Tag: NBA Playoffs

Merriam-Webster shouts out Duke basketball alum Dereck Lively after playoff double-doubles

The entire basketball world watched Duke alum Dereck Lively II crash the boards for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA playoffs…including the dictionary?

A lot of NBA players have put up a double-double in the playoffs at some point in their careers, but how many have had the literal dictionary shout them out?

Dereck Lively, the former Duke Blue Devil and current member of the Dallas Mavericks, helped his team advance with a 117-116 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night in the sixth game of a best-of-seven series.

Lively posted 12 points and a staggering 15 rebounds, including 11 on the defensive glass, in the victorious effort. He had 11 points and 10 rebounds in Game 5, his first playoff double-double, just days before.

The performance earned admiration from the basketball world, but the highest compliment might have come from an unlikely spot: the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

The social media account for the famous handbook released a definition for the word ‘lively’ in response to the Duke star’s last name. How’d they define it? Check it out yourself.

Quick to rebound, indeed.

Lively, fellow Duke alum Kyrie Irving, and the Mavericks advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Duke basketball alums Kyrie Irving, Dereck Lively II advance to Western Conference Finals

The two Duke Blue Devils, now teammates on the Dallas Mavericks, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-116 on Saturday night to advance.

Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II, both former Duke Blue Devils basketball players, advanced to the Western Conference Finals on Saturday night.

The two, now teammates on the Dallas Mavericks, teamed up to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-116 on Saturday night. The win, Dallas’s fourth in six games over the Thunder, gave the Mavericks the victory in the best-of-seven series.

Irving scored 22 points on 9/23 shooting in the deciding game, adding two rebounds and three assists. Lively, for his part, put up a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds with three assists to boot.

Irving, who played 11 games for the Blue Devils in 2010-11 before being the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, averaged 15.7 points and 6.2 assists for the series after he put up three 30-point games against the Los Angeles Clippers in round one.

Lively played 34 games as a freshman in 2022-23 before being taken 12th overall in last year’s draft. This was his second career playoff double-double after he had 11 points and 10 rebounds in the previous game of this series.

The two join Jayson Tatum as Blue Devils to reach the semifinals.

Former Warrior Donte DiVincenzo tallies 17 pooints in Knicks’ Game 6 loss vs. Pacers

The former Golden State guard tallied 17 points during the Knicks’ Game 6 loss against the Pacers on Friday.

After falling down 3-2 and facing elimination in Game 6 at home, the Indiana Pacers battled the New York Knicks to force a Game 7 with a 116-103 win on Friday night in Indiana.

In Game 6, former Golden State Warrior Donte DiVincenzo played 39 minutes while recording 31 points on 11-of-26 shooting from the field to go along with two assists and four rebounds against the Pacers.

The Knicks didn’t have an answer for Pascal Siakam. The former Toronto Raptors All-Star forward notched 25 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field to go along with seven boards, five assists and two steals in 31 minutes.

Watch highlights from Game 6 via YouTube:

With Indiana’s win on Friday, the series will shift back to New York for a highly-anticipated Game 7. The win-or-go-home Game 7 is slated for Sunday at 12:30 p.m. PT at Madison Square Garden.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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Nikola Jokic menacingly stood on the sideline during the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves’ Game 6 beatdown

This probably means nothing. But it could also mean everything

Timberwolves fans should be as confident as ever heading into Game 7 against the Nuggets.

Their team is good enough to knock off the defending champs. The 43-point drubbing we all watched is more than enough proof.

BUT. But…If there is anything that should make Wolves fans uneasy heading into Sunday, it’s the fact that Nikola Jokic is on the other end of the court. The Nuggets’ big man is the best player in the world, after all. And if the fourth quarter of Game 6 is any indication, he’ll be extremely locked in for this one.

RELATED: Don’t blame Rudy Gobert for Nikola Jokic being so unstoppable

It wasn’t anything that he did on the court. Don’t get it twisted — the Nuggets got dogged. It was just that he just stood there, so menacingly, for the rest of the game. Just…watching.

Look at this:

Bruh. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything. It’s not something that should worry Wolves fans too much.

But man. The vibes are there. Game 7 is going to be good.

New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers Game 6 odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Friday’s New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers odds and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.

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The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers meet Friday for Game 6 of their best-of-7 Eastern Conference, 2nd-round series. The Knicks lead the series 3-2. Tip-off from Gainbridge Fieldhouse is set for 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Knicks vs. Pacers odds and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.

The Knicks throttled the Pacers 121-91 in Game 5, pushing Indiana to the brink of elimination. The past 2 games have been a series of lopsided games, as Indiana won Game 4 by a 121-89 count. The winning team has scored 121 or more points in 4 of the 5 games in the series.

