Oklahoma City continues to cruise through the playoffs, but the Thunder aren’t the only team rolling. While the Thunder have won seven in a row, the New York Knicks have won six in a row.
The Knicks go for a sweep of Philadelphia on Sunday. New York is favored on the road, albeit by a slim margin.
After that, the San Antonio Spurs are favored at Minnesota in Game 4 of that series. The Timberwolves are trying to avoid going down 3-1.
This story will be updated throughout the second round as the odds change with the results for every game.
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Detroit Pistons vs. No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers
Pistons lead series 2-1
Game 4: 8 p.m. ET, Monday
Series odds: Pistons -250, Cavaliers +200
Just when James Harden was getting the brunt of the blame for Cleveland’s two losses in Detroit, he goes out and wins Game 3 down the stretch. The 36-year-old scored on three straight possessions in the final two minutes and those seven points were crucial to keep a lead.
The Cavs won 116-109 to at least entertain the idea of getting back in this series. Cleveland still has a lot of pressure to win Game 4 at home and Detroit is still the clear favorite to advance, but facing a close finish in a must-win situation, Harden delivered.
Donovan Mitchell did most of the work up to that point with 35 points, but Harden was the closer and finished with 19.
Cade Cunningham had a triple-double for Detroit (27 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), but had turnovers on three straight possessions late that were devastating. Cunningham finished with eight turnovers.
The Cavs are favored by 3.5 points for Game 4.
No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers
Knicks lead series 3-0
Game 4: 3:30 p.m. ET, Sunday
Series odds: Knicks -8000, 76ers +2200
Philadelphia had lost six straight playoff series to the Boston Celtics so that first round victory must have felt good for 76ers fans. However, that success hasn’t led to anything since.
The 76ers lost Game 3 at home and are now in an 0-3 hole to the Knicks. Whether or not Philly can win Game 4 as a slight underdog, it feels like the series is over.
Joel Embiid returned for Philadelphia after missing Game 2, but was not a major factor. He was held to 18 points. Kelly Oubre Jr., of all players, led the 76ers with 22 points in a 108-94 loss.
Tyrese Maxey and Paul George both had zero free throw attempts and the Knicks had twice as many trips to the free-throw line (32-16).
Western Conference
No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers
Thunder lead series 3-0
Game 4: 10:30 p.m. ET, Monday
Series odds: Thunder -20000, Lakers +7000
It’s been nine years since a team started the playoffs 7-0. The Thunder have done that without a close game.
LeBron James’ 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers are the last team to start a postseason 7-0. That year, the Cavs swept the first two rounds and won the conference finals in five games before losing the NBA Finals in five games to the Golden State Warriors. It seems far less likely the Thunder would meet a similar fate, if only because the top challenger appears to be in OKC’s conference.
Regardless, it appears this series is over after the Thunder won Game 3 in Los Angeles 131-108. For the second game in a row, the Lakers led at halftime and then got blown away in the second half.
The Thunder put up 74 points after the break to put the game away before the final few minutes.
The odds for the series are unsurprisingly extreme. At -20000, you’d have to put $1000 on the Thunder to advance in order to win $5.
No. 2 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves
Spurs lead series 2-1
Game 4: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sunday
Series odds: Spurs -900, Timberwolves +600
The young Spurs are facing playoff tests and coming out the other end of them so far.
In the first round, it was Victor Wembanyama’s concussion. The Spurs lost Game 2 in the first round when he got hurt, but won on the road without him in Game 3 and then won the series in five games upon his return.
This round, the Spurs dropped the first game at home to Minnesota. Now, the Spurs lead 2-1 after winning Game 3 in Minnesota 115-108.
It’s not the dominance the title-favorite Thunder have displayed, but the Spurs aren’t running into a playoff roadblock yet either.
With respect to Stephon Castle’s 12 assists, this game was all about Wembanyama for San Antonio. He poured in 39 points with 15 rebounds and five blocks. That was enough to overcome a classic Anthony Edwards game (32 points, 14 rebounds, six assists).
The Spurs are now huge favorites to advance and are even favored on the road in Game 4 by 4.5 points.
