first quarter to set the tone for the game, Brown scored 9 points in the third quarter to stabilize the situation, and the two probes scored 15 points in the final quarter to close the game, Tatum and Brown took turns to attack and be invincible! On the other hand, the Cavaliers, the king of rice balls does not play, they can only fight for honor, Garland stepped forward and scored 30 points + 7 assists + 4 three-pointers, Strus and Xiaomei couldn't pull and LeVert to score 53 points, and do their best to play the game! The Cavaliers are on the line 3-1, and considering the injuries of Allen and Mitchell, they have reached a point where they are at the end of their lives, and it may be difficult to bring the series back to Cleveland.
SGA director reversed, and the lone ranger carelessly lost Jingzhou
The Mavericks led the Thunder 2-1, and the series G4 continued on the Mavericks' home court. The Thunder came prepared, but they couldn't reach it, and the Mavericks took advantage of the home court to build a huge 14-point lead early. Starting from the third quarter of the game, the Thunder increased their defensive intensity, and the Mavericks fell into a slump on the offensive end, and the Thunder chased the difference to 4 points in one fell swoop. In the final quarter, the Thunder team intensified, and SGA led the team to play a wave of 14-4 small climax, and the Thunder team overtook the score in one fell swoop. The two teams then fell into a tug-of-war, and the suspense of the game dragged on to the end, with Jalen Williams, Holmgren and SGA stabbing fatally, and the Mavericks repeatedly missed free throws, and in the end, the Thunder narrowly defeated the Mavericks 100-96.
The Thunder team dragged the series into the battle of Tianwang Mountain, and SGA was the number one contributor to the director's big reversal! He played 41 minutes, shooting 14-of-27 and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, scoring 34 points + 8 rebounds + 5 assists + 2 steals + 2 blocks. When everyone in the Thunder team couldn't shoot, it was SGA who used a mid-range shot to keep the team alive; In the final quarter, SGA was even more possessed, even throwing free throws with passes, scoring 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, helping the team lock up the win with perfect offense and defense! On the other hand, the Mavericks, carelessly lost Jingzhou, and the Eastern European combination rarely slumped at the same time, Doncic was 6 of 20 and only scored 18 points; Irving scored only 9 points on 4-of-11 shooting, and the two combined couldn't match SGA's firepower! What's even more surprising is that the Mavericks made only 12 of 23 free throws from the free throw line, shooting only 52.2% from the free throw line; In comparison, the Thunder made 23 of 24 free throws and shot 95.8% from the free-throw line. So far in the playoffs, the Mavericks have shot just 69.3 percent from the free-throw line, which ranks first in the league, and it's hard to expect them to improve their free-throw crosshairs in the future, but the Eastern European duo will have to give SGA some color.
Bad news for the Knicks, Anunoby continues to be sidelined
The Pacers VS Knicks series is 2-2, and the two teams will usher in the battle of Tianwang Mountain! Not good for the Knicks, the team is full of injuries! Before the game, there was bad news from the Knicks, and the team's injury report showed that Anunoby will continue to miss the game due to a hamstring injury, which is also his third consecutive game of absence. For the Knicks, the battle of Kings Mountain is a battle of life and death, in the Knicks' 32-point defeat to the Pacers G4, Brunson only played 30 minutes, Hart only played 23 minutes, DiVincenzo only played 32 minutes, according to my understanding of Thibodeau, he will inevitably play the Trident in G5 to fight for the initiative in the series; To put it another way, if the Knicks can't fight this game, they will definitely die in Indiana again!
The Timberwolves let the tiger go back to the mountain, and the defending champion is in good shape
The Nuggets VS Timberwolves series will also usher in the Tianwang Mountain battle, in the case of losing two home games in a row, the defending champion was ashamed and courageous, and broke the Timberwolves' two home courts in a row, and the situation is very good! In a sense, the Timberwolves were able to play two cities first, more or less related to Murray's injury and the Nuggets' undermatch; And the Nuggets' two consecutive games are the embodiment of their true strength! The Timberwolves' failure to win the match point is undoubtedly a return to the mountain! Judging from the current situation, in terms of overall balance and championship heritage, the Nuggets have the upper hand, once they step past the difficult opponent of the Timberwolves, the road to defending the title will be a smooth road! Fans, what do you think about this? Leave me a comment to discuss.