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Miami at New York
Injury concerns remain at the forefront for both the Miami Heat and host New York Knicks heading into Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday.
Heat star Jimmy Butler rolled his right ankle and tumbled to the floor after a foul by Josh Hart with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter of the series opener. Butler remained in Sunday's game and gutted his way through most of the rest of the contest in eighth-seeded Miami's 108-101 victory over fifth-seeded New York.
"You just don't know with ankle sprains," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game. "I don't even know if we'll know more by (Monday). We'll just have to see. It'll be a waiting game."
The waiting game isn't a long one with Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on the horizon, although there are three days off before Game 3 on Saturday in Miami.
Butler collected team highs in points (25) and rebounds (11) to go along with four assists and two steals in the series opener. He is averaging 35.5 points per game in the playoffs -- more than double his nearest teammate (Bam Adebayo, 17.2).
"That's our guy. He's our star. He's our franchise player," Kyle Lowry said of Butler. "We always want him to get up and the thoughts are hopefully he's OK but if he's not, we got to find, hold it down. ... But this is what he does. He finished the game and he's a tough dude."
While Butler was able to finish Game 1, New York's star forward Julius Randle was unable to start it due to a sprained left ankle. He aggravated the injury in Game 5 of the first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Randle boasted team-best averages in points (25.1) and rebounds (10.0) to go along with 4.1 assists in the regular season.
"Any time you're down, especially an All-Star like him, you're going to miss him and we did (on Sunday)," said RJ Barrett, who finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
With Obi Toppin starting in place of Randle, the Knicks shot just 20.6 percent from 3-point range (7-for-34) on Sunday and were outscored 39-21 from beyond the arc. They also misfired on eight of 20 free-throw attempts.
"They picked up the intensity, played hard and made shots. We didn't," Barrett said.
Jalen Brunson, who averaged 24.0 points per game in the first round, finished with 25 on Sunday -- albeit on 23 field-goal attempts. He was 0-for-7 from 3-point range, while Barrett (1-for-5) and Hart (0-for-4) also had their struggles from beyond the arc.
"I was horrific," said Brunson, who committed a team-high five turnovers. "Very uncharacteristic by me and this one's on me. I've got to be better."
Gabe Vincent had a strong night for the Heat, draining five of Miami's 13 3-pointers and finishing with 20 points. Lowry added 18 points off the bench and Adebayo collected 16 points and eight rebounds for the Heat.
Head to Head Trends
Injury concerns remain at the forefront for both the Miami Heat and host New York Knicks heading into Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday.
Heat star Jimmy Butler rolled his right ankle and tumbled to the floor after a foul by Josh Hart with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter of the series opener. Butler remained in Sunday's game and gutted his way through most of the rest of the contest in eighth-seeded Miami's 108-101 victory over fifth-seeded New York.
"You just don't know with ankle sprains," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game. "I don't even know if we'll know more by (Monday). We'll just have to see. It'll be a waiting game."
The waiting game isn't a long one with Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on the horizon, although there are three days off before Game 3 on Saturday in Miami.
Butler collected team highs in points (25) and rebounds (11) to go along with four assists and two steals in the series opener. He is averaging 35.5 points per game in the playoffs -- more than double his nearest teammate (Bam Adebayo, 17.2).
"That's our guy. He's our star. He's our franchise player," Kyle Lowry said of Butler. "We always want him to get up and the thoughts are hopefully he's OK but if he's not, we got to find, hold it down. ... But this is what he does. He finished the game and he's a tough dude."
While Butler was able to finish Game 1, New York's star forward Julius Randle was unable to start it due to a sprained left ankle. He aggravated the injury in Game 5 of the first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Randle boasted team-best averages in points (25.1) and rebounds (10.0) to go along with 4.1 assists in the regular season.
"Any time you're down, especially an All-Star like him, you're going to miss him and we did (on Sunday)," said RJ Barrett, who finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
With Obi Toppin starting in place of Randle, the Knicks shot just 20.6 percent from 3-point range (7-for-34) on Sunday and were outscored 39-21 from beyond the arc. They also misfired on eight of 20 free-throw attempts.
"They picked up the intensity, played hard and made shots. We didn't," Barrett said.
