21 h. ago SGA v Jokić, dynasty death and justice for Doris Burke: 20 things we learned from the NBA playoffs

The NBA postseason remains a psychodrama of moments, memes and memories unlike anything in sport. We look back at the biggest takeawaysIf a single, overarching lesson can be taken from this year’s NBA postseason, it’s this one: no game is over until the clock hits 00:00. Whether it was the New York Knicks stealing victory from the jaws of defeat against the Celtics in Boston in round two, Aaron Gordon’s buzzer-beating dunk sealing a crucial win for the Nuggets against the Clippers in Los Angeles in round one, or the Indiana Pacers defeating the odds over and over again with their clutch time brilliance throughout the playoffs, a lead has never felt less safe in the NBA. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago The unsinkable Pacers don’t need the lead. They just need the last word | Claire de Lune

Indiana didn’t lead for 47 minutes and 59.7 seconds of Thursday’s NBA finals opener. But belief, defiance and Tyrese Haliburton’s dramatic flair made the final 0.3 countThis is why you play the games, as the old adage goes. In recent years, the later rounds of the NBA playoffs – and the finals in particular – have felt rote. They’ve gone chalk. The drama was minimal, even under the brightest lights of the league’s biggest stage. This year has been different: a playoffs filled with suspense, tension and plot twists galore. But at the start of the finals, the scene was set for a regression to the intrigue-less mean. Every roundtable pundit, basketball expert and barbershop patron outside of Indiana state lines had Oklahoma City – basketball’s best team from wire to wire – winning the series easily.But Tyrese Haliburton, the instigator of several of this postseason’s most jaw-dropping twists, knows a thing or two about drama. It oozes out of his pores. And he and his Indiana Pacers had...

Politics

3 w. ago Knicks fire coach Tom Thibodeau after first Eastern Conference finals berth in 25 years

The New York Knicks have fired coach Tom Thibodeau, just days after their first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years

Sport

3 w. ago Meet the Parents 4 casts pop star in lead role alongside Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro

Hot off the back of major ‘Wicked’ success, Ariana Grande is joining the beloved family film franchise

Politics

3 w. ago Defiant Knicks keep season alive with Game 5 win over Pacers in East finals

Brunson scores 32 as Knicks stay alive with Game 5 winTowns adds 24 points and 13 boards despite knee injuryPacers struggle on offense, miss chance to reach finalsThe Madison Square Garden crowd had waited all week for a spark. On Thursday night, they got a firestorm. With their season dangling by a thread, the New York Knicks delivered a wire-to-wire 111–94 beatdown of the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, keeping their playoff hopes alive and forcing a Game 6 in Indianapolis on Saturday.Jalen Brunson scored 32 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 24 points and 13 rebounds – despite a bruised left knee that had left his status uncertain until shortly before tipoff – as the Knicks trimmed the Pacers’ lead to 3–2 in the best-of-seven-games series and gave their home fans something to believe in. Continue reading...

Sport

3 w. ago Ben Stiller reacts to Pat McAfee’s ‘weird’ celebrity callout at NBA playoffs

Stiller and McAfee attended the fourth game of the Eastern Conference finals when the Knicks played the Pacers

Politics

4 w. ago Thunder stifle Anthony Edwards to move one win from NBA finals

Oklahoma City Thunder 128-126 Minnesota TimberwolvesOKC lead best-of-seven Western Conference finals 3-1Edwards limited to 16 points; SGA scores 40 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a steely performance befitting the NBA MVP, and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped back from a 42-point loss by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-126 in Game 4 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.Jalen Williams scored 34 points on 13-for-24 shooting, including 6 of 9 from three-point range, and Chet Holmgren added 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in a statement game in his hometown that helped the Thunder stave off several pushes by the Wolves to tie the series. Continue reading...

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