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I’d definitely sayAnt is in a better moodthan Michael Malonemight be.
Game 7 Sunday!
We got two insane results in one day
All weekend, theBoston Celtics sat at homewondering who they’d play in the Eastern Conference finals while we awaited to know the Western Conference finals matchup. Thankfully,we have all the answerswe’ve been waiting for.
Wolves shock Denver …and the world
For Games 4, 6 and 7 of this series, I watched them with my friend Myles here in Los Angeles. We covered the Wolves together for a now-defunct blog named “A Wolf Among Wolves” for years, back when Kevin Love and Nikola Peković were our kind of thing. We expected to attend a remote funeral for the Wolves after Game 6, but theyput up a historic beatdownon the defending champion Nuggets. Myles made me promise to follow the same pattern for Game 7.
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We met outside a British bar in Santa Monica before walking to his hotel bar down the road to watch. Unlike Game 6, things weren’t going well for the Wolves’ as Game 7 got underway. They were down 20 points in Denver early in the third quarter, so the same ole Wolves were about to Wolves it up. At one point, Myles decided he couldn’t focus on the game anymore, so he talked to me about work. And, all of a sudden, theWolves started winning. Anthony Edwards shook off a terrible start to finish strong. Rudy Gobert did the same,including an improbable turnaround jumperearly in the fourth quarter for a four-point lead.
Jaden McDaniels had a big game as well. Karl-Anthony Towns had the biggest game of his life, ignoring all of the online criticism. And, by the end of Game 7, theWolves won arguably the biggest gamein franchise history. They beat the defending champs in Denver in a do-or-die game. I don’t know if people understand how muchthis doesn’t happen for the Wolvesin general – and I meanNEVER happens. Minnesota has been arguably the NBA’s worst franchise since its 1989 inception, but it slayed Goliath, 98-90.
Myles and I sat dumbfounded after the win. We walked by the beach and pier, doubting whether our eyesactuallyseen what they seen. Denver ran out of gas against the best defense in the league, scoring 160 total points the final two games. The Wolves won a Game 7 in which they shot less than 40 percent overall and Ant went 6 of 24 for 16 points.
Either the Wolves or the Mavericks are going to the NBA Finals. Maybe superstitions work?
GOOOOOOOOOODNIGHT. 😴 pic.twitter.com/6lt8eJ85ro
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 20, 2024
YESSSSSSSIRSKI. https://t.co/AzG2busfLQ
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 20, 2024
BADDEST BIG ON THE PLANET. pic.twitter.com/JoGE1PNxSZ
See AlsoQ-Day: Will quantum turn the world upside down? | Clifford ChanceIran’s president has died in office. Here’s what happens next | CNN— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 20, 2024
Indiana takes Game 7 at Madison Square Garden
Throughout the season, we’ve wondered if the Pacers’ offense could keep going in crucial playoff moments. And, while some doubters will want to chalk up their postseason success to other teams’ injuries, Indiana still put up incredible scoring numbers while showing resilience. In Madison Square Garden for Game 7, thePacers put up evenmorehistoric offensive numbers.
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The second-best offense in NBA history brought the pain on a battered Knicks team.The Pacers’ 67.1 percent overall shooting marked the best figure for any Game 7 ever.Their 130 points are tied for third-most in such matchups.Tyrese Haliburton led the waywith 26 points, and everybody else simply hit shots with him. At one point, the Pacers started out 22 of 27 from the field (81.4 percent!). The Knicks shot 42.4 percent and just couldn’t keep up.
OG Anunoby playedfive minutes but couldn’t continue. Josh Hart tried to play through an abdominal injury yet wasn’t quite himself. Jalen Brunson broke his hand in the second half and had to leave. It just wasn’t the Knicks’ day, and Indy made sure of that.
it’s been real New York 👋 pic.twitter.com/Q6NgVhxhe9
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 20, 2024
we move, Indy 😤 pic.twitter.com/dLRbu98YwZ
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 20, 2024
series over. pic.twitter.com/AIQiolTQSF
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 20, 2024
Don’t Forget About Saturday
Mavs eliminate No. 1 seed Thunder
Don’t forget how we got our other Western Conference finals competitor! Of course, there will be some officiating controversy – it was a questionable call, and referee Tony Brothers was involved in the game.You can see on the replaythat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit the ball and then P.J. Washington’s arm. Brothers said as such in the pool report after the game. And, after the game, SGA even “admitted” to the foul andwished he hadn’t committed it. Not to mention, the challenge of the call by Thunder coach Mark Daigneault kept them from having a timeout on the final possession.
