Keith

[Hoop Central @TheHoopCentral]

MIKEL BROWN JR. TIES THE GAME

OH MY GOODNESS. 🔥🔥🔥

[Hoop Central @TheHoopCentral]

CAM THOMAS TONIGHT:

30 POINTS
4 ASSISTS
3 REBOUNDS
9/15 FGM
+27 +/-

ONLY 20 MINUTES

[Hoop Central @TheHoopCentral]

Rookie MarShon Brooks was so fun to watch —

Absolute cheat code on 2K. 🔥

(via @ThrowbackHoops)

[Bill Simmons @BillSimmons]

Went to Celts-Nets. It’s been brewing for 2 weeks but I am officially admitting defeat on my preseason Cam Thomas good stats/bad team takes/jokes. Was impressed by his shot-making and competitiveness. Didn’t play selfishly. Held his own against elite defenders. A legit asset.

[Nike Basketball @nikebasketball]

Congrats to @jus242 on winning Finals MVP.

[Hater Report @HaterReport]

Ben Simmons and Killian Hayes leading the Brooklyn Nets to a 9-73 record and the 1st pick in the NBA Draft

[PsychoNetsFan @PsychoNetsFan]

The #Knicks Playa Haters Ball outfit was a success #NetsWorld

[Underdog NBA @UnderdogNBA]

10 takeaways from tonight in the NBA:

1) Really need these injuries to chill for a bit cause my heart can’t handle it. Today’s victim is Kristaps and it was non-contact. Looked bad right away. He put both hands on his head, covered his face with his jersey, and went straight to the locker room. Celtics quickly gave him the doubtful tag and are calling it "right calf tightness." It’s not the same calf he dealt with earlier this season.

Early indications are that it’s not his Achilles which is good news. Still, this could keep him out for weeks. We’re already living through it with Giannis. Goes without saying but his health is so key to this team’s success. Even Tatum recently admitted that he’s the most important guy on the team for what they’re trying to accomplish. They’ll be fine in the short term. Every team is struggling with injuries and they’ve been preparing for this outcome for a month, trying out hundreds of different lineups.

2) The Derrick White game. Started out by scoring 16 in the first, tying his playoff career-high for points in a quarter. Finished with a career-high 38 points and eight made 3's. Even gave us a couple posters in the third. It wasn’t just on the offensive end. He made Tyler Herro’s life a living hell, chasing over every screen and killing all rhythm. Could easily make a case that this was the best game of his career.

Porzingis isn’t the only injury we gotta monitor. Bam Adebayo Zaza’d Jayson Tatum on a meaningless 3-point attempt, taken well after a foul was called. Tatum went down immediately and grabbed his ankle. Now we gotta wait to see if that thing swells up.

“I mean, y’all saw it. I shot the ball afterward. Landed on his foot. Same ankle that I hurt in Game 7 last year, that I hurt against the Warriors, that I tweaked against the Clippers. Didn’t feel good at first... I don’t want to make it a bigger deal than it is.” - Jayson Tatum on the Bam play

Wasn’t it Mazzulla who instructed his players to never give up a free shot?

3) Would you believe me if I told you there was another big injury we gotta keep tabs on? Jaime Jaquez Jr. hurt his hip coming down for a rebound. Had to sit out the entire fourth and is being considered day-to-day. This team’s already a really tough watch so I really hope it’s not as bad as it looks.

Duncan Robinson’s back is clearly still an issue. Was only able to play 3 minutes before Spo pulled the plug. Kevin Love (0 points, 4 rebounds, 6 minutes) probably would have gotten 2 minutes max had Porzingis not gotten hurt. His minutes in this series are a disaster.

Bam Adebayo did make a 3 though. Promise I’ll end this bit next season. Man, Heat are shooting 20.4% from 3 outside of Game 2. Please Boston, do us all a favor...

Celtics beat the Heat 102-88. Miami’s lost their last six postseason games at home.

“I don’t even know, dog. We’re gonna move on from that.” - Bam on the Tatum play

“I tried to give it everything I had. Just take it day by day.” - Jaime Jaquez Jr. on his hip

4) We may have just seen the final Brandon Ingram game in a Pels uniform and it wasn’t a pretty way to go. They got their asses swept but he might be cool with it. He’s finally out of the Dorture Chamber.

BI in this series:
14.3 PPG
3.3 APG
45.0 TS%
25.0 3P%

Free Trey Murphy III

“From USA to this season is probably the worst I’ve been in a New Orleans Pelicans uniform. And I’m motivated by that.” - Brandon Ingram

5) It wasn’t all on Ingram. I’m sitting here begging for them to free Trey Murphy III, yet he scores just 7 points on 3-10 shooting (1-7 3PT). C.J. McCollum (20 points, 2-7 3PT) was a team-worst -14. Pels as a team shot 23.5% from 3.

Shoutout to Naji Marshall (16 points, 4-7 3PT) for being one of the few bright spots. This series alone made you a lot more money this summer. Always liked his game and hoping he lands on a contender.

Man, the Pels really couldn’t score 100 in any of these games? What am I talking about? Cavs might do the same.

6) Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey combined for 20 of the Thunder’s 27 fourth-quarter points. Both of them were spectacular. Feels like Giddey goes off against New Orleans every time, don’t it? Lemme peep this real fast... he’s had two duds but all-in-all, done well against them.

