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đ Good morning to all but especially …
THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS …
Winning by yourself is fun. Winning with your buddy is better. Buddy Hield exploded for 33 points, including a Game 7 record-tying nine 3-pointers, and Stephen Curry came alive in the second half as the Warriors surged past the Rockets 103-89.
- Houston was within eight — 82-74 — with under four minutes to go before Golden State ripped off a 12-0 run in 79 seconds. It included a Hield block(!), two awful Houston turnovers, six straight points from Jimmy Butler, and 3s from Curry and Hield.
- Hield’s nine 3s were three more than the Rockets made as a team. Overall, the Warriors outscored the Rockets 54-18 from 3. Golden State also had just seven turnovers, a crucial category against Houston’s excellent defense.
- Curry scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and 14 in the fourth quarter.
Hield scored just four points in Game 5 and zero in Game 6, both Golden State losses. When Curry was struggling and Golden State could find little offensive rhythm, Hield came to the rescue, the unexpected hero in a series full of twists and turns, Brad Botkin writes.
Can Golden State challenge for a title? With the Timberwolves up next, Sam Quinn took a look at the Warriors’ prospects.
- Quinn: “The deeper you go, the more puzzle pieces start to fit here. The Warriors are the old team here. They just played seven grueling games against the Rockets, and now have to turn around and start the Minnesota series on Tuesday. They won’t get an extra day off until the two-day break between Games 5 and 6. Can they handle the physical demands that come with playing this late in the playoffs?”
Elsewhere Sunday, the Pacers upset the Cavaliers 121-112 in Game 1 of their second-round series. Indiana got double-figure scoring from six different players, including 23 from Andrew Nembhard and 22 (and 13 assists) from Tyrese Haliburton. Indiana shot 53% (19 for 36) from 3; Cleveland was at 24% (9 for 38). It’s a make-or-miss league, folks!
… AND THE DENVER NUGGETS
The Nuggets were in disarray less than a month ago, their head coach and GM fired amid a lackluster pre-playoff stretch.
It just may have been the jolt they needed. The Nuggets blew out the Clippers 120-101 in Game 7. Six players scored 15+ points, the first time that’s happened in a Game 7 in NBA history.
One of those six was Russell Westbrook, the mercurial Energizer bunny. As evidenced by his 16-point, five-rebound, five-assist, five-steal Game 7, Westbrook has found the perfect home for his post-superstar days, Sam writes.
- Westbrook: “Whether the adjustments he made were due to the brilliance of Nikola JokiÄ, pressure accumulated from years of disappointment elsewhere, or just good old-fashioned growth, Westbrook made the subtle tweaks needed to thrive as a role player. … Finally, he started to become the off-ball player his teams needed him to be.”
Here’s the updated NBA playoff bracket/schedule.
đ Honorable mentions
đ And not such a good morning for …
THE HOUSTON ROCKETS …
Listen, at some point, you just have to admit another team owns you — until they don’t. The Warriors are now 5-0 in playoff series against the Rockets, eliminating Houston in 2025, 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2015. In the last three, Golden State has eliminated Houston in Houston.
On the bright side, the Rockets are well on their way. Amen Thompson is awesome. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun are special young talents, even if their introductions to postseason basketball had some bumps.
There are superstars potentially available this offseason, and the Rockets will be linked heavily to them given their wealth of young talent and draft capital. But Sam says they shouldn’t force anything.
- Quinn: “They don’t even know for sure what they really have here yet. Thompson was a reserve on opening night. He ended the season as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and a budding star. Sengun just made his first All-Star team … There is no guarantee that any of these players or picks yields someone like Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo … but so what if they don’t? What harm does another year of data do? These assets aren’t going anywhere. There will always be unhappy stars.”
… AND THE L.A. CLIPPERS
In 2006, the late Dennis Green unleashed his iconic “They are who we thought they were!” rant. Nearly two decades later, the Clippers, sadly, remain who we thought they were.
They could have been a dark horse contender, Kawhi Leonard finally healthy, James Harden reinvigorated, Ivica Zubac among the most improved players in the league. They won 15 of their last 17 games entering the playoffs.
But they always were who we thought they were. Harden pulled off his latest big-game disappearing act, scoring seven points on eight shots in Game 7. L.A. got outscored 72-40 across the second and third quarters. This is L.A.’s third straight first-round exit.
They are who we thought they were.
Who will they be next? Big questions remain for an aging, underachieving core, Sam writes.
- Quinn: “There will be a reactionary portion of the fan base that wants a teardown. It just isn’t feasible. … What if Harden declines at 36? What if Leonard’s newfound health is a mirage? That’s where things get complicated. The Clippers have depth. They have the basic roles this version of their team would need filled. What they don’t have is stability, not just for the present, but for the future.”
đ Not so honorable mentions
đ NHL Playoffs second round set after Jets’ double-overtime win over Blues
The first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs is over, and it ended with a bang. Adam Lowry scored the game-winning goal with under four minutes left in double overtime to lift the Jets to a 4-3 win over the Blues. At 96 minutes and eight seconds, it was the third-longest Game 7 in NHL history
The game even going past 60 minutes required a comeback that won’t be soon forgotten in Winnipeg, St. Louis or across the NHL.
- Winnipeg trailed 3-1 late in the third period before scoring two empty net goals: Vladislav Namestnikov with 1:56 left and Cole Perfetti with three seconds left.
- Perfetti’s tally is the second-latest game-tying goal in Stanley Cup Playoffs history and the latest game-tying goal in a Game 7.
The Jets will face the Stars — who had their own incredible comeback — next. Former Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen got some revenge on his old club, scoring three third-period goals to power Dallas past Colorado 4-2 in their Game 7 clash Saturday.
Here’s the entire second-round schedule.  Â
đ Sovereignty wins Kentucky Derby
It was rainy and muddy, but those roses are as beautiful as ever: Sovereignty out-dueled favorite Journalism with a strong finishing kick to win the 151st Kentucky Derby.
Sovereignty’s plans for the Preakness — the second leg of the three triple crown races — are TBD.
⟠MLB Power Rankings, weekend roundup: Dodgers No. 1
Buoyed by a seven-game winning streak that ended Sunday, the Dodgers are back on top of Matt Snyder’s MLB Power Rankings. Here’s the top five:
- Dodgers (previous: 3)
- Padres (7)
- Cubs (2)
- Tigers (4)
- Mariners (8)
We haven’t even reached one-quarter of the way through the season. But several teams have already overcome slow starts, and there’s plenty of time for more squads to join that group, Matt writes.
Here’s more news:
đș What we’re watching Monday
đ Knicks at Celtics Game 1, 7 p.m. on TNT/truTV
⟠Padres at Yankees OR Reds at Braves, 7:05 p.m. on MLB Network
đ Panthers at Maple Leafs Game 1, 8 p.m. on ESPN
đ Nuggets at Thunder Game 1, 9:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV