Towns scores 31, Brunson has 30 and Knicks beat Pistons for a 2-1 lead in series
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) goes to the basket against Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
DETROIT (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns scored 31 points, Jalen Brunson had 30 and the New York Knicks held on for a 118-116 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.
OG Anunoby added 22 points for New York. Game 4 is on Sunday in Detroit.
Advertisement
The Pistons have lost eight straight home playoff games since 2008, pulling within one of an NBA record set by Philadelphia from 1968 to 1971.
When Detroit won at New York in Game 2, the franchise ended a league-record, 15-playoff game losing streak to take home-court advantage, but the Knicks snatched it back.
Brunson, who won the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year award on Wednesday, made consecutive layups late in the game to give the Knicks a seven-point lead.
Tim Hardaway Jr. connected on a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds left to pull the Pistons within three.
Brunson made one of two free throws with 3.5 seconds left for a four-point lead after Detroit's coaches, players and fans were screaming for an over-and-back violation to be called. The All-Star guard made another free throw with 0.5 seconds left and missed the second intentionally.
Advertisement
Detroit didn't get a final shot off because Jalen Duren's pass from in front of his team's bench went out of bounds on the other side of the court.
THUNDER 114, GRIZZLIES 108
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Chet Holmgren scored all but one of his 24 points in the second half as Oklahoma City rallied from a 29-point deficit after Ja Morant left the game with a hip injury and beat Memphis for a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
Morant was hurt with just over three minutes left in the first half and Memphis leading 67-40. They got the next basket after he exited and still led by 26 points at halftime.
The 29-point comeback was the second-largest in an NBA postseason game since play-by-play data began being recorded in the 1996-97 season.
Advertisement
The only one bigger: A comeback from 31 points down by the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State on April 15, 2019.
The top-seeded Thunder, who won Game 1 131-80 in the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history, didn't even have a lead in this one until the fourth quarter. Now, they can close out the series Saturday.
CLIPPERS 117, NUGGETS 83
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Los Angeles rolled to a victory over Nikola Jokic and Denver to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.
James Harden and Norman Powell added 20 points apiece in the first playoff game at the new Intuit Dome, where Clippers superfans sitting in The Wall section closest to Denver's bench wore horse hats mocking Jokic's love of the animal.
Advertisement
After the teams split the first two games in Denver — a pair of nail-biters decided by a combined five points — this one was a blowout. Both teams cleared their benches in the final 4 1/2 minutes.
Game 4 is Saturday at the flashy and tech-heavy Inglewood arena, the dream creation of Clippers billionaire owner Steve Ballmer. He animatedly clapped his hands and pumped his fist from his seat near his team's bench.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
22 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Phillies RHP Aaron Nola sidelined 2 more weeks with rib injury
Rather than leaning on favorites like Paul Skenes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick share why bettors should consider targeting upside picks such as MacKenzie Gore. PHILADELPHIA — Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola suffered another setback in his return to pitch when an MRI showed he has an injury in his right ribcage and will be shut down for two weeks. Nola had already been out since early May with a sprained right ankle that was progressing more slowly than expected. He experienced stiffness in his right side last week in Toronto and that wiped out a planned session against live batters. Nola underwent testing this week and had what the Phillies called a stress reaction in his right ribcage. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said ahead of Tuesday's game against the Chicago Cubs that Nola was unsure how the injury may have happened. Nola is 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA in nine starts. Nola, who signed a $172 million, seven-year contract ahead of the 2024 season, injured his ankle on May 8 during pregame agility drills when the Phillies played the Rays at Steinbrenner Field. Nola is 105-86 with a 3.78 ERA in 11 seasons with the Phillies. Thomson said slugger Bryce Harper was starting to feel better as he recovers from right wrist inflammation that last Friday landed him on the 10-day injured list. The two-time National League MVP and eight-time All-Star is hitting .258 with nine home runs, 34 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 57 games. He missed five games, from May 26 to June 2, with a bruised right elbow after being hit by a pitch from Atlanta's Spencer Strider.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Andy Roddick Explains Why Tennis Players Are Better 'Athletes' Than NBA Players
Andy Roddick Explains Why Tennis Players Are Better 'Athletes' Than NBA Players originally appeared on Athlon Sports. One of the fastest servers on the ATP tour in his day, 2003 U.S. Open champ Andy Roddick, has quickly become one of the most beloved players-turned-podcasters among his generation. Advertisement A former world No. 1 in men's singles for 13 weeks, the now-42-year-old won 32 overall titles, and was a runner-up to 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in four other major finals. Now, he's the host of the very entertaining podcast, "Served With Andy Roddick." During his latest episode, a recap of a star-laden French Open weekend, Roddick made a bold claim: that tennis players are the best athletes on the planet. Roddick specifically came after the NBA, long seen as a home for some of the world's fittest people. "I think tennis players are the best athletes in the world. Five hours and 40-something minutes on the biggest [stage]," Roddick said of the marathon five-set French Open men's final on Sunday, between the world's top two players, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Advertisement Alcaraz eventually rallied to outlast Sinner, claiming his second straight French Open championship and his fifth Grand Slam title at just 22 years old. Andy Roddick (USA) watches Roger Federer (SUI) celebrate after defeating Roddick in the mens' singles final round 2009 Wimbledon© Offside Sports-Imagn Images "You compare this to other sports," Roddick continued. "An NBA game is 48 minutes played in air conditioning, where you have teammates, halftime, timeouts. To say one thing doesn't mean you're throwing shade at something else." Roddick makes an intriguing claim here when it comes to pure endurance. Still, is there any way that, say, the 6-foot Alcaraz could summon the vertical aptitude necessary to leap above the rim for a dunk or block? Could he beat speed demons like Ja Morant on a fast break? Advertisement "I'm celebrating and applauding one set of athletes. It's the most complete examination of an athlete that I can think of. We used to get viewed as, 'Oh, you're soft, like [a] country club sport.' I don't know that that narrative exists," Roddick asserted. The athleticism on display is certainly impressive in both sports. The comparison between a team sport like basketball and an individual sport like tennis is understandably apples-to-oranges. "I don't know how you can watch and not say the athleticism that is on display is otherworldly," Roddick posited. "I think tennis players are the best athletes in the world. The more I watch it, the more I think it. Tell me why I'm wrong." This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
