Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

Sports Illustrated

Sport

SI Staff & Ryan Phillips

NBA Playoffs: Timberwolves Overcome Injuries, Knicks Fight Back and More Saturday Takeaways

Pistons Magic NBA Detroit (Organization) Hawks Knicks Timberwolves Nuggets Orlando Suns

Saturday night gave us four more stellar games in the NBA playoffs.

The first round has been far more exciting than might have been anticipated, with several underdogs barking and putting top seeds on the ropes far earlier than expected.

Below are four takeaways—one from each game—from Saturday’s NBA action.

We’re finally seeing the version of the Magic we thought we were getting coming into the year

It might be hard to remember, given how the Magic’s season wound up going, but expectations were high for Orlando coming into the year. Over the summer, the Magic sent four first-round picks to the Grizzlies to bring Desmond Bane into the fold—a move signaling that they were ready to push for a top spot in the East in a year that the conference felt truly wide open.

Through the regular season, things did not go their way, with Orlando trundling to a 45–37 record, needing to escape through the play-in tournament to secure a spot in the playoffs.

But this series with the Pistons has shown us the Magic that many of us thought we might get to see heading into the season. This is a tough, gritty team that can bring any opposition down into the muck for a rock fight against them. As the team’s star acquisition, Bane played the part on Saturday night, putting up 25 points, including a ridiculous 7-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc to carry the Magic to victory and take a 2–1 lead in the series.

Orlando has Detroit on the ropes, and three games into the series, looks fully capable of knocking off the top team in the East.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the MVP until further notice

Listen, I get it. It was fun to imagine someone else as the MVP. Nikola Jokić is putting up numbers more impressive than his MVP seasons! Victor Wembanyama is doing stuff we have never seen before! Luka Donćić went sicko mode in March!

But there is only one MVP, and his name is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA dropped 42 points going an absurd 15-of-18 from the floor en route to the Thunder taking a 3–0 lead over the Suns in the first round of their title defense. This Thunder team is a well-oiled machine, and Gilgeous-Alexander is the engine that makes it go.

KAT might be the most important piece of a deep Knicks run

The Knicks reestablished order on Saturday, hammering the Hawks 114–98 and tying up their series. It was pretty much a wire-to-wire win for New York, as Atlanta’s last lead was 14–13 midway through the first quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns deserves a ton of credit for how the team played.

Towns notched a triple-double, with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while adding two steals. He did all of that while only playing 29 minutes. It was an efficient outing that reinforced his importance to the Knicks. Yes, Jalen Brunson is the engine that drives New York, but he needs impact from the players around him. OG Anunoby led the team in scoring (22), but Mikal Bridges has been a complete no-show in the first round. He has a total of 29 points in the first four games.

When he’s on, Towns is the difference-maker the Knicks need to make themselves a contender in the Eastern Conference.

Ayo Dosunmu is the next man up for the Timberwolves

The Wolves took down the Nuggets on Saturday night to take a 3–1 series lead and put themselves in prime position to reach the conference semifinals. Unfortunately for them, everything else that happened was a disaster.

Sharpshooter Donte DiVencenzo was forced out of action with what was nearly immediately identified as an Achilles tear that ended his playoff run. Just a few minutes later, superstar Anthony Edwards suffered an injury of his own with a knee hyperextension that knocked him out of the game. Luckily for Minnesota, Ayo Dosunmu has blown up in this series—and he went to another level Saturday.

In Game 4, Donsunmu came off the bench to lead all scorers with 43 points on 13-of-17 shooting. He was 5-for-5 from three-point range and made all 12 free throws he took. The performance came after Dosunmu had 25 in the Timberwolves’ Game 3 win as well, showing that he’s stepped up when his team has needed it most.

Minnesota acquired Dosunmu before the trade deadline, along with Julian Phillips, in exchange for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round picks. After the last two games, the move is looking like an absolute steal.

Relive Saturday's NBA playoff action below

Saturday’s NBA playoff schedule, where to watch each game

Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum reacts after a basket against the New York Knicks. — CJ McCollum and the Hawks have the Knicks up against the ropes entering Game 4 in Atlanta. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Pistons at Magic 1–2 (East No. 1 vs. 8)

Game 1: Magic 112, Pistons 101
Game 2: Pistons 98, Magic 83
Game 3: Magic 113, Pistons 105

Orlando looked like it might run away with this one, but this turned into an excellent game in the back half of the fourth quarter, as Cade Cunningham led a furious Detroit comeback. Ultimately, the Magic stars stepped up, with a late Paolo Banchero three proving to be the dagger to clinch the win. He finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, while Desmond Bane scored 25, knocking down seven threes in the game.

Game 4 in the series is scheduled for Monday night at 8 p.m. ET in Orlando.

Thunder at Suns 3–0 (West No. 1 vs. 8)

Game 1: Thunder 119, Suns 84
Game 2: Thunder 120, Suns 107
Game 3: Thunder 121, Suns 109

Oklahoma City jumped out to a commanding lead, dominating Game 1 and cruising to a Game 2 win despite an injury to Jalen Williams costing him the balance of that contest. Game 3 was more of the same, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander exploding for 42 points. The Suns face elimination on Monday.

Knicks at Hawks 2–2 (East No. 3 vs. 6)

Game 1: Knicks 113, Hawks 102
Game 2: Hawks 107, Knicks 106
Game 3: Hawks 109, Knicks 108
Game 4: Knicks 114, Hawks 98

The Hawks have been a Knicks playoff adversary for years now, and the rivalry continues even after Trae Young was traded to the Wizards. In his place, C.J. McCollum has filled the role as villain. But New York ‘s defense got the better of the Hawks in Game 4 to even the series and quiet the noise surrounding the franchise.

Nuggets at Timberwolves 1–3 (West No. 3 vs. 6)

Game 1: Nuggets 116, Timberwolves 105
Game 2: Timberwolves 119, Nuggets 114
Game 3: Timberwolves 113, Nuggets 96
Game 4: Timberwolves 112, Nuggets 96

Denver imposed its will on Minnesota in Game 1, but the following three contests were all T’Wolves, including an impressive blowout in Game 3 and a short-handed victory in Game 4. Health questions now abound for Minnesota with Donte DiVincenzo out for the series and Anthony Edwards’s status unknown, but the Wolves are in the driver’s seat going back to Denver.