The Thunder bounced back.
Now we find out who’s actually healthy enough to finish this series.
Now we find out who’s actually healthy enough to finish this series.
🏀 NBA Playoffs: Series shifts — and so do the injuries
Oklahoma City evened the West finals with a 122-113 win over San Antonio.
But the bigger story might be who’s left standing.
OKC’s Jalen Williams re-aggravated his hamstring injury and left early. The Spurs, already without De’Aaron Fox, lost Dylan Harper in the second half with a right leg injury.
That puts even more weight on Game 3 in San Antonio — where the Spurs are now 1.5-point favorites.
Meanwhile, back East:
Cavs (+6.5) at Knicks, 8 ET (ESPN). Total: 215.5. NY leads 1-0.
Cleveland blew a 22-point lead in Game 1. Now we find out if they can recover — or if that collapse lingers.
But the bigger story might be who’s left standing.
OKC’s Jalen Williams re-aggravated his hamstring injury and left early. The Spurs, already without De’Aaron Fox, lost Dylan Harper in the second half with a right leg injury.
That puts even more weight on Game 3 in San Antonio — where the Spurs are now 1.5-point favorites.
Meanwhile, back East:
Cavs (+6.5) at Knicks, 8 ET (ESPN). Total: 215.5. NY leads 1-0.
Cleveland blew a 22-point lead in Game 1. Now we find out if they can recover — or if that collapse lingers.
🧠 Zach Cohen’s NBA Report
OKC Gets Revenge
Wednesday night’s Thunder performance was far from perfect, but they were able to win (and cover) as 7.5-point favorites in a must-win Game 2 against the Spurs. After a nuclear performance from Victor Wembanyama in the series opener, Oklahoma City was able to “hold” the big man to 21 points and 17 rebounds in Game 2. That’s still a strong game — especially when factoring in another six assists and four blocks — but it wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as his Game 1 performance.
The Thunder also got 30 points out of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein had a double-double and did great work in his matchup with Wembanyama, and Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Jared McCain, and Ajay Mitchell all had double figures off the bench.
With Oklahoma City having evened things up, DraftKings Sportsbook has the Thunder at -160 to win the series. However, not everything is peachy for the defending champs. Jalen Williams, who just returned from a multi-week hamstring injury, tweaked that same area in Game 2. It now seems highly likely he’ll miss more time. Mitchell also appeared to injure his quad in the fourth quarter, so we’ll have to see what the Oklahoma City rotation looks like next game. But San Antonio isn’t in the greatest shape either. Dylan Harper, who has been fantastic this series, suffered a hamstring injury of his own. He’ll likely miss a couple of games with that, meaning the Spurs will need De’Aaron Fox back in a hurry.
ECF Game 2
The Knicks will host the Cavaliers again on Thursday, when they’ll be looking to take a 2-0 series lead. Cleveland probably spent most of Wednesday feeling down about what happened in Game 1, but things will spiral out of control if the Cavaliers can’t lock back in for Game 2.
For what it’s worth, the oddsmakers aren’t letting Game 1 impact things too much. The Knicks were 6.5-point favorites in Game 1, and they’re 6.5-point favorites again in Game 2.
👉 Zach’s Best Bets →
👉 KillerSports contest →
👉 Hardwood Handicappers →
👉 NBA player props →
Wednesday night’s Thunder performance was far from perfect, but they were able to win (and cover) as 7.5-point favorites in a must-win Game 2 against the Spurs. After a nuclear performance from Victor Wembanyama in the series opener, Oklahoma City was able to “hold” the big man to 21 points and 17 rebounds in Game 2. That’s still a strong game — especially when factoring in another six assists and four blocks — but it wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as his Game 1 performance.
The Thunder also got 30 points out of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein had a double-double and did great work in his matchup with Wembanyama, and Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, Jared McCain, and Ajay Mitchell all had double figures off the bench.
With Oklahoma City having evened things up, DraftKings Sportsbook has the Thunder at -160 to win the series. However, not everything is peachy for the defending champs. Jalen Williams, who just returned from a multi-week hamstring injury, tweaked that same area in Game 2. It now seems highly likely he’ll miss more time. Mitchell also appeared to injure his quad in the fourth quarter, so we’ll have to see what the Oklahoma City rotation looks like next game. But San Antonio isn’t in the greatest shape either. Dylan Harper, who has been fantastic this series, suffered a hamstring injury of his own. He’ll likely miss a couple of games with that, meaning the Spurs will need De’Aaron Fox back in a hurry.
ECF Game 2
The Knicks will host the Cavaliers again on Thursday, when they’ll be looking to take a 2-0 series lead. Cleveland probably spent most of Wednesday feeling down about what happened in Game 1, but things will spiral out of control if the Cavaliers can’t lock back in for Game 2.
For what it’s worth, the oddsmakers aren’t letting Game 1 impact things too much. The Knicks were 6.5-point favorites in Game 1, and they’re 6.5-point favorites again in Game 2.
👉 Zach’s Best Bets →
👉 KillerSports contest →
👉 Hardwood Handicappers →
👉 NBA player props →
🏒 NHL Playoffs
The Golden Knights stunned the Avalanche 4-2 in the Western Conference final opener.
Now the East gets underway:
Canadiens (+170) at Hurricanes (-205), 8 ET (TNT).
Jonathan Davis notes Carolina’s 12-day layoff is the longest in Stanley Cup Playoff history, while Montreal has won Game 7s in each of the last two rounds.
👉 JD’s series plays →
👉 Game 1 picks later today →
Now the East gets underway:
Canadiens (+170) at Hurricanes (-205), 8 ET (TNT).
Jonathan Davis notes Carolina’s 12-day layoff is the longest in Stanley Cup Playoff history, while Montreal has won Game 7s in each of the last two rounds.
👉 JD’s series plays →
👉 Game 1 picks later today →
⚾ MLB
Two early games on the getaway day slate.
👉 Greg’s Best Bets →
👉 More MLB analysis →
👉 Player prop projections →
👉 DonBest rotation guide →
👉 Greg’s Best Bets →
👉 More MLB analysis →
👉 Player prop projections →
👉 DonBest rotation guide →
