Luka Doncic stars as Clippers’ big names no-show; the case for LeBron joining 76ers

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THE DALLAS MAVERICKS AND THE BOSTON CELTICS

Luka Doncic he was prepared for battle in Game 5: a sleeve over his injured knee, tape on his shoulders, a one-sleeved T-shirt that looks like it had been through a juicer, and an illness on top of that.

And then he, once again, showed why he’s the soldier you want on your side in the biggest games. Doncic produced a hefty but beautiful double-double of 35 points and 10 assists, and Dallas beat the Clippers123-93, to take a 3-2 series lead in what could have been Los Angeles’ last game downtown before the team moved to Inglewood.

Dallas led by 10 at halftime and by 20 in the fourth quarter, with the third-quarter acquisition of Doncic the big difference, writes Colin Ward-Henninger.

On the East Coast, the Celts They’re not kidding and their first step of revenge is complete. Boston throttled Miami 118-84 to close out the first-round series 4-1. It ties the second-largest playoff loss in Warm history and the second-largest series-clinching game victory in Celtics history.

• Derrick White continued his rise in the postseason with 25 points after 38 in Game 4. The 63 combined points are the most ever in a two-game span, regular season or playoffs.
• The Celtics had no problems in their first playoff game without Kristaps Porzingis (calf strain), who will will probably miss the entire second round too. In expanded functions, Sam Hauser scored 17 points and made five 3-point shots, and Lucas Kornet it was +21 in 18 minutes.
• Miami shot just 10.3% (3 of 29) from 3. That’s the second-worst percentage in a postseason game (with a minimum of 25 attempts) in NBA history.

Without Jimmy Butler, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier It is Josh Richardson, the Heat had no chance, going smoothly against the team they knocked out last year. The Heat were expected to land Damian Lillardand it’s hard not to think How their season would have been different if this had happenedSam Quinn writes.

Honorable mentions

And it wasn’t such a good day for…

THE CLIPPERS

It’s one thing to put your team on your back for a big playoff game. It’s a totally different thing to do that in a series. Again, James Harden It is Paulo Jorge could not do the latter.

• Harden in Game 4: 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting | Harden in Game 5: 7 points on 2-of-12 shooting
• George in Game 4: 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting | George in Game 5: 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting

That didn’t help Russell WestbrookThe difficult series continued – shooting 2 out of 11 – and Kawhi Leonard (knee) remains out with no return in sight. The result? LA suffered biggest playoff loss of all time.

The Clippers are on the brink of another early exit and it seems unlikely that their biggest names will save them.

Not so honorable mentions

This should be LeBron James’ next step if he wants to win a title

LeBron James he has went out of his way to make sure people knew he doesn’t know what the future holds. The 39-year-old megastar has two months to assess whether she will return to Lakers or go somewhere else.

A lot will change in these two months. James will certainly consider head coaching status Darvin Ham – whose future with the franchise is in danger – and the team lineup as a whole. Could Los Angeles sketch Bronny James, fulfilling LeBron’s dream of playing with his son? It could negotiate for Trae Youngan offensive hell whose fit is questionable? There is a lot at stake and don’t expect a decision soon.

But eventually he will have to make the decision, and if his main goal is a fifth title, James should join O 76ersSam writes.

• Quinn: “With just Joel EmbiidWith Maxey’s $51.4 million salary and Maxey’s $13 million cap hit on the books, the 76ers are looking at virtually unlimited cap space. … This makes building a list relatively simple. … Even a max contract for James would leave the 76ers more than $15 million in cap space, as well as a mid-level exception of renewed cap space that cost nearly $8 million last offseason. Philadelphia could use those resources to sign more free agents, but it could also use them in trades. Remember, the 76ers will have five tradeable first-round picks this offseason thanks to the James Harden trade in November.”

It all fits perfectly on paper, even though the games aren’t played on paper, and Philly would need to add a lot of spacing and rhythm around a hypothetical James-Embiid-Maxey Big Three.

Plus, as Sam notes, maybe James doesn’t want to uproot his life. Maybe winning with the Lakers means more to him than winning anywhere else. Maybe it’s not even worth speculating because we have no idea what he values ​​most. But if it’s number five, Philadelphia is an attractive — and realistic — destination. Before discarding it, read Sam’s well thought out and balanced article.

Borussia Dortmund beats PSG 1-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals

Borussia Dortmund are halfway to their first UEFA Champions League final since 2013 after a 1-0 first leg victory over PSG. Nicolas Fullkrug scored the only goal in the 36th minute, deftly receiving a long Nico Schlotterbeck pass and not making mistakes in the end.

PSG, in turn, were denied goals in the second half and wasted several other opportunities. But Les Parisiens might change things next weekwrites Jonathan Johnson.

• Johnson: “Wait Luis Enrique to tweak your attack approach a bit by going for the one with Kylian Mbappémuch better company positioning and involvement in the second half and Ousmane Dembele needing a slightly more clinical edge in front of goal. Randal Kolo Muani‘s cameo was interesting in terms of work rate, but it could be Gonçalo Ramos‘predatory touch that will make the difference next week depending on Paris’ approach to the scenario that still favors PSG – almost.”

College football teams with the most talent in the 2025 NFL Draft

In case you missed it amid the whirlwind of last weekend’s NFL Draft, Ryan Wilson abandoned his 2025 NFL First Round Mock Draftand Blake Brockermeyer reviewed how strong is each position group one year later.

But what about the schools that produce these potential picks? Chip Patterson took a look at the College teams loaded with most 2025 draft talentand at the top of the list is…

• Patterson: “Ohio State | Notable prospects: CB Denzel BurkeEDGE JT TuimoloauW.R. Emeka EgbukaEDGE Jack SawyerRB Quinshon JudkinsDL Tyleik WilliamsOL Donovan JacksonRB TreVeyon Henderson – As we wrote in NFL Draft Winners and Losers Over the weekend, Ohio State had a 2024 NFL Draft that split two ways. On one hand, four picks marked a drop in production after having at least six players drafted every year since 2016. … The other side of this is the handful of players who could have turned pro in 2024 but elected to come return to Columbus and lead what will be one of the most talented teams in the sport.”

There’s one program – the NFL’s top producer of players over the last decade, in fact – that surprisingly no to do Chip list.

What will we watch on Thursday

Game 6: Bucks at Pacers6:30 pm on TNT
Game 6: Bruins at Maple Leafs8pm on TBS
Game 6: Knicks at 76ers9pm on TNT