Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Plus: The Heat steal Game 1 from the Knicks at MSG.
Warriors end Kings’ dream season behind 50 from Steph, win 120-100
There may not be a better basketball player in the world than Steph Curry when he’s facing elimination. I don’t have the stats to back that up, necessarily. But all I really need to point to is his performance in Sunday’s Game 7 against the Kings. He dropped a playoff career-high 50 points — no one has ever scored more points in a Game 7 — to propel his Warriors into Round 2 and a date with the Los Angeles Lakers. He shot 20-for-38 from the field and made seven triples. Ho-hum for the greatest shooter in NBA history.
Kevon Looney grabbed 21 rebounds in a Wilt Chamberlain-esque performance, rendering Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis all but ineffective on the boards (despite the fact that Sabonis finished with eight rebounds himself). Though the Warriors trailed by two at half, and only held a six-point lead late in the fourth quarter, Curry and co. answered every call down the stretch, pulling ahead by 10 as the fourth quarter began and never looking back from there.
Sabonis had 22 points and seven assists to go with his work on the boards, but De’Aaron Fox struggled, scoring just 16 points on five-for-19 shooting in his third game playing with a broken finger on his shooting hand.
Warriors-Lakers kicks off on Tuesday night. This should be fun.
Butler, Heat hold off Knicks in Game 1, 108-101
It wasn’t pretty, but it didn’t need to be, and it almost never is for the Heat. They aren’t supposed to be battling in the second round, and yet they are. They weren’t supposed to beat the Knicks on their home floor, and yet that’s exactly what they did. It’s almost like they prefer the odds to be against them. Perhaps the odd’s makers should take note.
Behind 25 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists from Jimmy Butler, plus 20 more points from Gabe Vincent (who made five threes), the Heat held the Knicks at bay in Game 1, stealing homecourt advantage in Madison Square Garden. Kyle Lowry (18 points and six assists) and Kevin Love (nine points, five boards, and four assists, all of which seemed to be full-court heaves) were also pivotal in Miami’s winning effort.
RJ Barrett had 26 points to lead all scorers, while Jalen Brunson added 25 and Obi Toppin — starting in place of the injured Julius Randle — finished with 18. Game 2 tips off on Tuesday at 7:30 ET.