Jalen Brunson was excellent at Madison Square Garden in Game 5, racking up 44 points on 18-of-35 shooting, while posting 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Miles McBride also came up big with 17 points, including 3 triples, while Josh Hart ws good for 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Isaiah Hartenstein surprised with 17 rebounds, too, so it was truly a team effort, making up for the absence of OG Anunoby (strained left hamstring). Alec Burks came alive with 18 points off the bench, including 5 3-pointers in just 23 minutes.

The Pacers hit just 43.1% (31 of 72) from the field, with 44.4% (12 of 27) from downtown. But Indiana also turned it over 18 times, and the Knicks gobbled up 53 rebounds, with the Pacers good for only 29 boards. That was the giant difference in the game, as the Knicks had more opportunities, taking 29 more shot attempts.

Knicks at Pacers odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:54 a.m. ET.

  • Moneyline (ML): Knicks +180 (bet $100 to win $180) | Pacers -225 (bet $225 to win $100)
  • Against the spread: Knicks +5.5 (-110) | Pacers -5.5 (-110)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 215.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

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Knicks at Pacers key injuries

Knicks

  • F OG Anunoby (hamstring) out
  • F Bojan Bogdanovic (wrist) out
  • F Julius Randle (shoulder) out
  • C Mitchell Robinson (ankle) out

Pacers

  • G Bennedict Mathurin (shoulder) out

For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.

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Knicks at Pacers picks and predictions

Prediction

Knicks 108, Pacers 104

Moneyline

The KNICKS (+180) are a strong value in this elimination game, as New York gives you the opportunity to nearly double up.

New York had a tremendous rebounding advantage in Game 5, as it really didn’t shoot all that much better than Indiana last time out. The Knicks will need to put the sour memory of Game 4 out of their heads. Look for New York to ride the red-hot Brunson into the Eastern Conference finals, and a date with the Boston Celtics.

Against the spread

The KNICKS +5.5 (-110) are worth playing with the points, if you’re a little more on the conservative side, and you just can’t pull the trigger betting New York straight up.

The Pacers -5.5 (-110) are just 1-3 ATS in the past 4 games, with the lone exception the blowout win in Game 4. But it’s going to be hard to collective themselves after a 30-point loss, even with the home crowd on their side. Back the Knicks, who should be able to push the Pacers around for the rebounding edge again in Game 6.

Over/Under

UNDER 215.5 (-110) is the lean in Game 6, but go with a half-unit play at most.

The Under has cashed in 3 straight meetings in this series since a pair of Overs at MSG to start. As a playoff series goes along, things tend to tighten up, and while we’ve seen the winning team score 121 or more points in 4 of the 5 games so far, the losing team has scored an average of 90.0 PPG in the past 2 games.

We should see defense reign supreme in Friday’s contest, as the Pacers have their backs to the wall, and the Knicks will be careful not to do anything dumb to give them a chance.

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Boston Celtics, former Duke star Jayson Tatum advance to Eastern Conference Finals

Boston’s Jayson Tatum, the Duke star drafted third overall in 2017, averaged 26.8 points and 10.4 rebounds in a second-round win over Cleveland.

Former Duke basketball star [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] will play in his fifth Eastern Conference Finals in seven years with the Boston Celtics.

Tatum scored 25 points on 9/16 shooting and added 10 rebounds and nine assists during Wednesday night’s victory to close out the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the NBA playoffs. He scored 33 points in back-to-back appearances in Game 3 and Game 4 to help Boston win the final three games of the series.

For the five-game series, the former Blue Devil averaged 26.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game.

Boston also beat the Miami Heat in five games during the opening round, again losing Game 2 but sweeping the rest. Tatum averaged 21.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists across that opening series.

So far in his 10 games this postseason, Tatum has eight double-doubles, one triple-double, and two 30-point games.

Tatum and Boston made the NBA Finals once so far in his career, a six-game defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry in 2022. The Celtics await the winner of the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers, which the Knicks currently lead 3-2 as of Thursday morning.

Luka Doncic owned up to his childish antics towards the refs after Mavericks’ big Game 5 win

Luka Doncic is finally showing some maturity.

When he’s dialed in and focused, Luka Doncic is one of the NBA’s brightest talents. He’s a veritable superstar who can take over a game by himself. But that’s the problem. We haven’t always seen that version of Doncic, especially as he incessantly complained about the officiating during the Dallas Mavericks’ second-round playoff battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Fortunately for the Mavericks, Doncic seemingly shelved his usual thought process during Wednesday night’s big Game 5 win on the road.

Well, at least for one evening.

In his postgame interview, Doncic acknowledged that he hadn’t been focused on the right things during the Mavericks’ first four games with the Thunder. But he promised himself he would play with more joy and clarity on the task at hand for Game 5. It paid off with tremendous dividends:

Doncic was positively masterful in helping the Mavericks get the 3-2 series edge. He dropped a 30-point triple-double while shooting an efficient 12-of-22 from the field (54 percent). Heck, he even blocked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander near the baseline!

