Knicks Escape Pistons, Clippers Trounce Nuggets in LA, Thunder Storm Back in Memphis

In a trio of Game 3s on Thursday night, the New York Knicks edged the Detroit Pistons 118-116, the Oklahoma City Thunder completed a historic comeback against the Memphis Grizzlies for a 114-108 victory, and the Los Angeles Clippers got an impressive road win 117-83 in Denver.  

Playing their first home playoff game since 2019, the Pistons overcame a 66-53 deficit, outscoring the Knicks 63-52 in the second half. However, Jalen Brunson’s clutch play down the stretch, with eight points in the final 1:24 (four free-throws in the final 23 seconds) gave the Knicks the two-point win and allowed them to take a 2-1 series lead. 

Brunson made just 1-for-7 from downtown, but was 11-for-13 from the free-throw line in addition to 9-for-20 from the field for 30 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds. Karl-Anthony Towns (10-for-18, 4-for-8, 7-for-7) scored a game-high 31 points to go along with 8 rebounds. OG Anunoby was 7-for-17 for 22 points and Mikal Bridges was 7-for-13 (3-for-6 from downtown) for 20 points, with 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. 

The Knicks shot 46.5% from the field, made 12 of their 32 attempts from downtown, and made 26-of-29 free-throws. 

Cade Cunningham (24 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks) was 10-for-25 and made two 3-pointers, while Tim Hardaway Jr. also scored 24 points, hitting on 7-of-12 from 3-point range. Jalen Duren was 7-for-10 for 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Dennis Schroder (18 points) and Malik Beasley (12) contributed to a massive 40-9 advantage in bench points. The Pistons shot 45.3% as a group, made 16 of their 37 triple attempts, and made 22 of their 27 attempts from the stripe and outrebounded the Knicks 43-40. Their bugaboo was turnovers, committing 14 to the Knicks’ 9. 

After the Knicks 11-point win in Game 1, Games 2 and 3 were decided by a combined eight points. The Pistons are young but they are very talented and fearless. The series could go seven. 

In Memphis, the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled off an astounding comeback after trailing by 29 points in the second quarter.

The Grizzlies’ Ja Morant was off to a tremendous start with 15 points and 5 assists on 6-for-11 shooting in 16 minutes, but the star guard was undercut accidentally by Lu Dort on a transition layup attempt, landed hard, and missed the remainder of the game. 

Scotty Pippen Jr. took the reins and produced 28 points with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block, bringing back memories of his Hall of Fame father. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished 7-for-16 (7-for-8 from the line) for 22 points with 7 rebounds, but Desmond Bane had an off night, only 3-for-14 and 2-for-11 from downtown for 10 points. Santi Aldama produced 14 points off the bench with 6 rebounds on 6-for-14. The Grizzlies as a team shot 43.4%, 14-for-42 from downtown, and made 22 of their 26 free-throw attempts. They did however turn the ball over 16 times to the Thunder’s 11 and were outrebounded 43-41. 

The Thunder, completing the largest comeback in playoff history since 1997, held the Grizzlies without a basket for the final 4:51 of the contest. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, though only 10-for-26 (2-for-7 from deep), made 9-of-9 free-throws for 31 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds. Jalen Williams was 9-for-16 for 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block (6-for-10 from the line) and hit a big three late. Chet Holmgren scored 23 second half points, finishing with 24 points and 8 rebounds while playing an efficient game (8-for-16, 5-for-10 from downtown) that included an emphatic one-handed dunk in the fourth. Alex Caruso and Isaiah Joe both added 10 points off the bench for the Thunder. 

If the Grizzlies were going to get a game in this series, it would have been Thursday night. Having such a big lead and playing at home and playing well without your best player was the game to get when things seemed to just be going right. The Thunder finished with the NBA’s best record for a reason though, they have many offensive weapons and their defense can keep them in any game. 

The Los Angeles Clippers went into Denver and cruised to a 34-point victory to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-7 series. 

James Harden was hot early on, and he finished 6-for-14 (3-for-8 from deep) for 20 points (9 assists, 6 rebounds) in a balanced Clipper effort where Norman Powell also scored 20 points (7-for-12) and Kawhi Leonard scored a team-high 21 while playing a complete game himself with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists in 35 minutes. Ivica Zubac was 8-for-12 for 19 points and 9 rebounds, and Nic Batum (12 points, 4-for-6 from 3-point range) and Derrick Jones Jr. (10) played well off the bench. The Clippers shot 48.2% and shot from distance at a high clip (18-for-39), though they made just 19 of their 28 free-throw attempts. They won the turnover battle (10 to 16) and dominated on the boards, 48-38. 

Despite the loss, Nikola Jokic pieced together another triple-double (23 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists), with nine makes on 14 attempts. Jamal Murray shot 8-for-15 and also scored 23 points. Aaron Gordon was 6-for-16 from the field for 15 points and 7 rebounds. 

Russell Westbrook played only nine minutes due to a lower body injury and was 1-for-5 shooting, and Michael Porter Jr., playing with a wrap on his shoulder, gave a valiant effort playing 35 minutes but was only 2-for-9 for 7 points. 

The Nuggets shot 40.3%, well below their season average (and NBA best) of 50.6%. They made just seven of their 26 attempts from deep, and as mentioned lost the rebounding battle. The bench unit missed 12 of their 14 attempts. 

Game 4 in the Pistons-Knicks series goes on Sunday on ABC at 1:00 p.m., while the other two series’ have their Game 4s on Saturday (Thunder-Grizzlies at 3:30 p.m. and the Nuggets-Clippers at 6:00 p.m., both on TNT). 

Shams Charania reported on Thursday night that the Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler has a deep glute contusion, and that his status for Saturday night’s Game 3 (8:30 p.m., ABC) is up in the air. The Warriors series with the Houston Rockets is tied 1-1. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley (18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks) was named the 2024-2025 NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday. Mobley was the anchor to a defense that finished the regular season eighth in defensive rating (111.8), fifth in defensive rebounds (34.2), and third in opponent field-goal percentage (45.4%). The Cavaliers are up 2-0 on the Miami Heat in their first round series. Game 3 is at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.