The NBA playoffs are winding down with the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals in full swing. In the east, the Boston Celtics are now down 0-3 in their best-of-seven series against the Miami Heat, with the Los Angeles Lakers sharing the same record against the Denver Nuggets.
In NBA lore, few teams are as notable as the Celtics and Lakers given the long length of their rivalry and dominance on the court in different eras. In fact, it was expected by some that the two teams would meet in the 2023 NBA Finals, but both teams are on the brink of elimination.
On Sunday (May 21), The Celtics headed down to Miami to face the Heat in a must-win game after going 0-2 at their home arena. It was expected that the trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart would have an offensive explosion.
Instead, it was Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Gabe Vincent, who led all scorers with 29 points, owning the night. It was also a night that saw Tatum and Brown shoot 33 and 35 percent from the field respectively, and they didn’t get much help elsewhere although Grant Williams did give 12 off the bench. Butler scored 24 for the Heat but did so on 5-13 shooting, and got to the line seven times and sinking six.
On Saturday (May 20), Jamal Murray went off for 37 points against the Lakers, with Nuggets big man passing wizard Nikola Jokic dropping 24 with eight assists. The Lakers have been competitive in spurts but each game in the series has been huge swings and momentum changes that LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and coach Darvin Ham haven’t been able to figure out.
Tonight, the Lakers will take on the Nuggets in a win-or-go-home game for King James and Los Angeles. Even still, they would need to win four games to climb out of this major hole they’ve built for themselves. On Tuesday, the Celtics and Heat resume their series in a must-win for Boston.
On Twitter, the reaction to how the NBA Playoffs are currently playing out is all over the place. We’ve got reactions from NBA fans below.
[h/t NBA.com]
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Photo: Getty
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