Cavaliers handle home court with ease

After losing to the New York Knicks in five games in last year’s opening round, the physicality and shooting ability of the Cavaliers was scrutinized. So far in their series against Orlando, both areas of the game have been strongly corrected, leading the way to a pair of double-digit wins.

The Cleveland defense has given up an average of 84.5 points in the first two games, but with Game Three being a must-win for the Magic, the Cavs can expect Orlando to come out swinging. 

Similar to last year, the Cavaliers’ offense has not been where fans would hope. They are yet to score 100 points in the series, extending their playoff streak to five straight games without reaching the century mark.

Knicks win two nail-biters, head to Philly up 2-0

Though the New York Knicks earned the two-seed, they got a tough draw with the Philadelphia 76ers, and it showed in the first two games.

After falling down 13 late in the first quarter of Game One, the Knicks went on a long 41-14 run to claim a 14-point lead early in the third quarter.

The 76ers fought back, reclaiming the lead before the end of the third, leading to a back-and-forth fourth quarter. In the end, New York pulled it out, winning 111-104.

In Game Two, Philadelphia held the lead until the third quarter, when the Knicks took their first lead of the day. This led to another back-and-forth fourth quarter.

Up 101-96 with 47 seconds left, Kyle Lowry missed his second free throw. New York came down the other end and knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead to two.

Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey lost the ball in the backcourt on the following possession, leading to another New York three-pointer, this one putting them up a point. Philadelphia was unable to reclaim the lead and lost 104-101 and will need to respond at home in Games Three and Four.

What many fans believe to be the worst play call of the game from Ryan Day was his call on fourth and inches at the Notre Dame 11-yard line. The Buckeyes were down four with a little over four minutes left and needed a half-yard for the first down. 

Nuggets pick up from last year’s Western Conference Finals

Denver has gone up 2-0 on the Lakers, extending the Lakers’ playoff losing streak to six, all of which are to the Nuggets.

Los Angeles competed well in Game One, holding the lead most of the first half. However, after the third quarter’s first half was tight, Denver took control with a 13-0 run and eventually won 114-103.

The Lakers again took control in Game Two, this time claiming a 20-point lead in the third quarter, but the Nuggets stormed back to claim a slim lead in the fourth quarter. 

Knotted at 99-99, Denver’s Jamal Murray hit a two-point shot at the buzzer to win Game Two for the Nuggets.

The Lakers are down 0-2 to the defending champions, but the series is not over. They have the recipe for victory, as evident by their holding the lead for the majority of the series up to this point. The issues have come in the second half, mainly the third quarter, when they allow the Nuggets to go on big, game-changing runs.

Los Angeles will need to take both games at home if they want to have a realistic chance to win the series when they head back to Denver for Game Five.

Bucks fall in game two, lose home-court advantage

Without Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game One, Damian Lillard stepped up, at least in the first half, scoring 35. Though he did not score in the second half, the Bucks got the job done, winning 109-94. 

Pascal Siakam scored 36 for Indiana in Game One, and in Game Two, he poured in 37. Antetokounmpo again did not play, and though Lillard scored 34, he had another slow second half, only scoring eight of them after halftime.

The game stayed competitive until early on in the fourth quarter when the Pacers began to pull away, eventually winning by a score of 125-108.

Antetokounmpo’s status for Game Three is uncertain, but Milwaukee fans should not count on him playing. Instead, they should look toward Lillard to play a full 48 minutes and for their defense to find ways to slow down Siakam.

Taking Game Two was a big step in the Pacers’ pulling a first-round upset. If they can defend home court in the next two games, they will head back to Milwaukee up 3-1, primed to advance to the second round.

Timberwolves take care of Phoenix with no problem

For the first time in 20 years, Minnesota has home-court advantage in a playoff series, and they have taken advantage of the opportunity, winning the two games by a combined 32 points.

Game One stayed competitive for most of the first half, but the Timberwolves went on a run late in the second quarter to gain a 14-point lead.

The Suns clawed their way back, cutting the lead to four about halfway through the third quarter. However, Minnesota went on an extended 21-5 run to close out the quarter, giving themselves a 20-point advantage heading into the fourth.

Phoenix never brought the deficit to under 15 points in the fourth quarter and ended up losing 120-95.

