As we go into the second week of playoffs, many teams have already established their ground with their first wins of the playoff first round series. These teams include the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Going into the second game of the first round of the playoffs, the Cavaliers and Magic faced each other again in Cleveland. Orlando’s previous year’s rookie of the year and now star player, Paolo Banchero, hoped to lead his team to take the win. With a well-fought game, the Orlando Magic came just short of victory as the Cavaliers got up a 2-0 lead in the seven game series. The final score was 96-86.
Game Two of the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers series ended in lots of excitement as the Knicks were down and hit two consecutive threes to take the win against the 76ers. As the exciting ending concluded in victory for the Knicks, 76ers star Joel Embiid was devastated with their loss and questioned the referee’s foul-calling abilities. This led to controversial messages after the game’s wild ending.
In attempt to end their ongoing drought after their Game One loss, the Los Angeles Lakers put up a phenomenal 20 points lead against the Denver Nuggets for Game Two going into the second half of the game. However, an incredible 20 point comeback led Denver to try to win the game with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Jamal Murray ended up hitting a game-winning fadeaway mid-range shot over the Lakers center, Anthony Davis, to seal a 2-0 lead over Los Angeles in the series. Another controversial ending of the game was set when Lebron James and Anthony Davis both stormed off in the post-conference interview questions.
After the wild upset of the Phoenix Suns against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Suns hoped to tie the game series record 1-1. By winning Game Two against the Timberwolves’s star players, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Suns hoped to contain their opponents to let their stars, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, lead their team to a win. However, the Timberwolves won again with Edwards locking Durant in tight defense the entire game and hitting mid-range shots from around the post, ending the game with a score of 105-93.
As the Pacers versus Bucks series went back to Milwaukee’s home court, the Pacers made a significant run for the win. By going back and forth with the Bucks in deep shots and scoring easy layups, the game ended up with the Indiana Pacers winning as Tyrese Haliburton led them to an ending score of 125-108, which some call a blowout win.
With Kawhi Leonard back in the series, Paul George and Terrance Mann both had significant players for their Game Two against the Dallas Mavericks. While the Clippers took on an early lead in the game, Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving both put up phenomenal numbers as they entered the fourth quarter in which they were down a decent amount of points. With a last push for effort in the Clippers stadium, the Mavericks took the win with an ending score of 96-93, one of the closest games so far in the NBA playoffs.
As many fans from across the NBA doubted the Miami Heat’s ability to win a game without Jimmy Butler against the number one seed, Boston Celtics, shooting guard Tyler Herro, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., and center Bam Adebayo led the heat to winning an exciting game in The Garden with an ending score of 111-101. The fans and Celtics were shocked by the win, as the series now headed over to Miami for Game three. Viewers are now excited to see the matchup again in Florida.
Last but not least: the Oklahoma City Thunder versus New Orleans Pelicans Game Two. Another series that viewers had not expected to be much of an interesting matchup, especially without the Pelican’s star player, Zion Williamson, out with an ankle injury. However, it ended up being a blowout game, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander putting up massive numbers for points, rebounds, and assists that game. The final score was 124-92, and going into Game Three for the next week.
