To the chagrin of KSR’s Jack Pilgrim, we start today’s BBNBA recap in Boston.
As a Cleveland Cavaliers supporter myself, I thought Tuesday night’s blown loss to the Indiana Pacers was the pinnacle of experiencing a soul-crushing postseason defeat — but boy was I wrong (and for my personal well-being, thank goodness I was). But the Cavs having three injured rotation players — two of them All-Stars — was a baked-in excuse. The Celtics, on the other hand? Fully healthy. Unfortunately, a fully healthy Jayson Tatum in the playoffs resembles that of a clueless man in the desert without a map.
Totally and utterly lost.
Already down 1-0 in the series, Boston led the New York Knicks (once again) by 20 points in the second half of Game 2 on Wednesday night. New York had just 63 points through three quarters. It was a double-digit lead midway through the fourth quarter. Boston wasn’t shooting the ball well (officially a very concerning trend), but neither were the Knicks. Then the Celtics went on an eight-minute field goal drought down the stretch. A Tatum dunk with under 20 seconds left ended the streak and put Boston in front by one point, but Jalen Brunson was fouled on the next possession and hit both freebies. Tatum then turned the ball over on the final play thanks to another excellent defensive stop by Mikail Bridges.
By some sort of twisted miracle, the Knicks stole Game 2, 91-90, and now take a 2-0 series lead back to the Big Apple. Tatum finished with 13 points on 5-19 shooting. Boston as a team shot 10-40 from deep. It’s the second straight game the Celtics coughed up a 20-point lead. All five Knicks starters finished with a negative plus/minus. Team morale is low for the Eastern Conference’s two-seed.
Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t even have a great game for the Knicks, either. But sometimes you don’t need him to when Boston repeatedly fires a loaded gun straight into its big toe over and over again. KAT went for 21 points and 17 rebounds — the Knicks’ first 20/15 playoff game since Patrick Ewing — on 9-16 shooting in 34 minutes. He turned the ball over four times and foul trouble was still an issue, but Towns was mostly a positive in Game 2 after a below-average Game 1.
What a series so far. If you know what’s going to happen in Game 3, go buy a lottery ticket. Tipoff is set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
SGA, Thunder blow out Nuggets in Game 2
After Boston’s disgraceful late-game performance, I was almost into the idea of a home team just never winning a game in these Conference Semifinals. But the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder had other plans. Led by the best playoff showing yet from MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC mollywhopped the Denver Nuggets 149-106 to knot the series 1-1.
Gilgeous-Alexander was excellent in his 30 minutes of action, going for 34 points, eight assists, and four rebounds with only two turnovers. He shot 11-13 from the field (1-2 3PT) and a perfect 11-11 from the stripe while sitting out the entire fourth quarter. 87 first-half points from OKC marked a new NBA Playoffs record.
“We knew what was at stake tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said postgame. “We came out desperate. We wanted to just take care and control the things that we knew we could. And we did a pretty good job of that, specifically to start the game. The start carried us through the rest of the night.”
After posting 42 points and 22 rebounds in a Game 1 thriller, Nikola Jokic was held to just 17 points and eight rebounds in Game 2 for Denver. His partner in crime, Jamal Murray, chipped in 14 points and four rebounds on 4-9 shooting. For the Thunder, second-year guard Cason Wallace added eight points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The series now shifts to Denver, where the Nuggets will host OKC in Game 3 on Friday at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
5/7/25 Statistics
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | +/- | MIN |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) | 149-106 W vs. DEN | 34 | 11-13 (1-2) | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 51 | 30 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK) | 91-90 W @ BOS | 21 | 9-16 (0-1) | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -2 | 34 |
| Jamal Murray (DEN) | 149-106 L @ OKC | 14 | 4-9 (3-5) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -34 | 31 |
| Cason Wallace (OKC) | 149-106 W vs. DEN | 8 | 3-4 (2-3) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 12 |
Tonight in the NBA Playoffs
Western Conference Semifinals | Game 2 | GSW leads 1-0
8:30 (TNT) | (7) Warriors (Knox) @ (6) Timberwolves (Dillingham, Randle)
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