THE NBA playoffs continued Thursday with three games 3, with only the seeded Oklahoma City Thunder claiming a 3-0 lead. All it was necessary was to link the second biggest return in the history of the NBA qualifiers.
Here are the results and the main dishes to remember Thursday matches:
Thunder 114, Grizzlies 108
Things have gone from great to bad and worse for Memphis' grizzles – Who lost the star I dying because of a hip injury – Thursday evening in a heartbreaking defeat against Oklahoma City Thunder, who won a 3-0 commander's advance in his first round series after equaling the second return to the playoffs in the history of the NBA.
Oh, no, not Ja
With the Grizzlies at the top of 67-40 with 3:15 to play in the second quarter, MORANT took a hard fault of Lu sleeps and finally left the match. He was excluded with what the team said he was a hip injury.
Memphis led 77-51 at halftime, equaling the bar of the franchise for most of the points in an eliminatory match and by publishing the second largest half-time advance in the history of the team in the playoffs. The Grizzlies led by no less than 29 and tried to hold with Domail, but it was a too large task.
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MORANT collected 15 points and five assists before his departure.
Its status is not yet known; Grizzlies that he will suffer more tests on Friday.
That said, in a series that already looked like a gap before Memphis shows a certain life in the first half of match 3, it could very well be over.
Thunder rolls
Oklahoma City was ahead of Grizzlies 36-18 in the third quarter, but that was not done there.
Directed by the 23 points of Chet Holmgren in the second half, the Thunder ruled out while Memphis did not have the essential score to retain the head of the west.
The Thunder took its first advance at 109-108 with 1:20 to play in the match on a franc lance of Jalen Williams and never watched. They held the grizzlewers 13 points from the fourth quarter when they won the period by 14 points.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points on 26 shots and added eight assists and four rebounds, and Williams contributed 26 points, six rebounds, five decisive pass and two interceptions.
Although the aura of the invincibility of the Thunder may have taken a safe blow on Thursday – they would probably not have been able to come back if Morerant continued to play – they showed heart and refused to stop.
This must count for something, even if they have been late in 29.
Match 4 is at 3.30 p.m. on Saturday in Memphis.
Knicks 118, pistons 116
The New York Knicks, fed by the game and the re-emergence of Karl-Anthony Town, put the Pistons de Detroit to win match 3 to the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit to take an advance in the 2-1 series in the first round and recover the advantage of Home-Court.
Kat is back
A major scenario after the defeat of the Knicks in Match 2 was the way New York and the leader Jalen Brunson would make the great man take place after publishing 10 points on the 5 out of 11 shot in 33 minutes.
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Towns took matters into their own hands Thursday evening, reaching three 3S quarters on his way at 31 points and eight rebounds.
Towns forced the action and had 17 first half points to set the tone for the Knicks in a hostile environment.
This is the kind of star performance that New York is waiting for when they acquired it before the start of the season, and the Knicks will need this level of play if they want to go deep in the playoffs.
The new clutch
Brunson won the clutch player for the NBA NBA year Wednesday and showed why he was a deserving winner in match 3.
With Detroit refusing to leave quietly after storming the third quarter and again in the fourth, Brunson took control, displaying 12 points on 4 shots out of 6 with two assists during the period.
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New York led 102-91 with 6:56 to play, but Detroit never abandoned, reducing the advance to 104-101 with 4:42 on the left and remaining annoying until the end.
But Brunson responded with a mid-range jumper with 4:10 on the left and hit a pair of Layups to give New York a 112-105 cushion, they would need. Brunson finished with 30 points on 9 on 20 shots with nine assists and seven rebounds
It should be the Knicks formula: Kat feeds the offense, and Brunson being the closest. It is a fine line to navigate, but it is the one whose knicks must depend for a sustained success.
Yes, Karl-Anthony Towns spent 3 in match 3 Thursday evening in Detroit. (Photo by Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
(Gregory Shamus via Getty Images)
What was happening at the end?
The Knicks led 116-110 with 23 seconds remaining in the competition, but from there, things seemed to last eternally.
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The Knicks leading 116-113 with 5.3 seconds remaining, referee Zach Zarba seemed to miss a violation of the rear area in Brunson.
Then with 0.5 seconds to play and the knicks at the top of 118-116, Brunson tried to intentionally miss his second franc launch after doing the first. But a clock error somehow gave the ball to the pistons after an exam, and they quickly threw the ball on the rendering that followed, which strangely prompted another review.
Fortunately, New York finally finished the match on the following possession.
The NBA's pharmacy remains exasperatedly undefeated.
Match 4 is at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Detroit.
Clippers 117, Nuggets 83
After a pair of nail bundles in matches 1 and 2 between the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, there was little drama in match 3.
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The series went from Denver to Los Angeles, the Clippers opened an advance of 35-28 in the first quarter which climbed to an advantage of 65-47 at halftime.
There was no Nuggets return. The Clippers extended their advance at 25 points in the third quarter and reached a 117-83 victory. After having seized Denver's short at home with a game 2 victory, the Clippers now have a 2-1 lead in the series.
Clippers does not need Kawhi Leonard's monster game this time
Kawhi Leonard was the hero of the Victory 2 of the Clippers with 39 points on an effort of 15 out of 19 since the field, recalling his 2019 eliminatory race which ended with a MVP final trophy and an NBA title with the Raptors of Toronto.
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There was no need for these heroic on Thursday evening. Leonard had an excellent match with 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
But it was a first half of 20 points by James Harden who led Los Angeles in advance from 18 points at halftime. It was a third quarter of 12 points by Norman Powell who helped to thwart the hope of a Nuggets return.
Harden no longer scored after half-time, but he didn't need Powell and Leonard took the stick. Powell, meanwhile, finished with 20 points after scoring 25 points combined in matches 1 and 2. The comfort of the house seemed to benefit Powell than anyone.
Nuggets Defense, reversers, support casting are again problems
Denver's offensive posed an unusual egg because the nuggets did not reach 90 points. But a defense that finished 21st in the regular season in a defensive note had few answers to the balanced attack by Clippers.
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Nuggets allowed Clippers to shoot 48.2% in the field and 46.2% (18 out of 39) of 3 while forcing only eight reversals.
And their offense did not make them favors. After committing 20 reversals in the defeat of match 1 on Monday, the Nuggets gave the ball on Thursday. And they pulled 40.3% of the field and only 26.9% out of 3. Nikola Jokić had another triple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists. But Michael Porter Jr. (seven points) and Christian Braun (nine points) failed to provide a punch, and the Nuggets obtained only six points in total from their bench.
Nuggets seek to find a fix before match 4 on Saturday.
-Jason Owens
