Jalen Brunson, Nikola Jokic power Knicks, Nuggets; Caitlin Clark struggles in WNBA debut

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Good morning everyone, but especially…

THE NEW YORK KNICKS AND THE DENVER NUGGETS

O Knicks they should be very exhausted, they should be very injured, they should be… whatever.

The problem is, Jalen Brunson, Isaiah Hartenstein and the rest of the orange and blue crew didn’t get that memo, apparently. New York responded from a Game 4 loss with a game of its own in Game 5, defeating the Pacemakers121-91, to take a 3-2 series lead.

• After two mediocre games at Indiana, Brunson was magnificent with 44 points. It was his fifth 40-point game this postseason, the most in a single playoff since LeBron James there were eight in 2018.
• Hartenstein tied the Knicks playoff record with 12 offensive rebounds. Overall, the Knicks had 20 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 27 second-chance points. New York had 101 shot attempts; Indiana had 72.
• New York is the first team in the league to lose a playoff game by at least 30 points and then respond with a victory by at least 30 points since the 2016 NBA Finals, when the James-led team Knights I did it.

I love Brunson’s game. He is far from being the biggest, strongest or fastest. But he constantly beats bigger (Aaron Nesmith), stronger (Andrew Nembhard) it’s faster (TJ McConnell) defenders. He plays to his own rhythm, twisting, contorting, pretending and creating. He didn’t win the MVP, but he deserves all the “MVP” chants that echo around Madison Square Garden.

The Pacers have no excuses.

• Tyrese Haliburton scored a paltry 13 points and attempted just nine shots.
• His 17 turnovers were a combination of miscommunication, mistakes and lack of focus.
• Indiana showed inability/reluctance to box out, often making no effort while Knicks parachuted in unimpeded.
• The bench, which was supposed to provide a clear advantage, was clearly atrocious. Indiana was outscored 25 in 21 Obi Toppin minutes and for 19 in 19 minutes McConnell.
• Post game, Donte DiVincenzo Said the Pacers aren’t tough. He guesses? He’s right.

In the night drink, Nikola Jokic received his third MVP trophy… and then showed why he is not only the MVP, but one of the game’s all-time greatest offensive forces. Jokic scored 40 points (on 15 of 22 shots) and accumulated 13 assists and seven rebounds – all without committing a turnover – in the Nuggets‘112-97 victory over Timber Wolves. Denver has won three straight to completely turn this series around and move one win away from going to back-to-back conference finals for the first time in franchise history.

• Jokic joins Chris Paulo as the only players with 40+ points, 10+ assists and no turnovers in a playoff game.
• It’s “only” the fifth 40-point playoff game of Jokic’s career, but it’s his ninth career playoff game with 30+ points, 10+ assists and 7+ rebounds. Only James has more.
• He’s doing it against the best defense in the league and often against the Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. But no, that doesn’t invalidate Gobert’s award, Brad Botkin writes. We are simply watching a legend.

Give credit to Denver’s defense, too. Antonio Eduardo It is Jamal Murray got into things after game 4and Edwards responded with just 18 points on 5-of-15 shooting.

Teams that win Game 5 in a best-of-seven series and tie 2-2 advance 82% of the time. New York and Denver are in charge.

Honorable mentions

And it’s not such a good day to…

CAITLIN CLARK AND INDIAN FEVER

Caitlin Clark rewrote the college record books. In one game of her WNBA career, she got history wrong: Clark had 10 turnovers — the most in a WNBA debut and just the 13th double-digit turnover game in league history — as the Fever was blown up by Sun92-71.

A veteran Connecticut team was well prepared for Clark’s tendencies, using length and physicality to make Clark uncomfortable all night. Clark ultimately finished with 20 points, but shot just 5 of 15.

The passes that were open to Iowa – the throws, the lobs over the top, the pick-and-roll passes – were frequently interrupted. When Clark turned the corner in college, she often got easy layups. On Tuesday, she encountered defenders who forced awkward shot attempts or errant passes.

Listen, Clark is going to be okay. The previous “record” for revenue from a premiere was Cynthia Cooper with eight. And she won the first four WNBA championships, multiple MVP awards and became a Hall of Famer. But it’s clear that Clark will face big adjustments — perhaps bigger ones than we expected, given her storied college career. Erica Ayala has more information Clark’s “Welcome to the W” Moment.

As for Connecticut, Alyssa Thomas (13 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists) recorded her ninth career triple-double, extending her WNBA record, and By Wanna Bonner scored 20 points and moved into fifth place on the league’s all-time leaderboard. DiJonai Carrington led the defensive effort against Clark.

Here’s more:

Not so honorable mentions

PGA Championship Picks, Course Ratings, Alleys, More

When you read tomorrow’s newsletter, the PGA Championship will be underway. Then see how to watchIt is here are the departure timeshighlighted by…

• 7:53 am – Ludvig Åberg, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas
• 8:04 am – Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley
• 8:15 am – Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose
• 8:26 am – Cameron Smith, Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland
• 8:37 am – Brooks Koepka, Max Homa, Jordan Spieth
• 1:51 pm – Collin Morikawa, Phil Mickelson, Matthew Fitzpatrick
• 2:02 pm – Rickie Fowler, Jon Rahm, Cameron Young
• 2:13 pm – Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Scottie Scheffler

But who will lift the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday? Here they are our expert picks. Kyle Porter likes…

• Concierge: “Winner: Scottie Scheffler (4-1): I’m going to keep picking Scottie until he loses, which he hasn’t done much of in recent months. Since March 1, Scheffler has lost to a golfer: Stephan Jaegar at the Houston Open. And that. It probably hurts him a little that this is less a strategy golf course and more an execution golf course, but he’s been firing on all cylinders in both areas for a long time.”

Kyle and Patrick McDonald also chose stars that will not victory, Scottie x Rory x Brooks, Tiger x Phil and more.

Patrick also has five dishes that could surprise. I love this choice:

• McDonalds: “Sahith Theegala: It could be argued that Theegala is playing like one of the top 10 golfers in the world, but the price doesn’t reflect that. The Californian has yet to compete in a major, but Theegala has yet to compete in one with the form he currently has. Theegala ranks sixth in total strokes gained, 20th in distance traveled and 12th in strokes gained over the past three months. …Odds: 75-1″

MLB Q1 Grades: 10 ‘A’s, seven ‘F’s

The MLB season is moving forward and RJ Anderson has Q1 grades for all 30 teams. Fair warning: he didn’t hold back, good or bad. Nine teams got an “A” and a whopping seven got an “F.”

Despite all the concerns entering the season, the Yankees are rolling for an “A” start.

• Anderson: “The Yankees should be pleased to be in the American League East mix despite not yet being a starter Gerrit Cole. Juan Soto was as bright as desired and closer clay holmes began his walk year with 17 consecutive scoreless innings. The Yankees still have some areas of concern to address – it would be nice if Gleyber Torres I remembered he was also a free agent this winter – but overall it’s hard to criticize under the circumstances.”

Soto, coincidentally, made some history last night.

Here are all the notes.

What will we watch on Wednesday

Game 5: Cavaliers at Celtics7pm on TNT
NFL Schedule Released8pm on ESPN2 and NFL Network
Game 5: Star Avalanche8pm on ESPN
Game 5: Mavericks at Thunder9:30 pm on TNT