Oklahoma City has a chance to secure its spot in Round 2. Cleveland and the Los Angeles Clippers can get to the doorstep of the second round. And the Houston-Golden State winner is going to have control of their matchup.
Those are the headlines going into a quadruple-header of NBA playoff games on Saturday: Oklahoma City can sweep its series with a win at Memphis, Cleveland can take a 3-0 lead over Miami, the Clippers will aim for a 3-1 edge when it plays host to Memphis and the nightcap is a Rockets-Warriors matchup in San Francisco with those teams tied at a game apiece.
And there are some injury worries, particularly for Memphis and Golden State. Grizzlies guard Ja Morant took a bad fall that knocked him out of Game 3 against Oklahoma City with a bruised hip — and helped contribute to the Thunder rallying from a 29-point deficit — while Warriors forward Jimmy Butler also is dealing with the aftereffects of a fall that knocked him out of Game 2 in Houston.
“I never want to see anybody get hurt. I hope he's OK,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of Morant. “You want everybody to be at full strength. He's a great competitor. He was playing great. Obviously, that had something to do with the game as well. It'd be wrong of me not to acknowledge that.”
The Thunder, since relocating to Oklahoma City, were 0-95 in games where they trailed by at least 27 points — until Thursday.
“Never surprised. Always impressed," Daigneault said. "They just feel an unbelievable responsibility to one another.”
Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat
When/Where to Watch: Game 3, 1 p.m. EDT (TNT)
Series: Cavaliers lead, 2-0.
BetMGM Sportsbook: Cavaliers by 6.5.
What to Know: Miami did a lot of things right in Game 2 — teams in playoff games were 76-0 all-time when scoring at least 112 points, making 16 3s, shooting 50% or better from the field and holding their opponent to under 50% shooting. The Heat did all that and lost Game 2 anyway, simply because of Cleveland’s barrage of 3-pointers and Donovan Mitchell’s ability to make huge plays down the stretch to fend off a Miami run. The Heat say Game 3 is a must-win, so expect a big push to open the game. It’ll be a good test for Cleveland, which was great on the road all year, to see how it handles a playoff road atmosphere.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Memphis Grizzlies
When/Where to Watch: Game 4, 3:30 p.m. EDT (TNT)
Series: Thunder lead, 3-0.
BetMGM Sportsbook: Thunder by 14.5.
What to Know: Oklahoma City will have a chance to be the first team to reach Round 2 of the playoffs, plus can finish off a first-round sweep for the second consecutive year after ousting New Orleans 4-0 last season. The 14.5-point spread, assuming it doesn't move before game time, would be the largest according to BetMGM Sportsbook for any road team in a playoff game over the last decade. (Excluding bubble games, the biggest road favorites in the postseason since 2012 were San Antonio at Memphis in 2016 and Milwaukee at Detroit in 2019. Both were 12.5-point favorites and both covered). The challenge for Memphis will be how to fight back after losing a 29-point lead in Game 3.
Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers
When/Where to Watch: Game 4, 6 p.m. EDT (TNT)
Series: Clippers lead, 2-1.
BetMGM Sportsbook: Clippers by 5.5.
What to Know: The Clippers trailed 26-19 after 9 minutes of Game 1 — and outscored the Nuggets 98-57 the rest of the way. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray had 37 of those final 57 points for Denver while their teammates combined to shoot 7-for-37 and score only 20 points in those 39 minutes. That is all an obvious credit to the Clippers' defense, which has been an overlooked story all season. Another boost for the Clippers out of that game was how Kawhi Leonard didn't have to log big minutes; he played only 34. Denver has to get some shooting going in Game 4, after getting outscored 54-21 on 3-pointers in Game 3.
Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors
When/Where to Watch: Game 3, 8:30 p.m. EDT (ABC)
Series: Tied, 1-1.
BetMGM Sportsbook: Warriors by 2.5.
What to Know: Golden State forward Jimmy Butler's injury status is the big question going into Game 3. And if he plays, can he be effective? The Warriors still have the upper hand in the series after getting a split of Games 1 and 2 in Houston and now come home to Chase Center — where they are 16-4 in playoff and play-in games. The Rockets are only 2-8 in that building, the third-worst record among Western Conference teams, ahead of only Utah (2-9) and Portland (1-9). Houston has to love what it has done defensively so far in the series, holding the Warriors to 95 and 94 points in the first two matches. That's a clear trend, with the Warriors being held under 100 points in five of their last six games against the Rockets. The combined numbers from those games: Rockets 582, Warriors 579, and each team going 3-3.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
