Nuggets, Knicks storm back with dramatic game-winners; Examining 76ers, Lakers collapse

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Good morning everyone, but especially…

THE DENVER NUGGETS AND THE NEW YORK KNICKS

Jamal Murray. O Denver Nuggets. What else can I say?

Denver recovered from a 20-point deficit to win the Lakers 101-99 at the buzzer by Murray on the outstretched right arm of Anthony Davis to take a 2–0 series lead.

• After trailing 68-48 in the third quarter, Denver outscored Los Angeles 53-31 the rest of the way.
• Murray himself outscored Los Angeles 6-2 in the final minute, hitting jumpers on both LeBron James It is
  Davis. Isabel Gonzalez has a great article about the Cold-blooded Nuggets point guard.
• Nikola Jokic finished with 27 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists. It’s his fourth career 25/20/10 playoff game. Everyone else in NBA history has combined for four. So yeah, not bad!

As a Hall of Fame coach Rudy Tomjanovich He once said, “Never underestimate the heart of a champion.” The current champions showed that they have a lot of courage in their quest to repeat.

That was the craziest ending of the night, although the nearly 20,000 fans at Madison Square Garden might disagree. O Knicks have officially brought the magic back to The Garden. In an absolutely wild return/76ers collapse (actually both), New York overcame a 101-96 deficit in less than 30 seconds for a 104-101 victory and a 2-0 series lead.

Sam Quinn broke at the last minute.

• Kyle Lowry made a free throw to put the visitors up five, but Jalen Brunson got a friendly bounce on a 3-pointer to cut New York’s deficit to two with 27.1 seconds left.
• Lowry then threw a risky inbounds pass to Tyrese Maxeywho received the ball, recovered it, fell to the ground and threw the ball away in the process, choosing not to call for (or forgetting that he had) a time-out.
• Donte DiVincenzo missed an open 3-pointer, but Isaiah Hartenstein got the offensive rebound among four different 76ers, and DiVincenzo capitalized on his second chance, putting New York ahead 101-100.
• Hartenstein blocked Maxey on the other side, OG Anunoby made two free throws and Joel EmbiidThe bell’s effort was begging.

The Knicks are up 2-0 despite Brunson’s massive fightsits top scorer, and the absence of Julio Randle, their second highest scorer. Instead, they have unsung heroes like the tireless Josh Hart (21 points, 15 rebounds), the opportunistic and efficient Hartenstein (18 points, eight rebounds) and, of course, DiVincenzo (19 points). James Herbert has more information how essential DiVincenzo is to New York.

Honorable mentions

And it’s not such a good day for…

THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS AND THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

The ending was very fitting: Murray being surrounded by his teammates inches away from Davis, who could only stand up and sulk.

For much of the night, Davis was brilliant but scored no goals and took just one shot in the fourth quarter. Even James’ greatness — 12 points in the fourth quarter — couldn’t make up for it, and James’ mistake with 16 seconds left proved to be another missed opportunity.

Simply put, the Lakers abandoned everything that was working, writes Sam Quinn. And here are the three biggest mistakes Darvin Ham made. Now, a team the Lakers were chasing after last year’s sweep is halfway to beating them again.

Speaking of meltdowns, we saw a lot of them from the 76ers. This might be the worst. But it was much more than the last minute that sank the 76ers.

• Embiid is not close to 100%. While 34 points isn’t negligible, he needed 29 shots to get there and wasn’t his normal, dominant self on either end. New York grabbed 12 offensive rebounds It is outscored Philadelphia 40-28 in the paint.
• Still, the fight when Embiid leaves stay. Philadelphia outscored New York by three in Embiid’s 39 minutes and was outscored by six in the nine minutes he sat. He is being pushed beyond the limit, but the 76ers have no chance without him.
• The non-Embiid and non-Maxey players (35 points, 10 assists) were 12-for-33 (36%) from the floor.
• The referees weren’t helpful — the 76ers plan to file a grievance — but you often make your own luck…or lack thereof.

It’s the same story every postseason. Embiid is lame. The supporting cast isn’t good enough. They can’t close. After the game, Embiid had the audacity to say: “We should be 2-0. We’re good. We’re going to win this series.”

Should be it doesn’t take you anywhere. Embiid and the 76ers should know this better than anyone.

Not-so-honorable mentions

NFL Draft: our latest (and almost last) mock drafts

The NFL Draft is just two days away and Ryan Wilson sent your penultimate simulation: which teams he must to do. Here are Ryan’s top five:

1. Bears: QB Caleb Williams – “That hasn’t changed since last August, and I never understood why any other player was in the QB1 conversation…”
2. Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels – “No player has improved more in the last 12 months…”
3. Patriots: QB Drake Maye – “If the Patriots can be patient…he has a chance to be really good.”
4. Cardinals: WR Marvin Harrison Jr. “NFL evaluators know how good he is…”
5. Chargers: WR Malik Nabers – “Nabers has Ja’Marr Chasetype potential from the moment he steps onto an NFL field…”

Interestingly, Ryan says that teams in need of defenders outside the top three should watch who falls, not trade. That means five quarterbacks are in the top 12 of this simulation. RJ White, in turn, has a full trading simulation and your favorite draft prop bets.

The quarterback has been the talk of the draft for months, and the headlines keep coming.

But there is also a lot of talent among the players who attack the quarterback. Old Vikings GM Rick Spielman divided the top edge rushers into layerswith NFL comparisons and best fits.

Scottie Scheffler wins RBC Heritage, his fourth victory in five events

Not even Mother Nature can stop Scottie Scheffler. Number 1 in the world finished with a three-stroke victory at the RBC Heritage on Monday, becoming the first player since tiger woods in 2006 to win an event within a week of winning a major and the first player to win four PGA Tour events in a span of five starts since Woods in 2007.

Over the past month and a half, Scheffler…

• Won the Arnold Palmer Invitational
• Won the Players Championship
• Tied for second at Houston Open
• Won the Masters
• Won RBC Heritage

… It is raised an incredible $16.25 million.

Simply put, Scheffler is playing as well as anyone since peak Woodswrites Kyle Porter.

• Concierge: “39 and 67.5: Scheffler opened the season with – count ’em – 39 consecutive rounds at par or better. His scoring average is currently 67.50. The PGA Tour record for scoring average in a season is 67.79 for Tiger.”

At this point, Scheffler no winning would be bigger news than him winning. With the PGA Championship next month, it’s not unreasonable I wonder about a Scottie Slam. He’s so good and no one is close.

What will we watch on Tuesday

Game 2: Capitals at Rangers7pm on ESPN
Game 2: Suns x Timberwolves7:30 pm on TNT
Game 2: Lightning on the Panthers7:30 pm on ESPN2
Astros at Cubs7:40 p.m. on TBS
Game 2: Pacers at Bucks8:30 pm on NBA TV
Game 2: Avalanche at Jets9:30 pm on ESPN
Game 2: Mavericks at Clippers10pm on TNT
Game 2: Predators on Canucks10pm on ESPN2