Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. He only had eight points, but I think Mikal Bridges was the MVP for the Knicks in Game 1.
In today’s SI:AM:
🗽 Knicks surge back in Game 1
⛏️ Aaron Gordon’s game-winner
🏈 Top 10 QBs in 2026
So far, so good for the little guys
The first round of the NBA playoffs went mostly as expected, with the higher-seeded team winning six of the eight series. But the underdogs are flipping the script as the second round gets underway.
In both games on Monday night, the lower-seeded team won in a thriller. First, the New York Knicks mounted a 20-point second-half comeback against the Boston Celtics and prevailed in overtime, 108–105. Then, the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 121–119, on Aaron Gordon’s three-pointer with just 3.1 seconds left. Those games came after the Indiana Pacers knocked off the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of their series on Sunday, 121–112.
This marks just the sixth time in NBA history that at least three road teams have won the first game of a second-round playoff series. If the Golden State Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves away from home on Tuesday night, it would be the first time all four lower-seeded teams won the opening game of the conference semifinals.
In fact, it’s so uncommon for the home team to lose at this stage in the postseason that road teams have only won more than one Game 1 in the conference semis 13 times in the 55 postseasons since the NBA moved to the conference format in 1971.
Each of the three lower-seeded teams can point to a key factor that allowed them to pull off the Game 1 upset. The most obvious is for the Knicks, who benefited from a historically terrible shooting night from the Celtics. Boston was a dismal 15-of-60 from deep, setting a record for three-point attempts in a playoff game but also missed threes. The Celtics made a habit of launching tons of three-pointers in the regular season, setting a new record for total three-point attempts, but moved away from that strategy in the first round against an Orlando Magic team that allowed the fewest threes of any team this season. After averaging 48.2 three-point attempts per game in the regular season, Boston averaged 31.2 per game in five games against Orlando. The Celtics and coach Joe Mazzulla evidently saw the matchup against the Knicks as an opportunity to return to what made them great in the regular season, but they fell victim to some cold shooting. Even good shooting teams will have nights like that, but the Knicks can’t count on it happening again.
“I look at the process and the shot quality, [and] our shot quality was high,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “There were probably eight to 10 shots that could be better at for sure.”
The story is similar for the Pacers, who simultaneously shot the lights out (19-for-36 from three) and saw the Cavs put up brick after brick (9-for-38 from three, including 1-of-11 by Donovan Mitchell). Cleveland was second in the league in three-point percentage in the regular season.
The biggest star of those three games was—no surprise—Nikola Jokić. The Nuggets star put up a preposterous 42 points (on 15-of-29 shooting) and 22 rebounds in Denver’s win over the Thunder. He’s just the second player since 2001 to have 40 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jokić is an MVP candidate and quite possibly the best player in the world, but can the Nuggets count on him to carry them to victory three more times against a team that went 68–14 in the regular season?
Of course, winning the opening game is no guarantee that the underdog will go on to win the series. In 2015, for example, three road teams won the opening game of the second round, and none went on to win the series. However, seizing homecourt advantage is still significant for the underdogs in question, even if there are questions about how sustainable their success will be.
The best of Sports Illustrated
• Chris Mannix broke down how the Knicks surged back from a massive deficit against the Celtics to win Game 1.
• Pat Forde took Michigan to task for its cynical decision to suspend football coach Sherrone Moore for the third and fourth games of the season.
• Conor Orr criticized the Ravens for their statement on the release of Justin Tucker that ignored the serious sexual misconduct allegations against him.
• Daniel Flick’s list of the top 10 quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL draft class doesn’t include Arch Manning, but the son of an ex-NFL QB is at the top.
• Madison Williams rounded up all the athletes who appeared at Monday’s Met Gala.
• The fan who fell from the stands at a Pirates game last week is walking again.
• Devin Williams’s struggles continued as he blew yet another game for the Yankees.
• The Islanders won the NHL draft lottery despite having the 10th-best odds of getting the top pick.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. Corbin Carroll’s perfect throw to nail a runner at home.
4. Matthew Knies’s breakaway goal to give the Maple Leafs some breathing room in their Game 1 win over the defending champion Panthers.
3. Mikal Bridges’s save on the sideline, leading to an OG Anunoby dunk at the beginning of overtime.
2. Bridges’s aggressive steal to win it for the Knicks.
1. Aaron Gordon’s game-winner over the out-stretched arm of Chet Holmgren.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Upsets Abound in NBA Conference Semis.