Jalen Brunson, who averaged 24.0 points per game in the first round, finished with 25 on Sunday -- albeit on 23 field-goal attempts. He was 0-for-7 from 3-point range, while Barrett (1-for-5) and Hart (0-for-4) also had their struggles from beyond the arc.
"I was horrific," said Brunson, who committed a team-high five turnovers. "Very uncharacteristic by me and this one's on me. I've got to be better."
Gabe Vincent had a strong night for the Heat, draining five of Miami's 13 3-pointers and finishing with 20 points. Lowry added 18 points off the bench and Adebayo collected 16 points and eight rebounds for the Heat.
- Heat are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
- Heat are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Heat are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Heat are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Heat are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Heat are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Heat are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Heat are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win.
- Heat are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Heat are 37-16-1 ATS in their last 54 Conference Semifinals games.
- Heat are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 Tuesday games.
- Heat are 10-28-1 ATS in their last 39 games following a ATS win.
- Knicks are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a ATS loss.
- Knicks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- Knicks are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Knicks are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Knicks are 19-7 ATS in their last 26 Tuesday games.
- Knicks are 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 home games.
- Knicks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Conference Semifinals games.
- Over is 10-1 in Heat last 11 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Over is 9-1 in Heat last 10 games following a straight up win.
- Over is 8-1 in Heat last 9 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Over is 8-1 in Heat last 9 games following a ATS win.
- Over is 8-1 in Heat last 9 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Over is 6-1 in Heat last 7 road games.
- Under is 4-1 in Heat last 5 Conference Semifinals games.
- Over is 4-1 in Heat last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Over is 16-5 in Heat last 21 overall.
- Over is 16-5 in Heat last 21 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Under is 9-3 in Heat last 12 Tuesday games.
- Over is 19-7 in Heat last 26 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Under is 6-0 in Knicks last 6 overall.
- Under is 4-0 in Knicks last 4 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Under is 4-0 in Knicks last 4 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Under is 4-1-1 in Knicks last 6 Conference Semifinals games.
- Over is 9-3-1 in Knicks last 13 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Head to Head Trends
- Heat are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
- Heat are 12-5 ATS in the last 17 meetings in New York.
- Over is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
- Under is 21-6 in the last 27 meetings in New York.
Lakers at Warriors
The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, two highly successful franchises that have combined for seven of the past eight Western Conference championships and five of the last eight NBA titles, go head-to-head in the postseason for the first time since 1991 when they tip off a second-round playoff series Tuesday night in San Francisco.
The sixth-seeded Warriors have the home-court advantage in the best-of-seven set. However, the Lakers will be better rested when the heavyweights wrestle for the right to take on either the top-seeded Denver Nuggets or fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals.
Despite struggling through much of the regular season, the Lakers earned a 3-1 win over the Warriors in the season series. One of the wins came Feb. 23 in San Francisco, a game Golden State star Stephen Curry missed due to a leg injury.
The Lakers beat the Warriors to the second round by needing just six games to knock off the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. That series ended Friday in a 125-85 Lakers romp, with D'Angelo Russell pouring in 31 points while LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 38 points and 19 rebounds.
Los Angeles has had three days off since its clinching win, while the Warriors are being rushed right back into action after securing their spot with a 120-100 road win over the third-seeded Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon. In that contest, Curry set an NBA record for a Game 7 with 50 points.
The Lakers and Warriors might be postseason strangers, but surely James and Curry are not. They've gone head-to-head 22 times in the playoffs, all over the course of four consecutive meetings between the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals from 2015-18.
Curry earned championship rings on three of the four occasions, all while losing the personal scoring duel to James, who put up 33 points per game in those matchups, while Curry went for 25.4.
James insists he's learned the secret of Golden State's success over the years.
"You can't make a mistake. They'll make you pay," James said. "You can't make a mistake. It's that simple."
The Warriors also have a successful postseason history against Davis, who led the New Orleans Pelicans up against Golden State in the 2015 and 2018 playoffs. Golden State won eight of those nine games, with Davis and rival Draymond Green each averaging a double-double in those meetings.
Davis is more likely to match up in this series with emerging Warriors interior force Kevon Looney, who led all rebounders leaguewide in the first round at 15.1 boards per game.
"Just keeps doing it, every game," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said about Looney's production. "I think Loon is one of the best centers in the league. And people don't recognize it because he's not dunking and shooting threes and all that stuff. This guy is a flat-out winner and he's a machine and we wouldn't be here without him."