If this is the kind of Doncic the Mavericks will get when he’s just focused on playing his normal game without any frills, they have to be ecstatic. We’ll see whether he keeps it up moving forward.

Draymond Green blasts Timberwolves following Game 5 loss vs. Nuggets

Draymond Green didn’t hold back after the Timberwolves dropped Game 5 to the Nuggets.

After winning the opening two games on the road against the defending champions, the Minnesota Timberwolves have dropped three straight games to the Denver Nuggets, including Game 5 in rough fashion on Tuesday night.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic dominated, scoring 40 points on 15-of-22 shooting from the field to go along with 13 assists, seven rebounds, two steals and a block in 41 minutes. He did this while matching up with newly crowned Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Following the Timberwolves’ loss to fall behind in the second-round series, 3-2, to the Nuggets, Draymond Green was critical of the Timberwolves in an appearance on NBA on TNT. Green didn’t hold back when talking about Gobert and the Timberwolves, calling the series over.

Listen here, I got two things of why this series ain’t coming back to Minnesota. No. 1, the big Frenchman is sitting on that podium speaking his native language, ‘we, we, we need to do this.’ You, you, you need to get a stop. It ain’t we. Karl-Anthony Towns is actually doing a pretty good job when he’s on Joker. It’s you my man that’s getting cooked. No we. Yes, you do need help from the other guys, but on some of those they can’t help you. You just got to get a stop. So, that’s No. 1.

No. 2, when you’re in these playoff series — for me — I’m always looking for the smallest ounce of weakness that I could find. And, the way Karl-Anthony Towns walked off that floor with the limp after he played the rest of the game completely fine. He played the rest of that game totally fine. Then he could barely walk leaving the court. They don’t believe anymore. And when you lose belief, these are the defending champs they’re playing against. When you lose the belief, it’s over. and they don’t believe they can win anymore. Which means this series is over.

Via @NBAonTNT on X:

Despite Green calling the series over, the Timberwolves will have chance to extend the series in Game 6 with elimination on the line on Thursday at home in Minnesota.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X! 

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Nikola Jokic made the driest joke about his uncharacteristic monster dunks against the Timberwolves

Nikola Jokic has a hilarious explanation for his uncharacteristic dunks.

Nikola Jokic’s dominance against the Minnesota Timberwolves lately has been something to behold.

The three-time MVP is easily the biggest reason the reigning champion Denver Nuggets have flipped this second-round battle on its head while taking a 3-2 series lead. He has absolutely taken over, leading Anthony Edwards to just laugh about the Denver star’s greatness.

In the process of Jokic’s superb play against Minnesota, he’s doing something we rarely see from him: Throwing down uncharacteristic monster dunks whenever he sees an open lane. This isn’t to say Jokic isn’t capable of such feats. It’s that he’s much more known for being a polished, technical player than an outright acrobat.

Jokic discussed this recent dunking “discrepancy” in his press conference after Game 5. He made a hilarious joke about his capacity for monster dunks actually always being there:

What gold. The man’s comedic timing is unmatched.

Indeed, while Jokic is 100 percent joking, it feels kind of hard to deny his “freak of nature” sentiment. Few players in NBA history have made basketball look this easy on a night-to-night basis and in the biggest moments. Even fewer have consistently gone outside of their comfort zone –like with these Jokic dunks — and still excelled at the highest level.

But that’s precisely why Jokic is an all-time great and the unquestioned best player in the world. He’ll dunk … especially when you expect him not to.

Anthony Edwards could only laugh about Nikola Jokic’s dominance in Game 5

Anthony Edwards has accepted reality with Nikola Jokic.

At a certain point, it’s foolish to ignore reality, to pretend you can really change anything about an outcome. That’s what Anthony Edwards realized after watching Nikola Jokic paint an all-time masterpiece in the Denver Nuggets’ Game 5 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The evening saw Jokic fall just three rebounds short of a 40-point triple-double. Think about that. He was flat-out unstoppable, especially while attacking four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. This is a pattern that has extended all the way back to Game 3.

No matter what the Timberwolves have thrown at the three-time MVP, he has somehow always had an answer while leading the way for reigning champion Denver. In the post-game locker room, Edwards didn’t even bother pretending like Minnesota could do anything differently to the NBA’s best player.

Instead, he could literally only laugh about Jokic’s dominance:

Edwards is a superstar in his own right. One day, he may well hold the title of best player in the league. It says something that Edwards is this good at the age of 22. It also says something that he’s mature enough to realize when the other team has an all-time great like Jokic operating near the peak of his powers.

When someone like Jokic has it going, no one’s getting in his way. It’s just that simple.