On Monday, a couple of former Kentucky Wildcats played a massive part in helping their teams take 3-1 leads in the Conference Semifinals.
We’ll start in the Big Apple, where Karl-Anthony Towns and the (3) New York Knicks used another second-half comeback (coupled with some terrible injury luck for the opposition) to take down the (1) Boston Celtics 121-113. After going down by 20 or more points in all three games to begin this series, the Knicks trailed by 11 at halftime and were down as many as 14 points.
But New York, once again, made a push going into the fourth quarter. The Knicks were already on the verge of stealing another win before Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum went down with a non-contact injury. Everyone’s immediate fear was a torn Achilles. Tatum, who poured in 42 points prior to the injury, missed the final three minutes for Boston as the Knicks completed the comeback to take a commanding 3-1 lead.
Towns did everything New York needed of him. The seven-footer battled foul trouble — a common theme for him in these playoffs — but still managed to contribute 23 points and 11 rebounds on 11-15 shooting. The Knicks are now 5-1 in the playoffs when KAT drops 20 or more points. He was aided by 39 points from star point guard Jalen Brunson.
Teams leading 3-1 go on to win the series more than 95 percent of the time. If Tatum ends up having to miss significant time, that number would feel like 99 percent in this scenario. Game 5 in Boston is set for Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET on TNT.
Randle continues his excellent Playoff run
You could argue that there hasn’t been a more impressive Kentucky alum so far this postseason than Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle. In three playoff series before 2024-25, Randle shot 34.4 percent from the field and 28.3 percent from deep across 15 games played. But he’s been excellent this time around. Across nine games in the 2025 Playoffs, Randle is shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and 34.7 percent from long range. More importantly, his team keeps winning.
After another impressive performance on Monday night, Randle now has the Wolves one game away from reaching the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year. The 6-foot-9 forward went for 31 points (11-21 FG; 4-8 3PT), five rebounds, and three assists in 40 minutes. (6) Minnesota took down the Steph Curry-less (7) Golden State Warriors on the road 117-110, grabbing a 3-1 series lead in the process. After a close first half, a 39-17 third-quarter advantage for the Wolves buried Golden State for good.
“Lock in and play good.”
Julius Randle’s son spoke about what he loves about his dad’s game and what he tells him to hype him up
pic.twitter.com/u6ye4PdCs7
— NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2025
Much like the Knicks-Celtics series, an injury to a superstar has sucked some of the life out of the fun. Game 5 will shift to Minneapolis, where the Wolves can close out the series at home. Tipoff is set for Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
5/12/25 Statistics
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | +/- | MIN |
| Julius Randle (MIN) | 117-110 W @ GSW | 31 | 11-21 (4-8) | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 40 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK) | 121-113 W vs. BOS | 23 | 11-15 (0-3) | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -1 | 36 |
| Kevin Knox (GSW) | 117-110 L vs. MIN | 2 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 4 |
| Rob Dillingham (MIN) | 117-110 W @ GSW | DNP-CD | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Tonight in the NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference Semifinals | Game 5 | IND leads 3-1
7:00 (TNT) | (4) Pacers (Jackson: out) @ (1) Cavaliers
Western Conference Semifinals | Game 5 | Tied 2-2
9:30 (TNT) | (4) Nuggets (Murray) @ (1) Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Wallace)
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