As for JDub (24 points, 8 rebounds), man. You’d never think this was his first-ever playoff series:
21.3 PPG
7.3 RPG
5.0 APG
1.8 SPG
39 3PT%
60 TS%

Thunder beat the Pelicans 97-89. They’re now the youngest team to ever win an NBA playoff series. Pretty cool.

“Our players are idiots.” - Mark Daigneault on the water bath his players gave him for winning COTY 🤣

“Him and P-Law be with us the whole year.” - Jalen Williams on skipping TNT’s postgame interview to talk to Nick Gallo first in Game 3

7) Jamal Murray was a true questionable coming into Game 5. Honestly, thought he was more on the doubtful side after listening to Michael Malone pregame. He said there was one move that kinda worsened the calf in Game 4. You shoulda seen that wrap he had on it pregame. Not only did he play. He was the MVP of the game. Scores a game-high 32 points and hits his second game-winner of the series. Also dunked on Bron so yeah, calf seems good. The joke’s too easy but ‘Jamal Murray made another shot’.

“Let the best two-man game in the business play their game and get to their spots.” - Michael Malone on not calling a timeout on the final possession

8) You wouldn’t know it from looking at the final box score but Jokic (25 points, 20 rebounds, 9 assists) was miserable in the first half. Had 8 points and 4 turnovers. Wasn’t looking for his shot at all. Michael Porter Jr. (26 points) and Jamal Murray did all the heavy lifting before Jokic found himself in the second half.

Can’t leave without an injury though, right? KCP had two visits to the locker room after turning his ankle. Was clearly bothering him all night. Gotta hope his doesn’t swell either.

“Nikola Jokic. He was 25/20/9 tonight. And the most amazing stat of the night… he was 0-0 from the free throw line. Did not miss a free throw.” - Michael Malone on Jokic

9) So that’s it, huh? This is the part of the year where we constantly hear about that third star the Lakers are getting, right?

Maybe focus on the bench first?

Lakers' bench in the playoffs:
Taurean Prince - 7.4 PPG
Spencer Dinwiddie - 3.0 PPG
Gabe Vincent - 1.4 PPG
Jaxson Hayes - 0.3 PPG

They didn’t even try Christian Wood or Jarred Vanderbilt despite being cleared. Darvin Ham’s already blaming this season on injuries despite LeBron, AD, Reaves and Russell all playing at least 71 games. It’s honestly too depressing thinking about LeBron having to play out his career like this... let’s move on.

Nuggets beat the Lakers 108-106. The Tim Connelly Bowl begins Saturday.

“It’s been a hell of a two years sitting in this seat, I’ll tell you that. It’s been a hell of a two years.” - Darvin Ham

Damn.

10) Shams already poured some cold water on tomorrow’s games. Said there’s doubt that Giannis and Dame are gonna be able to suit up. They’re both listed as doubtful so yeah, Milwaukee gonna need Bobby Portis to keep his hands to himself this time around.

Also curious to see if Thibs allows OG to roam to start Game 5 or if he goes right back to him on Embiid. As for Cavs/Magic... I just wanna see Cleveland score 100 already.

Looking forward to it. Much love! ❤️

[The Reckoning @4Evashook]

Everytime I see Kyrie Irving hoop my hate for Joe Tsai intensifies. He should have retired a Net.

[🧑🏾‍🍳 @BoredroomDJ]

Bulls announcers in regards to Cam Thomas, during their game vs the Timberwolves tonight:

“The only one able to stop him is Jacque Vaughn keeping him on the bench”

LMFAO

[Cifer @NetsCifer]

Cam Thomas as a starter:

22.7 pts, 2.8 reb, 2.4 ast
- 45% FG, 37% 3PT, 87% FT
- 31 mpg
- 11-10 record

Cam Thomas off the bench:

18.5 pts, 2.3 reb, 2.4 ast
- 44% FG, 31% 3PT, 76% FT
- 25 mpg
- 2-13 record

To the fans that say starting doesn't matter, stop it

[Underdog NBA @UnderdogNBA]

Lineup alert: Cam Thomas will start in place of Cam Johnson on Saturday, per coach Vaughn.

[BKN 85 (Fire Marks) @brooklynnets85]

I’m as emotionally uninvested in this team as I’ve been since the Sloan/Larkin days… feels like a temporary group of mid players

[Hoop Central @TheHoopCentral]

MIKAL BRIDGES CLUTCH.

https://t.co/1xGWCzcWBi

[Hoop Central @TheHoopCentral]

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA TONIGHT:

38 POINTS
10 REBOUNDS
2 BLOCKS
57% FG
3/6 3PM

UNREAL. 🔥🔥🔥

[Hoop Central @TheHoopCentral]

Cam Thomas this season:

36 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 62% FG
30 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 63% FG
33 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 58% FG

[NBACentral @TheDunkCentral]

Cam Thomas is the real deal

[Hoop Central @TheHoopCentral]

BEN SIMMONS DOING IT ALL. 🔥🔥🔥

[Rob Perez @WorldWideWob]

1 minute and 12 seconds of Austin Reaves and Cam Thomas trying to light each other on fire

[Michael Scotto @MikeAScotto]

Nic Claxton: “When KD and Kyrie left, it’s like my name just fell off the map in a sense. It makes my blood boil. I was obviously robbed of All-Defensive Team, not even saying Defensive Player of the Year.”