Game Two seemed to be headed in a better direction for the Suns. They went down 16-7 early, but a very long 44-28 run gave them a seven-point lead late in the first half.

After surrendering the lead in the third quarter, Phoenix quickly reclaimed a three-point lead, but not for long as the Timberwolves scored a dozen straight.

Matters got worse for the Suns when they again gave up a run, this one being an 11-0 run early in the fourth quarter. 

Phoenix was unable to dig themselves out of the 17-point hole and lost Game Two 105-93. Their main focus for Games Three and Four will have to be playing a full 48 minutes and avoiding second-half collapses.

Mavericks respond to game one blowout, steal game two

The Clippers and the Mavericks are playing in the playoffs for the third time in the past five seasons, with the Clippers winning both of the previous matchups.

In Game One, the series appeared to be headed in that direction. Los Angeles gained a 34-22 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The Clippers blew the game wide open in the second quarter, outscoring the Mavericks 22-8, including a 15-2 run over the final seven minutes of the half.

Down 26 to start the second half, the Mavericks’ offense did wake up, but they were never able to get the game back to within single digits and lost by a score of 109-97.

However, Game Two stayed competitive the entire night, with neither team ever claiming a double-digit lead.

Dallas held the lead for most of the game, but in the third quarter, Los Angeles was able to grab a one-possession lead on multiple occasions.

After going down 73-67 early in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks ripped off a 14-0 run to take an eight-point lead, which they never relinquished.

Dallas took Game Two by a score of 96-93 and will head home looking to take control of the series in Games Three and Four.

Miami continues to give Boston nightmares

Here we are again, watching the Heat and the Celtics compete in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. After each of the last three encounters was in the conference finals, this time the two are playing in the first round.

Almost everyone knows last year’s story: the eight-seed Heat took a 3-0 series lead on the two-seed Celtics, but the Celtics fought back, winning the next three. Boston had home-court advantage for Game Seven but lost by 19 points.

This year, with Jimmy Butler out due to an injury and the Celtics being the most dominant team all year, not many people gave Miami a chance. 

Boston appeared to be proving everyone right in Game One, winning 114-94 behind Jayson Tatum’s triple double and the team shooting 22-49 for three.

However, in Game Two, it was Miami that rained in the three-pointers going 23-43, making 11 more than Boston. 

The game was very tight until the halfway point of the third quarter when the Heat went on a 10-0 run to go up 12 points. The Celtics fought back time after time, but Miami continued to make timely shots and went on to win 111-101, tying the series at one game apiece.

Boston must be careful on their trip to Miami. It is a tough place to play, and the Celtics can not afford to return home for Game Five down three games to one.

Oklahoma City slips by in game one dominates game two

New Orleans came prepared to play the top seed in the Western Conference, at least in Game One. They played tough defense, allowing themselves to stay in it the whole game.

The Pelicans took a seven-point lead early in the second, but Oklahoma City quickly brought it back down to a one-possession game.

For the rest of the first half, neither team could gain more than a two-point lead. However, early in the third quarter, the Thunder turned their two-point deficit into a nine-point lead thanks to an 11-0 run.

New Orleans came back with a 16-6 run to temporarily reclaim the lead. Shortly after, the Pelicans found themselves down a point, giving up a 13-4 run and putting themselves down ten early in the fourth quarter.

They again fought back and were able to claim a 90-88 lead with 3:34 to go in the game, but gave up a jump-shot by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a minute and a half left tied the game, and a layup followed by a foul shot by Gilgeous-Alexander gave Oklahoma City a three-point lead with a half minute to go. New Orleans was unable to take the lead back and fell 94-92.

Game Two did not go any better for the Pelicans as they found themselves down 35-22 at the end of the first quarter. After breaking even in the second quarter, they lost the third quarter by a score of 29-24 and were down 92-74 entering the final quarter. 

The fourth quarter did not treat them any better, with the Thunder outscoring them 32-18 and defeating New Orleans by a final score of 124-92.

New Orleans will certainly have to win both Games Three and Four at home to have any chance in this series, and though the Game Two result was not one that gives Pelicans fans hope, if they can mirror their Game One defensive performance, they will have a chance to knot the series at 2-2.

Demetri Manousos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].