Good morning, KSR readers, and welcome to another Monday morning. I hope you enjoyed the weekend and Mother’s Day Sunday. Today, we’re celebrating a sweep at Kentucky Proud Park and lots more. Let’s get to it, shall we?
Jaland Lowe looked good at NBA G League Camp
Kentucky’s new point guard, Jaland Lowe, turned heads at NBA G League camp over the weekend. The former Pitt Panther scored nine points with five assists off the bench in the first Sunday scrimmage, then started the second scrimmage, tallying 10 points and five more assists. Lowe hit three of his seven 3-point tries on the day for a 42.8 shooting percentage from outside. He “moved the needle,” according to Kevin Sweeney.
Other familiar participants were Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr, and Amari Williams. Butler scored 12 points with seven rebounds and four assists in his only scrimmage, while registering one of the highest vertical leaps at camp. Carr scored 11 points with four rebounds across two games playing with Williams, who had a combined 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Shai’s Thunder evened the series in Denver
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, and the OKC Thunder evened the score with Denver, winning Game 4 at Denver last night. Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 24 points, while Wallace chipped in 11 points and five rebounds in the 92-87 win. Jamal Murray had 17 in the loss. Next, the series goes back to Oklahoma for Game 5 tomorrow night.
In the other Sunday game, Indiana destroyed No. 1 seed Cleveland by 20 points to go up 3-1 against the East favorite. It’s been an embarrassing semifinal series for the Cavs so far, and now they face the dreaded 3-1 playoff deficit. Only 13 teams in history have overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series. Indiana can close the book tomorrow night.
Two NBA Game 4s to watch tonight
There are a couple of Game 4s to watch tonight, if you’re interested. First, Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks host the Boston Celtics in Madison Square Garden, seeking to extend the series lead to 3-1 in the East semifinals. However, Boston is a 6.5-point favorite as the road team playing in a very hostile environment. You can find it on ESPN at 7:30 p.m.
Then in the West semifinals, Golden State, playing without Steph Curry, aims to tie its series with Minnesota. The Wolves have won two in a row after dropping Game 1 in Minnesota. Julius Randle had a triple-double (24 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds) in Minnesota’s Game 3 win. The Wolves are a 5.5-point favorite. Tip-off is 10:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Odds in tonight’s NBA Draft lottery
Cooper Flagg will likely learn his NBA destination tonight in the NBA Draft Lottery. Utah, Washington, and Charlotte have the best odds of securing the No. 1 overall pick.
- Utah Jazz (17-65): 14%
- Washington Wizards (18-64): 14%
- Charlotte Hornets (19-63): 14%
- New Orleans Pelicans (21-61): 12.5%
- Philadelphia 76ers (24-58): 10.5%
- Brooklyn Nets (26-56): 9%
- Toronto Raptors (30-52): 7.5%
- San Antonio Spurs (34-48): 6%
- Houston Rockets (pick via Phoenix Suns): 3.8%
- Portland Trail Blazers (36-46): 3.7%
- Dallas Mavericks (39-43): 1.8%
- Chicago Bulls (39-43): 1.7%
- Sacramento Kings (40-42): 0.8%
- San Antonio Spurs (pick via Atlanta Hawks): 0.7%
Watch the draw at 7 p.m. on ESPN before Knicks vs. Celtics.
Kentucky Baseball swept No. 14 Oklahoma
Sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble, Kentucky Baseball answered the bell over the weekend, beating No. 14 Oklahoma in three straight games in Lexington. UK’s sweep of the Sooners ended with a 7-2 win on Sunday to wrap up the Wildcats’ final home SEC series of the season. It was Kentucky’s third SEC series win in its last four.
Moving forward, Kentucky should be in good standing to play in the postseason; however, the upcoming series at Vanderbilt is still critical to polishing up the resume. First, Northern Kentucky heads to Lexington tomorrow night for one final game in Kentucky Proud Park in 2025, then the trip to Nashville will wrap up the regular season before the SEC Tournament begins on May 20.
UK Softball heading to a 16th straight NCAA Tournament
Kentucky Softball is going dancing for the 16th straight year. Rachel Lawson’s Wildcats earned an invite to the NCAA Softball Tournament with a 29-26 overall record and a 7-17 finish in the SEC. Last week, Kentucky lost to Georgia in the opening round of the SEC Tournament, falling 8-0 in only five innings. Still, the committee found a place for Kentucky as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA, playing No. 3 Northwestern on Friday in Clemson, South Carolina.
Clemson, the No. 11 overall seed in the tournament, is the host of the Clemson Regional, joined by Kentucky, Northwestern, and USC Upstate. The Cats and Cats play Friday at 2 p.m.
Tune in for KSR’s Happy Hour later today
Wind down from work later today with another KSR Happy Hour presented by Country Boy Brewing. A new 30-minute stream will go live at 4 p.m. with three KSR website personalities breaking down the latest news and hottest topics around Big Blue Nation and beyond. You can find it on KSR’s YouTube channel with all of the other fun videos over there.
KSR is in the studio today
You can find KSR at KSBar and Grille on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday this week. Today, the show will broadcast from downtown Lexington at the iHeart studio. Tune in from 10 a.m. to noon.
The post KSR Today: Lowe at camp, Bat Cats sweep, the NBA lottery, NBA Game 4s, and more appeared first on On3.