Every game left in the second round of the NBA playoffs could be a close-out game. Tonight features two Game 6 matchups.
Cavaliers Aim to Close Out Series
Cleveland will try to eliminate Detroit, the top seed in the East. The Cavaliers are favoured by 3.5 points in Game 6.
Twice it appeared the Pistons were in control of Game 5, but Cleveland kept coming back and finally had its first road win of the playoffs. Detroit led by 15 midway through the second quarter before the Cavs made a run in the third quarter to take the lead. The Pistons rebuilt a nine-point lead with less than three minutes to go, but the Cavs stormed back again.
Detroit didn’t score in the final three minutes of regulation and took two minutes into overtime to score again. Cleveland scored 13 straight points as part of an 18-2 run that flipped the game and this series on its head.
After that 117-113 overtime win, Cleveland has the lead in this series for the first time after winning three in a row. Now, the Cavs head home, where they are 6-0 this postseason, with a chance to close out the series.
Donovan Mitchell had an off game with 21 points on 7-for-18 shooting (1-for-8 from 3-point range) for Cleveland. James Harden had a star performance with 30 points, and Max Strus picked up the slack with 20 points on six made 3-pointers.
Cade Cunningham had 39 points on 27 shots in 48 minutes for Detroit, but no other Piston reached 20 points.
Spurs Look to Advance
San Antonio’s young core can reach a significant milestone by taking out Minnesota on the road. The San Antonio Spurs are favoured to eliminate Minnesota with a win in Game 6 of that series.
Knicks’ Dominance
The Knicks have really hit overdrive in the last seven games. Since falling behind the Atlanta Hawks 2-1 in the first round, the Knicks have won seven straight games by an average of 26.4 points per game. Sure, that 51-point win in Game 6 against the Hawks is skewing that average a bit, but there are two other wins by 30 or more points in that run, and six of the seven wins were by at least 14.
This is why the Knicks are favored to make the NBA Finals. While the Pistons and Cavs are beating each other up, the Knicks have been on cruise control.
This makes two years in a row in the Eastern Conference finals for New York. Last year didn’t go so well, but Knicks fans will have renewed hope with the way the team has been playing.
The Knicks last made the NBA Finals in 1999.
Thunder Sweep Lakers
This could’ve been a fun series had Luka Dončić been available for the Lakers. It would’ve been a meeting of arguably the two best guards in the league.
Instead, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder brushed the Lakers aside with a four-game sweep, and Luka could only watch in street cloth.
In both games tonight, the team in position to advance with a win is favoured. This story will be updated throughout the second round as the odds change with the results for every game.