Forbes
42 minutes ago
- Forbes
2025 NBA Finals: OKC Thunder Paint Defense Has Pacers Out Of Character
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - JUNE 08: Andrew Nembhard #2 of the Indiana Pacers attempts a lay up ... More against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter in Game Two of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center on June 08, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Julio Cortez - Pool/Getty Images) OKLAHOMA CITY – 110 points. That's the line in the sand for the Indiana Pacers during the 2025 playoffs. Through 18 postseason games, they're a perfect 13-0 when scoring more than 110 points and winless at 0-5 when they don't. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, that trend held steady as Tyrese Haliburton's heroic shot just before the final buzzer put 111 on the scoreboard for Indiana. Yet 111 is just barely over that 110 threshold. And in Game 2, the Pacers final tally was 107. It took a monster 66-point second half featuring some garbage time to get there, though the blue and gold do deserve credit for reaching that total. And Indiana dropped that game as the Thunder evened the series 1-1. Splitting the two games in Oklahoma City is a good result for the Pacers. But their offense has put up two of their six lowest scoring games in the playoffs so far to open the NBA Finals. OKC's defense is a monster. They are limiting the Pacers by cutting off the paint, and it's become the biggest issue to address for the Eastern Conference champions. 'They sell out to the paint. They are willing to give up a multitude of shots, three, mid-range, whatever it is, so we don't get in the paint,' Pacers center Myles Turner said. 'Now it's just about making a decision [and] In Game 1, Indiana won despite scoring just 34 points in the paint, their second-worst in the playoffs, but overcame it with red-hot jump shooting and solid-enough defense. They drove to the basket 48 times, which is about average for their playoff run but still below their regular season norm of 50.3 per game. The challenge of penetrating OKC's interior is no secret. Guard Ben Sheppard noted as much in between the first two battles of the series. 'I feel like they take away the whole paint. They're flying around everywhere,' Sheppard explained. 'They play a tight-knit defense… it's like five [defenders] on a string.' In Game 2, with a known challenge in their way, the Pacers scored just 34 points in the paint again. The problem persisted. It was tied for their second-lowest in the playoffs and regular season. They had exactly 48 drives again, though many of them came late. After one quarter, the Pacers had zero points in the paint and made only a pair of two-point shots. They were shut down. A core part of their offensive identity is missing in this series, and they need to re-capture it. 'We have to find ways to get the ball in there (the paint), it's just there are so many things that have to go right on a set of two possessions to get the ball into the heart of their defense. You've got to get a stop, a rebound. You've got to be able to get the ball up the floor without a turnover and then you have to be able to get it to the lane and to the rim,' Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle detailed. 'It's a tough task. So we'll look at it. There were some stretches where we did some good things attacking the paint but there weren't enough.' Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) defends against Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese ... More Haliburton (0) during the first half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips) This is what the Thunder do. They led the league in paint defense during the regular season and have remained dominant in the playoffs. Three of the five lowest scoring-in-the-paint games this postseason have come against them – the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves both mustered just 20 points in the paint against the Thunder, and the Nuggets had a separate game with only 26. In the regular season, two of the lowest points in the paint games also came against OKC. Their work on the less glamorous end of the floor was just as brutal. Teams want to score at the rim but can't against the mighty Thunder defense. Their rim protection is elite and backed by a line of terrific perimeter stoppers. 'I'd say it's kind of our defense as a whole. It starts with pressuring the ball before it crosses halfcourt, stopping teams from scoring in transition so we can set our defense,' Thunder big man Chet Holmgren said of his team's paint presence. 'Defending actions, the screens, slide-outs, whatever, kind of controlling them within those. It makes it harder to get to the paint in the first place. It starts early. Making sure we have each other's back at the rim if somebody does get beat.' Those tactics are crushing the Pacers offense. They can't generate clean drives. They're frustrated, and it shows. Forced shots and stalled possessions are creeping in. With no simple answers, players have been forcing the issue. It's not how the blue and gold want to play. They need to figure out how to get into the paint. Maybe individual brilliance can be enough, but that isn't the right blueprint. The more viable path to success lies in the details. They need to set harder screens. They must keep the ball circulating and move with purpose as players. If there's space, Indiana has to take it. On Tuesday, multiple members of the team described needing to play with pace and keep the rock moving from side to side quickly as possible solutions. They are necessary and must be executed well. The Thunder defense is terrific. Breaking it down is challenging. But the Pacers have to. They need to find their offensive rhythm, regain their identity, and hit that 110 threshold with consistency. That's their win condition. 'Ball movement and player movement will help,' guard Andrew Nembhard said, simply as he always does. He shared what is known – that's it's a point of emphasis for OKC to take away the paint. The Pacers still have to move toward the rim. If they don't, they won't reach 110 points often enough to win four times in this series. Without their offensive thesis, they're in trouble. It's currently their biggest problem to solve in the 2025 NBA Finals, and it's up to the coaching staff and players to adjust and find solutions. It's the only way forward.