The Warriors earned the home-court edge in the series by finishing one game ahead of the Lakers in the regular season. Had the clubs wound up in a tie, Los Angeles would be hosting Game 1 by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, two highly successful franchises that have combined for seven of the past eight Western Conference championships and five of the last eight NBA titles, go head-to-head in the postseason for the first time since 1991 when they tip off a second-round playoff series Tuesday night in San Francisco.
The sixth-seeded Warriors have the home-court advantage in the best-of-seven set. However, the Lakers will be better rested when the heavyweights wrestle for the right to take on either the top-seeded Denver Nuggets or fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals.
Despite struggling through much of the regular season, the Lakers earned a 3-1 win over the Warriors in the season series. One of the wins came Feb. 23 in San Francisco, a game Golden State star Stephen Curry missed due to a leg injury.
The Lakers beat the Warriors to the second round by needing just six games to knock off the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. That series ended Friday in a 125-85 Lakers romp, with D'Angelo Russell pouring in 31 points while LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 38 points and 19 rebounds.
Los Angeles has had three days off since its clinching win, while the Warriors are being rushed right back into action after securing their spot with a 120-100 road win over the third-seeded Sacramento Kings on Sunday afternoon. In that contest, Curry set an NBA record for a Game 7 with 50 points.
The Lakers and Warriors might be postseason strangers, but surely James and Curry are not. They've gone head-to-head 22 times in the playoffs, all over the course of four consecutive meetings between the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals from 2015-18.
Curry earned championship rings on three of the four occasions, all while losing the personal scoring duel to James, who put up 33 points per game in those matchups, while Curry went for 25.4.
James insists he's learned the secret of Golden State's success over the years.
"You can't make a mistake. They'll make you pay," James said. "You can't make a mistake. It's that simple."
The Warriors also have a successful postseason history against Davis, who led the New Orleans Pelicans up against Golden State in the 2015 and 2018 playoffs. Golden State won eight of those nine games, with Davis and rival Draymond Green each averaging a double-double in those meetings.
Davis is more likely to match up in this series with emerging Warriors interior force Kevon Looney, who led all rebounders leaguewide in the first round at 15.1 boards per game.
"Just keeps doing it, every game," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said about Looney's production. "I think Loon is one of the best centers in the league. And people don't recognize it because he's not dunking and shooting threes and all that stuff. This guy is a flat-out winner and he's a machine and we wouldn't be here without him."
The Warriors earned the home-court edge in the series by finishing one game ahead of the Lakers in the regular season. Had the clubs wound up in a tie, Los Angeles would be hosting Game 1 by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
- Lakers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Conference Semifinals games.
- Lakers are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Lakers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win.
- Lakers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.
- Lakers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Lakers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games.
- Warriors are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
- Warriors are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Warriors are 40-18-1 ATS in their last 59 home games.
- Warriors are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 Conference Semifinals games.
- Warriors are 4-11-1 ATS in their last 16 Tuesday games.
- Warriors are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points.
- Warriors are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games following a ATS win.
- Over is 7-1-1 in Lakers last 9 Tuesday games.
- Over is 10-2 in Lakers last 12 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Over is 9-2 in Lakers last 11 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Under is 4-1 in Lakers last 5 overall.
- Under is 4-1 in Lakers last 5 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Over is 8-2 in Lakers last 10 games following a straight up win.
- Over is 4-1 in Lakers last 5 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points.
- Under is 4-1 in Lakers last 5 Conference Semifinals games.
- Over is 6-2 in Lakers last 8 games following a ATS win.
- Over is 6-2 in Lakers last 8 road games.
- Over is 34-16-1 in Lakers last 51 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Under is 4-1 in Warriors last 5 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Under is 4-1 in Warriors last 5 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Over is 4-1 in Warriors last 5 games following a straight up win.
- Under is 7-2 in Warriors last 9 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Under is 6-2-1 in Warriors last 9 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
- Over is 18-7-1 in Warriors last 26 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points.
- Over is 10-4 in Warriors last 14 Tuesday games.
- Under is 5-2 in Warriors last 7 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Under is 10-4-1 in Warriors last 15 home games.
- Lakers are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