The story of the series was about the stars doing enough as role players stepped up to help close out the game. For the Thunder,SGA was phenomenalwith 36 points, eight assists and zero turnovers. Chet Holmgren was great inside the arc, but all six of his misses happened from 3-point range, including a game-tying attempt with 96 seconds left. For the Mavs, Luka Dončić had 29-10-10 while Kyrie chipped in 22 points on 23 shots and a big fourth quarter (eight points). The big difference was Dallas got all nine of Washington’s points in the fourth while Derrick Jones Jr. had a playoff career-high 22 points.
The Mavericks have reached their second conference finals in three years. OKC’s incredible season comes to an end with a bright future. Butthe Thunder must decidewhat to do with their big-man position depth and decide whether Josh Giddey is a part of their future.
Stay together. We ain’t done yet.@chime // #OneForDallas #MFFL pic.twitter.com/bz7eayu3Kn
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 19, 2024
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 19, 2024
Initial Conference Finals Thoughts
What should we expect?
Until we officially preview each series, here are my initial three questions and answers – Ilovetalking to myself – for our Eastern and Western Conference finals.
West Finals: (3) Timberwolves v. (5) Mavericks
Which team will have the role-player magic?For Dallas, we’ve seen Washington become Robert Horry at times. Derrick Jones Jr. just had the game of his lifeto close out OKC. Daniel Gafford has been superb. On the Wolves’ side, Jaden McDaniels had a monster Game 7, and Mike Conley Jr. was huge for them in the second half. We expect the stars to perform, but the role players could decide this series.
KAT was unreal last night. 😼 pic.twitter.com/qJyTfcn0M4
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 20, 2024
🗣️🗣️🗣️ we got Jaden McDaniels. pic.twitter.com/rgpJEHIzzf
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 20, 2024
LAST NIGHT WASN’T A DREAM..
YOUR WOLVES ARE IN THE WESTERN CONFERNCE FINALS.
🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 20, 2024
Will the Mavs need Kyrie to be more of a scorer this round?In the semifinals, we saw Kyrie be the connective glue guy. He played great defense at times, moved the ball and rarely tried to do too much as a scorer. Assuming the Wolves have McDaniels guarding Luka, will Kyrie get a chance to cook against Conley or Ant?
Do the Mavs have anybody to stop Ant?They’ll put Jones and Washington on him. Both did a very good job at making SGA work for his points in the previous round. Dallas can also dust off Dante Exum to help. In any case, they’ll have to play perfect defense to slow down Ant.
That’s love right there. LuKai forever 🥹@att // #OneForDallas #MFFL pic.twitter.com/16Bmiuylrz
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 19, 2024
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 19, 2024
East Finals: (1) Celtics v. (6) Pacers
When are we seeing Kristaps Porziņģis in this series?Will Porziņģis miss the first two games? The first four? Is he expected to be back to 100 percent in this series? And how much do the Celtics need Porziņģis to eliminate the Pacers?
Can the Pacers actually score on this Celtics defense?Indiana went 2-3against Boston this season. Its offensive rating against the Celtics (114.1) was roughly six points per 100 possessions below their regular-season mark. For what it’s worth, though, onlyoneof those matchups happened with Pascal Siakam.
Will we see an aggressive Haliburton?We saw aggressive Haliburton at times against New York. Now, he has to be that against Derrick White, Jrue HolidayandJaylen Brown.Will he be as aggressivewith his shot as Indy needs him to be?
Battle for the East 😤 pic.twitter.com/dht7PqxQsI
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 19, 2024
always on 🔋 pic.twitter.com/xyZR7J9LcL
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 19, 2024
Bounce Passes
An incredible article about the Minneapolis communityby the Hall of Famer David Aldridge.
Will the Knicks go for another star?Or is their culture too important?
John Hollinger onBronny James’ draft combine performance.
(Top photo: C. Morgan Engel / Getty Images)
Zach Harper is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering the NBA. Zach joined The Athletic after covering the NBA for ESPN.com, CBS Sports and FRS Sports since 2009. He also hosts radio for SiriusXM NBA and SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. Follow Zach on Twitter @talkhoops
